In the 19th century, the index to the London Times was compiled by Samuel Palmer. Palmer had an unusual way of working, which apparently wasn’t noticed until 1890, when a mystified reader, Corrie Thompson, wrote to Notes and Queries with some examples:

• An article about a boy sentenced for stealing a twopenny pie was indexed under “Atrocious Criminal.”
• An article about a floating chapel loosed from its moorings was indexed under “Disgraceful Act.”
• An article about a storm at Saône-et-Loire was indexed under “Fatal Storm.”
• An article about a spell of dry weather was indexed under “Present Dry Season.”
• An article about two women imprisoned for stealing a mare and for shooting at a man were indexed under “Rather uncommon for Females.”

Apparently Palmer had simply been compiling headlines without reading the articles. This accounts for entries such as “Extraordinary Escape of Boy at Erith Station, From a Bull Being on the Line” and “Extraordinary Marriage Adventure.” Thompson wrote, “One would expect to find this system adopted in a ‘table of contents,’ but surely it is out of place in an ‘index.'”

One wonderful exception, which Palmer apparently wrote himself:

“Death of Jane Thomas in her Mother’s Arms in Holborn at Joy in Seeing her parent at the Stage Door to Receive her.”