I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing, the show where we search the nation's

news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

We begin in the text of Matun, Illinois. It's a small city and pretty quiet.

No major events or attractions to draw national attention.

Except for maybe the Burger King of Mattoon, a fast food restaurant that is 100%

not part of the famous franchise. In fact, Mattoon's fast food joint claims that it's the first,

the original, the King of Kings, established in 1952. The mass fast food chain

that we all know and tolerate didn't get going until 1954 and all the way down in Jacksonville,

Florida. The Matoon version, a mom and pop burger joint if there ever was one, eventually took the fast food giant to court.

And for once, the little guy won out, and gained the exclusive right to operate within a 20-mile radius of Matun.

Since its big win, this Burger King is legally allowed to call itself the original.

You can read all about it on the restaurant's website.

You can also check out the menu.

It promises the usual fare, plus something called a double hooter, and ice cream courtesy

of the Fridg Queen.

But perhaps, there is something else you should know about

Mattoon, Illinois. Eight years before the Burger King opened its doors, Mattoon's residents were

swept up in another story. In the waning summer of 1944, dozens of residents reported that they'd been

poisoned in their sleep.

They'd wake in distress, nauseated, vomiting, even experiencing partial paralysis, and their

bedrooms were heavy with a strange and acrid scent.

The first recorded incident was on August 31, 1944.

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