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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Lusitania Survivor Frank "Lucky" Tower Wasn't So Lucky

(Z) read, and enjoyed, many of Robert Ripley's "Believe it or Not" books as a kid. Very interesting stuff, so it was disappointing to learn, later in life, that Ripley played a bit fast and loose with his fact-checking. Basically, if a "fact" was extra cool, he didn't subject it to TOO much scrutiny, at risk of proving it false. So it is with one of his most famous "Believe it or Not" claims, namely that a man named Frank Tower was a professional coal-breaker who had the misfortune to be on board the RMS Titanic, RMS Empress of Ireland and RMS Lusitania when those three ships sank (in 1912, 1914 and 1915, respectively), but the very good fortune to survive all three. For this reason, Tower allegedly became known as "Lucky" Tower. The only problem with the strains-credulity-beyond-all-belief story is that this man never existed. Still, because of Ripley, the tale gained wide circulation, and is still repeated as true in some places today.

We gave two hints for last week's theme. On Friday, it was "[A]nyone who solves it should take a bow. Although perhaps a stern one." And on Saturday, it was "Think about Walt Whitman's most famous poem."

And here is the solution, courtesy of reader J.M. in St. Lawrence County, NY:

TrumpWatch 2026: Democrats Have a Rich Bounty from Which to Choose — Mutiny on the Bounty
All Politics Is Local, Part I: Fourth and Final Maine Senate Debate Is in the Books — "Remember the Maine!"
All Politics Is Local, Part II: Another Legal Victory for California Will Soon Be upon Us — HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar.
All Politics Is Local, Part III: We Continue to Monitor the Texas Senate Race — Monitor vs. Merrimack
I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The Utah Jazz — USS Utah, "The Forgotten Ship of Pearl Harbor." It was the first battleship hit in the Pearl Harbor attack, still sunk in Pearl Harbor on the opposite side of Ford Island from the USS Arizona
This Week in Schadenfreude: Trump Administration Rocked by Battles of Titanic Proportions — RMS Titanic, site of famed submersible sinking
This Week in Freudenfreude: The Constitution Is the Book That We Look to First — USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides"

Yes! This item's headline adds the Lusitania to the list (and notice that the only way to get to be a really famous ship is for some sort of disaster to strike). From the Friday hint, "stern" and "bow" are parts of a ship, of course. And, as to the Saturday hint, Walt Whitman's most famous poem is "O Captain! My Captain!"

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

D.E. in Ann Arbor, MI
S.J.V. in New York City, NY
R.H. in Phoenixville, PA
J.S. in Washington, DC
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
E.J. in Homewood, AL
R.S. in Landing, NJ
T.F. in Craftsbury Common, VT
W.A. in Red Lion, PA
C.B. in Lakeville, MN
R.S. in Milan, OH
J.S. in Chevy Chase, MD
V.L. in Chester, CT
P.R. in Kirksville, MO
M.S. in Canton, NY
K.G.W. in Lafayette, IN
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
S.L. in Glendora, CA
G.M. in Tunis, Tunisia
R.B. in Richmond, VA
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
C.G. in Pflugerville, TX
J.T. in Philadelphia, PA
G.W. in Avon, CT
P.L. in Skövde, Sweden
A.B. in Naperville, IL
R.H.O. in Portland, ME
T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts
M.W. in Altea, Spain
E.E.M. in Richmond, VT

J.M.R. in Muncie, IN
P.A. in Redwood City, CA
S.M. in Warren, MI
J.T. in San Diego, CA
J.C. in Johns Creek, CA
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM
M.W. in Chicago, IL
A.A. Branchport, NY
A.D. in Gaithersburg, MD
B.K.J. in San Diego, CA
J.B. in Austin, Republic of Gilead (formerly TX)
S.D. in Cedar Park, TX
B.F. in Nashville, TN
T.K. in Manchester, MO
W.D. in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
S.C. in Virginia Beach, VA
V.F. in Bowie, MD
M.J.S. in Gig Harbor, WA
D.L. in Uslar, Germany
E.P. in Windham, CT
B.C. in Manhattan Beach, CA
D.P. in Mt. Rainier, MD
P.C. in Vero Beach, FL
T.V. in Dinwiddie, VA
R.C. in Des Moines, IA
T.A. in Apex, NC
M.K.M. in Marblehead, MA
D.S. in Fort Collins, CO
B.J.L. in Ann Arbor, MI

The 60th correct response was received at 7:27 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word in some headlines, more than one word in others and it's in the category Arts & Entertainment. For a hint, we'll say that the theme is very timely. Like, within the last 24 hours, as of the moment that we publish this. Maybe even the last 12 hours.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line October 23 Headlines. (Z)

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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