Death
4-way Suicide
"Wearied of a life of egg frying," the unfortunate Jim Smith decided to end it all. But despite trying to torch, hang, poison, and shoot himself simultaneously, his plan didn't succeed.I'm skeptical that this ever happened. It sounds like the kind of thing reporters used to make up to pad newspaper columns. From The Seattle Star - March 24, 1922. (via Weird Shit in Historic Newspapers)
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 27, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Death, Suicide, 1920s
Vincent Price and the Occult
Why don't the occult masters ever reveal anything useful, like winning lottery numbers?
Source is here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 26, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Death, Delusions, Fantasies and Other Tricks of the Imagination, Superstition, 1970s
The Coldest Case
It appears that the 126 year old cold case of Jack the Ripper has been solved by DNA testing. A shawl that was alleged to have been found next to Catherine Eddowes, one of the Ripper's victims, carries mitochondrial DNA profiles from both Eddowes' line and the familial line of one of the Ripper suspects. Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski, who subsequently spent his later years in mental asylums, lived in the area of the killings, and was a suspect, left his DNA behind on a bloody shawl. That shawl turned out to be a time capsule for justice.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 19, 2014 -
Comments (9)
Category: Crime, Death, Evil, Science, Historical Figure, Seventeenth Century, Blood
A Singular Will
Source: Notes and Queries, Nov 6, 1858.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 13, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Law, Nineteenth Century
Death by Parrot
It sounds like the parrot had it in for Mrs. Fannie Stewart. Source: Los Angeles Times, Sep 25, 1947.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 10, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Death, 1940s
Woman Swallowed by Escalator
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 28, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Death, Technology, 1980s
Bite The Hand That Eats You
A chef was killed by a bite from the disembodied head of an Indonesian spitting cobra. He had decapitated it 20 minutes earlier in preparation of a local dish. They say not to bite the hand that feeds you, the hand that eats you is another thing apparently.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 24, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Restaurants, Screwups, Goofs and Screw-ups
Death by Ejection Seat
You know how in cartoons and comedy movies, a person will accidentally employ an ejection seat and go for a thrill ride through the air, only to land safely...?
Not what really happens.
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 22, 2014 -
Comments (13)
Category: Accidents, Death, Flight, 1980s
Funeral Potatoes
The dish that most people in America know as potato casserole is referred to by Mormons as "funeral potatoes." Because it's customary for Mormons to serve this potato dish at funerals. The logic, I suppose, is that it's comfort food. Wikipedia says that the typical ingredients of funeral potatoes are: "hash browns or cubed potatoes, cheese (cheddar or Parmesan), onions, cream soup (chicken, mushroom, or celery) or a cream sauce, sour cream, and is topped with butter and corn flakes or crushed potato chips."
Funeral potatoes are one of a number of foods specifically associated with funerals in some cultures. Another example, previously mentioned here on WU, is Yorkshire Funeral Biscuits. And the Amish have a dish they call Funeral Pie, which is a raisin pie.
There must be other funeral-specific dishes, but I haven't yet found them.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 11, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Death, Food
To Prevent Burial Alive
Source: The Western Gazette (Apr 15, 1905)
A LADY'S REMARKABLE REQUEST.
"Pray come immediately: Miss Cobbe seriously ill." A telegraph form bearing this message and addressed to Dr. Walter R. Hadwen, of Gloucester, was always kept upon the desk of the late Miss Frances Power Cobbe.
Miss Cobbe had a dread of being buried alive, and Dr. Hadwen, who arrived after she had passed away, superintended the carrying out of the solemn charge laid upon her medical attendant in her last will and testament.
This charge was "To perform on my body the operation of completely severing the arteries of the neck and windpipe so as to render any revival in the grave absolutely impossible."
Here's the wikipedia entry about the woman in question, though it doesn't mention her postmortem request.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 10, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Death, 1900s
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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 |