Footnote.com collects 59,818,947 (Why yes, that is a very exact number, isn't it?) scanned historical documents, from places like the National Archives and Library of Congress. But that can be a little overwhelming when you don't have a specific item you're trying to find.
Enter "Unfortunate Cookie", Footnote.com's random document generator that pulls up some great, eye-catching news headlines (and full stories) from decades past, such as:
Woman Becomes Insane on Train (San Francisco Chronicle, 1907)
Murdered in His Bed: Aged Roanoke Man Victim of Stealthy Assassin:
Head Cut Open With an Ax (The Washington Post, 1906)
Wheel Gone, Santa Flips His Car (Florida Today, 1969)
I'll confess, I'm not sure why the site includes a fortune cookie theme, the documents are interesting enough without it. But in general, it's a great (and quickly addictive) peek into the past.
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unfortunate headline typo: missing 't' in unfortunate
Yeah, the fortune cookie theme does make it a little convoluted to get to the documents. It's cute and all, but too much to click through.
Awesome idea. Tried it and they have a facebook app too! totally addictive
I love the idea, and the interface is cute, but the content is a little forced, and not as interesting as I would have hoped. I keep opening more in hopes that I'll enjoy it.
heh this is cool, my first cookie brought me to a story about the traffic chaos caused by Woodstock. It can be found here:
http://www.footnote.com/image/228152129/