The radio series was developed as an offshoot of Headlines of the Past, an earlier program that John Nesbitt had produced.
Nesbitt's inspiration was a trunk inherited from his father that contained news clippings of odd stories from around the world.
He utilized a research staff of 14 people to verify the details of his stories, but wrote the final scripts himself, often within an hour of airtime.
[1] The show was also heard as a segment on the John Charles Thomas radio program, upon which Nesbitt served as narrator, from 1943 to 1946.
[2] Billboard wrote: "There was a time when no one could be sold the idea that one man, without much musical help, could fill a half hour and hold his audience.