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1. The Great Hunter’s License Fiasco

   A Spokane judge strikes down a state hunting law, labeling it a 'fearful and wonderful piece of work' riddled with drafting errors.

   Sep 5, 1903The Evening StatesmanSpokane, Spokane CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

2. Seattle’s Acting Mayor Ousted in Mystery Resignation

   Dr. Sweeney resigns after a sudden, suspicious removal by the board of aldermen, sparking rumors of gambling influence.

   Apr 24, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

3. The Hunt Administration’s Budget Fiasco

   The Evening Statesman launches a blistering critique of the city's fiscal mismanagement and the mysterious, unaudited expenses of the water department.

   Jul 9, 1903The Evening StatesmanCity Hall, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall

4. The Great Clothing Fiasco

   A group of citizens in Cheney ordered clothing from a traveling salesman, only to find the garments were comically undersized.

   Jun 2, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewCheney, Spokane CountyStrange But True

5. The Walla Walla Water Fiasco

   A city committee braves a 'biting wind' to discover that their expensive new water development is just collecting surface runoff from irrigation ditches.

   Jan 1, 1904The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall

6. The Fire Limit Fiasco: How Seattle’s Elite Dodged Safety Codes

   While the city arrested drunks and fined sailors for minor infractions, two prominent developers built a frame house right inside the fire zone—and got away with it.

   May 15, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

7. The World's Fair Statistical Fiasco

   King County scrambled to prove its economic worth to the Chicago World’s Fair commission, while local officials grumbled about the impossibility of gathering honest numbers from suspicious business owners.

   Mar 21, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

8. The Water Works Water-Pump Fiasco

   Public officials scrambled to hide that the new city water pump was 'pounding' and breaking down, just as citizens were losing faith in the entire system.

   Mar 17, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLake Washington, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

9. The Great Bail Bond Fiasco

   Two swindlers arrested on a Puget Sound steamer have vanished after a two-year legal delay, leaving the state helpless to punish them.

   Jun 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

10. The World's Fair Forestry Fiasco

    Grays Harbor lumbermen express outrage over the state's 'shabby' display at the Chicago World's Fair, claiming their industry was ignored and misrepresented.

    Jun 29, 1893Aberdeen HeraldGray's Harbor, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

11. The Great Goose Hunt Fiasco

    Four local men head into the wild to secure a feast, only to return with a story of deception and a very expensive bottle of wine.

    Apr 28, 1892Aberdeen HeraldAberdeen, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

12. Kennewick's Street Improvement Fiasco

    After building roads with dirt and sand over oiled gravel, the City Council calls in an expert to fix the crumbling infrastructure.

    Aug 2, 1917The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyCity Hall

13. The City Council’s High-Stakes Plumbing Fiasco

    When Seattle hired a famed Eastern expert to redesign its city sewers, they ended up with a costly mess of mismatched theories and local engineering rebellion.

    Apr 28, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

14. The Seattle Armory Convention Fiasco of 1889

    Chaos, ballot stuffing, and screaming matches marked a pivotal municipal nominating convention in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire.

    Jul 6, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Armory, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

15. The City Council's Yellow Flag Fiasco

    When Seattle officials passed a health ordinance to curb contagion, they refused to apply it to a notorious local brothel, sparking a public outcry against political hypocrisy.

    Aug 22, 1872Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

16. The Meadow Snake Fiasco

    A bashful farmhand’s desperate attempts to avoid the local quilting party result in an unintended, high-speed chase with a black snake.

    Jul 26, 1862Washington StandardOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

17. The Street Improvement Fiasco

    Workers left penniless and street projects stalled as city contractors vanish without pay.

    Sep 8, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay · True Crime

18. The Great Fourth of July Camp-Out Fiasco

    When Seattle’s local militia attempted to prep for a military parade, their poor planning and lack of supplies resulted in a humiliating, mud-soaked retreat.

    Jul 7, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerDenny Park, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

19. The Great Tacoma Potato Fiasco

    When a local farmer tried to break into the Tacoma market with a wagonload of produce, he found that the city’s much-vaunted commercial prosperity was, quite literally, not worth a hill of beans—or potatoes.

    Jan 31, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerPacific Avenue, Tacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

20. The Great Rancher's Fiasco: When Seattle Met the 'Eastern Immigrant'

    A local farmer’s desperate search for farmhands on the docks of Pioneer Square ends in comedy of errors, revealing a cultural clash between Washington Territory agriculture and the influx of Eastern settlers.

    Apr 17, 1877The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay · Strange But True

21. The Mule-Mounted Howitzer Fiasco

    An ambitious Army experiment at a Western fort goes hilariously and dangerously wrong when a cannon-strapped mule decides to take matters into his own hooves.

    Mar 21, 1872Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

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