FACTArchive →
Locked In
FACT
@fact5
Dark HistoryJun 08, 2026

Locked In

Locked In April 21, 1930. Columbus, Ohio. Scaffolding caught fire on the prison roof. Smoke poured into the cellblocks below. Guards refused to unlock the cells. 322 inmates burned or suffocated in their cages. Some were freed only after other prisoners stormed the guards. It remains America's deadliest prison fire.

See it on Facebook →← All facts
Source

Ohio History Connection, archived article on the 1930 Ohio Penitentiary Fire

Share → X Reddit WhatsApp Threads Facebook
Spot an error? Email hello@thefact5.com with a source — we correct visibly.
KEEP SCROLLING

More strange facts ✦

Quaker Oats fed radioactive breakfast to disabled boys. ☢️
FACT
@fact5
Dark History
Quaker Oats fed radioactive breakfast to disabled boys. ☢️
You could buy amphetamine at a US drugstore until 1959. 💊
FACT
@fact5
Dark History
You could buy amphetamine at a US drugstore until 1959. 💊
Your breakfast cereal has a stranger backstory than you think. 🥣
FACT
@fact5
Dark History
Your breakfast cereal has a stranger backstory than you think. 🥣
Coca-Cola used to contain actual cocaine. 🥤
FACT
@fact5
Dark History
Coca-Cola used to contain actual cocaine. 🥤
The Moving Continent
FACT
@fact5
Geography
The Moving Continent
The Upside Down Diners
FACT
@fact5
Animals
The Upside Down Diners
In 1962, NASA accidentally created a rainbow that could be seen from 1,000 miles away when their rocket exploded and released metallic particles into the atmosphere.
FACT
@fact5
Science Gone Wrong
In 1962, NASA accidentally created a rainbow that could be seen from 1,000 miles away when their rocket exploded and released metallic particles into the atmosphere.
Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman fast food restaurant in Pompeii with intact food still in the pots when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
FACT
@fact5
Creepy Discoveries
Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman fast food restaurant in Pompeii with intact food still in the pots when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds and covered 301.5 feet, achieved by a hen named Sheena in 2014.
FACT
@fact5
Unbelievable Records
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds and covered 301.5 feet, achieved by a hen named Sheena in 2014.
The inventor of the TV dinner never actually ate one because he was disgusted by frozen food and only ate fresh meals.
FACT
@fact5
Ironic Twists
The inventor of the TV dinner never actually ate one because he was disgusted by frozen food and only ate fresh meals.
The world record for most objects removed from a single person's stomach is 2,533 items including coins, nails, and a live goldfish.
FACT
@fact5
Unbelievable Records
The world record for most objects removed from a single person's stomach is 2,533 items including coins, nails, and a live goldfish.
The creator of the TV show Jeopardy! died on the same day a contestant broke the show's all-time winning record
FACT
@fact5
Ironic Twists
The creator of the TV show Jeopardy! died on the same day a contestant broke the show's all-time winning record
🎲 Surprise me with another