"Scores of strange beasts hurried out from under them," from Fifteen Hundred Miles an Hour by Charles Dixon, 1895.

Here's a precursor to the song "The Man in the Moon (is a Lady)," in the musical Mame (1966).  From Astronomy for Amateurs by Camille Flammarion, 1904.  See our previous proof that the craters of the moon line up exactly with the Mona Lisa's facial features.

"I fell at the foot of one of the large trees," from Phantastes by George MacDonald, 1894.

"The perfected discovery," from Crooked Places by Edward Garrett, 1894.

From Goddelycke Wenschen, 1629.

We found what sounds like the perfect summation of what magicians are ultimately striving to do.  All a magician wants is for someone to come "Face to face with the crowning wonder of his series of mysteries."  Put that way, it sounds so simple, so reasonable.  From The Mystery of Hall-in-the-Wood by Rosa Mulholland, 1893.

From The Greymare Romance by Edwin John Ellis, 1891.

"Hold my hand tight.  Which do you prefer, wetting your head or your feet?"  From Seven Xmas Eves, 1894.

From the Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina, 1919.

From the Mirror yearbook of Bates College, 1921.  (For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.)

The aurora flashed crimson in The Icelander's Sword by Sabine Baring-Gould, 1894.

"Come down sir, will you, and take my skin off."  From A Plunge into the Sahara by G. Demage, 1894.

From Blasts from The Ram's Horn, 1902.

How things have changed.  Today we're encouraged to drink lots of water, but back in 1911, when drinking water was considered irresponsible, "if you just must drink water," then at least let it be bottled.  From Polk-Husted Directory Co.'s Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda Directory.

Contrary to popular belief, dropped H's don't fall but rather fly.  From La Morale Merveilleuse by P. Christian, 1844.

"Before the Battle of the Books," from The Works of the Reverend Dr. Jonathan Swift.

Love triumphant and defeated, from Physiological Mysteries and Revelations in Love, Courtship and Marriage: An Infallible Guide-Book for Married and Single Persons, in Matters of the Utmost Importance to the Human Race by Eugene Becklard, 1845.

"The morning toilette lasted for some time."  From A Plunge into the Sahara by G. Demage and illustrated by P. Crampel, 1894.