Early one morning in 1912, the residents of Villisca, Iowa, discovered a horrible scene: An entire family had been brutally murdered in their sleep. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the gruesome crime, which has baffled investigators for a hundred years.

We'll also follow the further adventures of German sea ace Felix von Luckner and puzzle over some fickle bodyguards.

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Sources for our feature on the Villisca ax murders:

Roy Marshall, Villisca, 2003.

“Suspect Is Held for Ax Murders,” [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman-Review, May 15, 1917.

“Says He Killed Eight at God's Command,” New York Times, Sept. 2, 1917.

“Tells of Killing Six With an Axe in 1912,” Associated Press, March 29, 1931.

“Iowa Town Marks 90th Anniversary of Unsolved Ax Murders,” Associated Press, June 9, 2002.

“Infamous Villisca Ax Donated to Villisca Historical Society,” Spencer [Iowa] Daily Reporter, Oct. 31, 2006.

Listener Rini Rikka writes, "Doch is very hard to comprehend for someone who is just starting to learn German. Besides the main usage as a short answer, it has lots of other meanings that help shorten the speech a bit. Unfortunately for the non-natives, those other meanings cannot always be translated with the same word, but with some practice you'll get the feeling where and how to use it. If you'd like to read about it, here’s a good explanation of the word in English."

This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent these corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle).

You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset.Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode.

If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!