In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. On board the ship were some unique passengers: two Giraffes. Those Giraffes, caught in a storm that killed hundreds of people, were en route to San Diego, California, and the storm was only the beginning of their cross-country journey.
Gregor MacGregor's fraud has been widely described as one of the most brazen in history.