San Francisco is full of oddities and of course, one-of-a-kind movements. There is a lot of weird and strange history that will more than make anyone bemused. Have you ever wondered about the strangest things to ever occur in San Francisco? If you’re curious, please read on further.

1. The most daring escape from Alcatraz.
Joel Bez/Flickr
The most daring Alcatraz escape on June 11, 1962, inspired a movie called Escape from Alcatraz. This strange event started when three men: Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin tried to escape Alcatraz. How did they do this escape? The men used tools and drilled into the walls of their cells to reach the vent holes to escape. To foot and hide from guards the prisoners created dummy heads and human hair to place in their beds. In the end, the three men climbed down a drainpipe and managed to escape Alcatraz. The three were never seen again, and it is said that they most likely drowned, however the possibility of escape is still possible.
2. The mass shooting at 101 California Street.
Creative Commons/Wikipedia
The 101 California Street tragedy that struck a chord in city history was a mass shooting on July 1, 1993. A gunman killed eight people and injured countless others. Sadly, it was the first killing spree in a tall skyscraper according to police. This massacre was the worst mass killing in city history.
3. The death of an American president in the city.
Creative Commons/Wikipedia
The issue of president Harding's mysterious death in the city. On August 2, 1923 Warren Harding died in his suite at the Palace Hotel, at New Montgomery and Market streets. The official reason for his death is bewildering. Some reports say stroke as the cause of death, although some doctors felt that a heart attack was the more likely reason.
4. The first emperor of the United States was in San Francisco.
Beinecke Library/Flickr
In 1859, San Francisco citizen Joshua Abraham Norton proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States." He was penniless and had no political power, but he dressed in uniform and was deeply respected throughout the city. He’s perhaps San Francisco’s first true eccentric.
5. The reopening of a decades old case around unsolved murders in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Creative Commons/Wikipedia
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The events and investigation are still ongoing because the case reopening in San Francisco in 2007. The killer originated the name "Zodiac" in a series of taunting letters sent to the local Bay Area press.
6. The prelude to San Francisco's Summer of Love.
Creative Commons/Wikipedia
The Human Be-In was a strange event in the Golden Gate Park Polo Fields on January 14, 1967. This was a defining event that helped create Haight-Ashbury to be a symbol of American counterculture and showcased "psychedelia" to rest of the USA.
7. The refugee/cholera crisis of San Francisco.
FerenghiFoto/Flickr
In 1855, a ship from Asia filled with refugees with cholera docked in San Francisco. The responsibility for caring for the cholera stricken was with the state. The epidemic of 1850 and the SS Uncle Sam in the epidemic of 1855 was significant and made worse by the city's rapid Gold Rush area population growth.
8. The first breakout of the Bubonic Plague.
Leklqlieyksoelgsvmxh/Flickr
Yes, the first plague epidemic in the continental United States was in Fog city. The epidemic was recognized by medical authorities in March 1900. There were 121 cases and 113 deaths reported in the first of two bubonic plagues of San Francisco.

What do you think of these events? Let us know. Share this too! If you’re into finding more about the Zodiac killer then check out The Number One Unsolved Mystery In San Francisco And It Will Leave You Baffled.

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