Death
Died Twice
July 1974: Venezuelan fisherman Ramon Rivera Rodriguez woke up, looked around himself, realized he was in a coffin at his own funeral, and promptly had a heart attack and died. His relatives subsequently demanded action against the doctor who had incorrectly pronounced him dead the first time.I can't find any more info and the life and double death of Ramon Rodriguez, beyond the wire story that ran in papers in July 1974. The same story, containing identical details, also ran in Spanish-language papers.
South China Morning Post - July 29, 1974
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 16, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, 1970s
Great Poker Face
The idea of propping up corpses in true-to-life poses at funerals is something we've seen before here at WU. For instance, in 2008 there was Angel Pantoja Medina "standing tall at his funeral," and in 2014 I posted about the corpse of Miriam Burbank sitting at a table at her funeral, smoking a menthol cigarette.The latest news story along these lines involves Puerto Rican poker fanatic Henry Rosario Martinez, whose friends posed his corpse sitting at a poker table, so they could enjoy one last game with him. More info at NY Daily News.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 12, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death
Objected to taking out trash
One for the weird death file. The tragic case of Jamella Jackson, age 12.
Cincinnati Enquirer - Feb 15, 1985
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 31, 2016 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death, 1980s
Death By Condom Machine
Three men decided to boost a condom machine and blow it open to get at the condoms, and presumably, the money inside. They set up the blast and ran to their vehicle for cover. Unfortunately the last guy in the car did not get his door shut in time and was struck in the head by a piece of the machine when it blew up. He later died at the hospital, Darwin Award.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 28, 2015 -
Comments (15)
Category: Accidents, Goofs and Screw-ups, Crime, Stupid Criminals, Death
Changed name for fortune
1954: Grizel Thomson changed her last name to Inge, and as a result inherited $3,500,000. In 2015 money, according to the inflation calculator, that would be about $30 million. Not bad for a name change.I can't find any recent info about the Inge fortune, and whether possession of that last name is still required to get the money.
Kansas City Times - Jan 29, 1954
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 28, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Death, Money, 1950s
Murdered by Human Wolves
In Oklahoma's Konawa Memorial Cemetery stands the gravestone of Katherine Cross (Mar. 13, 1899 - Oct. 10, 1917), which bears the mysterious epitaph, "Murdered by human wolves."
This has generated all sorts of local legends, and it's also inspired a novella by Steven Wedel, Murdered by Human Wolves (The Werewolf Saga).
The most likely explanation is that she died as a result of a botched abortion operation, and that the mysterious phrase was meant to be metaphorical. But still, cool epitaph!
More info: wikipedia, 405 magazine
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 26, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, 1910s
Human Resurrection Company
A new Australian company, Humai, has an ambitious goal. It wants to make people immortal. From its "vision" statement:
So, you see, they'll use "artificial intelligence," "nanotechnology," "multiple sensor technologies," and "cloning." Simple.
If this company had been founded 100 years ago, they would have used buzzwords like "electro-galvanic processes" and "radium power." And they would have had about the same chances for success as today.
via TechRadar.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 30, 2015 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 26, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Death, Food, Holidays, 1920s
Corpse by Mail
Original article here.
Was she found innocent or guilty?
The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 22, 2015 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, 1950s, Postal Services
Carnivorous Buffaloes
Nothing much about California has really changed since this 1849 warning, has it?
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 21, 2015 -
Comments (10)
Category: Death, Hillbillies, Country Bumpkins, Ruralism and Flyover Country, Rants, Warnings, Jeremiads, Prophecies and Cassandra-like Figures, Regionalism, Nineteenth Century
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |