Every year, the weirdest news stories circulate from their point of origin to the delight and worry of readers and TV viewers around the world. It's an almost irresistible phenomenon to read or watch tape of such wacky and improbable tales, and while it's provided some of the most bizarre "Florida Man" stories ever , it's hardly a late-breaking, 21st century pursuit that came about due to the rise of internet news or the 24-hour cable news cycle. It may feel like the world is getting increasingly unhinged, unpredictable, and unaccountable because of the constant exposure to the wildest news items. Just because we see more weird stuff now doesn't mean it didn't exist in the past.

In the 1970s, the news media consisted mostly of local and network TV news, plus whatever newspapers came

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