In 1907, the Trenton Times newspaper reported on a strange and tragic occurrence involving

one Albert Allen of Chicago and his wife, who was found dead of a gunshot wound.

A gunshot wound from Albert Allen's gun.

Now, if you've ever read a detective novel or watched an episode of Law and Order,

you know that when investigating a suspect for homicide, you're looking for three things.

The means, motive, and opportunity.

Albert Allen certainly had the opportunity. He and his wife lived together

naturally, and she was shot while she slept. He had the means because he owned a gun. But did he

have a motive? Well, possibly. And while we don't have the details of their life together,

he denied any of the common motives in cases like this,

like a fit of rage or jealousy, or attempting to collect on a life insurance policy.

No, Albert Allen made a rather unusual claim.

The mince pies made him do it.

The newspaper quoted him as saying,

I ate three pieces of mince pie at 11 o'clock and got to dreaming that I was shaking dice.

The other fellow was cheating and I tried to shoot his fingers off.

When I awoke, I was holding a pistol in my hand, and my wife was shot.

Now, I have a feeling that old Albert Allen was making an excuse and an absurdly

flimsy one at that. But what's surprising to anyone listening nowadays is that blaming mince

pies was something that anyone would even think to try back in 1907. And if you think that's

surprising, well, we are just getting warmed up, because the mince pie is one of the least understood, most maligned, and sometimes subversive

Christmas traditions we have. And yet, it's still here. With its pastry crust and spiced and

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