Truly Bizarre Deaths

Death is a part of every person’s life; in this article we explore ten of the strangest deaths that have occurred in recorded history.

1. Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) [Britannica]

Manner of death: Stuffing snow into a chicken

Francis Bacon; statesman, philosopher, creator of the English essay, and advocate for the scientific revolution (he established “The Scientific Method” still used today), was one of very few people to die as a result of one of their own experiments.

In 1625, whilst gazing out the window at a snowy afternoon, Sir Francis Bacon had an epiphany of sorts. Why would snow not work as preservative of meat in much the same way salt is used? Needing to know and unheeding of the weather, Bacon rushed to town to purchase a chicken, brought it home and began the experiment. Standing outside in the snow, he killed the chicken and tried to stuff it with snow. The experiment was a failure; the chicken didn’t freeze, and as a consequence of standing around in the freezing weather, Bacon developed a terminal case of pneumonia. Trying to stave off the inevitable, Bacon roasted and ate the chicken. That too was a failed experiment. He died.

2. Horace Wells (January 21, 1815 – January 24, 1848) [Britannica]

Manner of death: Used anesthetics to commit suicide

An American dentist, born in Vermont and educated in Boston, Horace Wells was one of the pioneers in the field of anesthesia. Weary of screaming patients, (it was known to upset him terribly, he often debated leaving the field of dentistry altogether), he was one of the first practitioners to see the value of nitrous oxide or laughing gas as an anesthetic.

After a failed experiment and falling out of favor with the medical community, Wells became a traveling anesthetic salesman and European expert for his former partner, Gardner Quincy Colton. His ‘investigations’ led to a chloroform addiction that would be his down-fall. In 1848, delirious and deranged after a week of self-experimentation, Wells ran into the street and assaulted two prostitutes with sulfuric acid. He was arrested and confined at New York’s infamous Tombs Prison. Recovering from the drug induced psychosis; the true horror of his actions came home to roost. Unable to live with this shame, Wells committed suicide by first inhaling a substantial dose of chloroform and then slitting his femoral artery.

3. Tycho Brahe (December 14, 1546 – October 24, 1601) [Britannica]

Manner of death: Didn’t get to the toilet in time

Famous as an alchemist and astronomer, Brahe’s pioneering observations of planetary motion paved the way for Sir Isaac Newton to develop the theory of gravity.

Unfortunately brilliance and common sense do not always go hand in hand, the manner of his death being the case in point. Known to have a weak bladder and knowing that it was very bad form to leave the banquet table before the festivities concluded, Brahe still neglected to relieve himself before dinner. To compound matters, he was known to drink excessively, and this particular banquet was no exception. Too polite to ask to be excused, his bladder strained causing a protracted (11 day), agonizing death. Whether he died of a burst bladder or hyponatremia (low levels of sodium in the blood) or mercury poisoning is now debated.

Note: this is very similar to an event in which a lady died recently in a competition entitled “Hold Your Wee for a Wii”. She died of hyponatremia.

4. Attila the Hun (406 – 453) [Britannica]

Manner of death: He got a nosebleed on his wedding night

History’s most brilliant tactician, warlord, and notorious villain, Attila the Hun conquered all of Asia by 450 AD. Using a combination of fierce combat and ruthless assimilation, Mongolia to the very edge of the Russian Empire fell to Attila and his armies.

Known for his frugal eating and drinking habits, Attila must have thought that his own wedding was an occasion to celebrate. Marrying a young girl named Ildico, in 453 AD; he over-indulged in both food and drink. Sometime after retiring for the evening, his nose started to bleed. Too drunk to notice, it continued to bleed, ultimately drowning him in his own blood.

5. Aeschylus (525 BC/524 BC – 456 BC) [Britannica]

Manner of death: An eagle dropped a tortoise on his head

Considered the founder of tragedy, Aeschylus is the first of the three ancient Greek playwrights whose work still survives. He expanded the characters of a play so that there was conflict between them instead of actors solely interacting with the chorus. Sophocles and Euripides famously followed in his footsteps.

While visiting Gela on the island of Sicily, legend has it that an eagle, mistaking Aeschylus’ bald pate for a stone, dropped a tortoise on his head killing him. Some accounts differ, stating that a stone was dropped on his head, the eagle mistaking his shining crown for an egg. This is not as far-fetched as it seems. The Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture is native to the Mediterranean, and is known to drop bones and tortoises on rocks to break them open.

6. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden (May 14, 1710 – February 12, 1771) [Britannica]

Manner of death: Eating too much pudding

Adolph’s Frederick was the titular King of Sweden from 1751 – 1771. The omnipotent Riksdag or senate held the reins of power despite Adolphus’ best efforts to wrest it from them.

Another victim of personal excess, Adophus Frederick is known by Swedish children as “the king who ate himself to death”. On February 12, 1771, after partaking of a banquet consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne he moved on to his favorite dessert, Semla, a traditional bun or pastry made from semolina/wheat flour, served in a bowl of hot milk. One or two portions would have been sufficient; 14 servings was excessive. He died shortly thereafter of digestion problems.

7. Grigori Rasputin (January 22, 1869 – December 29, 1916) [Britannica]

Manner of death: Drowning after being poisoned, shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned

The Mad Monk, Grigori Rasputin, was a peasant and mystic healer who found favor with the royal court of Russia by providing relief to Crown Prince Aleksey, a hemophiliac and heir to the throne.

Wielding much influence on the royal court, the unkempt, vulgar, and amazingly resilient Rasputin made many political enemies. He had to go; much easier said than done. The conspirators first tried poison, enough poison to kill a man three times his size, but he seemed unaffected. Next they snuck up behind him and shot him in the head. This should have done it, but no; while one of the assassins was checking his pulse, the mystic grabbed the conspirator by the neck and proceeded to strangle him. Running away, the would-be assassins took up the chase, shooting him 3 times in the process. The gunshots slowed him down enough to allow his pursuers to catch-up. They then proceeded to bludgeon him before throwing him in the icy cold river (Russian winter). When his body was recovered an autopsy showed that the cause of death was drowning.

8. Isadora Duncan (May 27, 1877 – September 14, 1927) [Britannica]

Manner of death: Strangulation and a broken neck

Isadora Duncan is widely considered as the mother of Modern Dance. Born in San Francisco, California, Dora Angela Duncan was the product of divorced parents; her father a disgraced banker and her mother and pianist and music teacher. Her free form style was never very popular in her home country, but she found great success after immigrating to Paris. She founded three schools of dance and her likeness is carved over the entrance to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Isadora Duncan died of a broken neck and accidental strangulation when her scarf caught on the wheel of a car she was traveling in. The New York Times, succinctly and brutally described it thusly:

“The automobile was going at full speed when the scarf of strong silk began winding around the wheel and with terrific force dragged Miss Duncan, around whom it was securely wrapped, bodily over the side of the car, precipitating her with violence against the cobblestone street. She was dragged for several yards before the chauffeur halted, attracted by her cries in the street. Medical aid was summoned, but it was stated that she had been strangled and killed instantly.”

9. Christine Chubbuck (August 24, 1944 – July 15, 1974) [Wikipedia]

Manner of death: Suicide on live TV

Christine Chubbuck was the host of “Suncoast Digest” a well regarded public affairs program on WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. Breaking format, her guest was waiting across the studio at the news anchor’s desk; Christine read eight minutes of national news stories before the tape reel malfunctioned while describing a shooting at the Beef and Bottle restaurant. Seemingly unfazed by the technical glitch, Christine looked into the camera and said:

“In keeping with Channel 40′s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.”

Taking a revolver out from under her desk, she placed it behind her left ear and pulled the trigger (she learned this was the most effective way to commit suicide from the police while researching a project for her show). She tumbled violently forward as the technical director slowly faded to black. Some viewers called 911 while others called the station to see if it was real. Camerawoman Jean Reed later stated that she didn’t believe it to be genuine until she saw Christine’s body twitching on the floor.

10. Sharon Lopatka (September 20, 1961 – October 16, 1996) [Wikipedia]

Manner of death: Volunteered to be tortured and murdered

Sharon Lopatka was an internet entrepreneur and one sick puppy. Living in Hampstead, Maryland, USA, Sharon was killed by Robert Frederick Glass in a case of consensual homicide.

While advertising unusual fetishist pornography on her web site, Sharon began her hunt for a partner willing to torture and kill her for their mutual sexual gratification. After many false starts, of course most replies were not serious, she finally found Robert Glass; more than willing to fulfill her fantasy. They exchanged many messages, culminating in their meeting in North Carolina. Glass tortured her for several days before strangling her with a nylon cord. He was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter and possession of child pornography.

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The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

The Seven Wonders of the World has historically been a listing of seven sites known to the Ancient Greeks as the most notable locales in their known world.

Since then, many have developed lists of the "modern" Seven Wonders of the World. The only list that really stands out and has stood the test of time for more than a decade is the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

1. Channel Tunnel

The American Society of Civil Engineers selected Seven Wonders of the Modern World, engineering marvels that exemplified the abilities of humans to construct amazing features on Earth. This seven-page document will guide you through these Seven Wonders of the Modern World and will describe each "wonder" and its positive impact.

The first wonder in alphabetical order is the Channel Tunnel. Opened in 1994, the Channel Tunnel is a tunnel under the English Channel that connects Folkestone in the United Kingdom with Coquelles in France. The Channel Tunnel actually consists of three tunnels: two tunnels carry trains and a smaller middle tunnel is used as a service tunnel. The Channel Tunnel is 31.35 miles (50 km) long, with 24 of those miles located under water.

2.CN Tower

The CN Tower, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a telecommunications tower that was built by Canadian National Railways in 1976. Today, the CN Tower is federally owned and managed by Canada Lands Company (CLC) Limited. As of 2012, the CN Tower is the world's third largest tower at 553.3 meters (1,815 ft). The CN Tower broadcasts television, radio, and wireless signals throughout the Toronto region.

3. Empire State Building

When the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931, it was the tallest building in the world - standing at 1,250 feet tall. The Empire State Building became an icon of New York City as well as a symbol of human success in to achieving the impossible.

Located at 350 Fifth Avenue (between 33rd and 34th Streets) in New York City, the Empire State Building is a 102-story building. The height of the building to the top of its lightning rod is actually 1,454 feet.

4. Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge, connecting the city of San Francisco with Marin County to its north, was the bridge with longest span in the world from the time it was completed in 1937 until the completion of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York in 1964. The Golden Gate Bridge is 1.7 miles long and about 41 million trips are made across the bridge each year. Prior to the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, the only mode of transportation across San Francisco Bay was ferry.

5. Itaipu Dam

Itaipu Dam, located on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, is the world's largest operating hydroelectric facility. Completed in 1984, the nearly five mile-long Itaipu Dam impounds the Parana River and creates the 110 mile-long Itaipu Reservoir. The electricity generated from Itaipu Dam, which is greater than the electricity generated by China's Three Gorges Dam, is shared by Brazil and Paraguay. The dam supplies Paraguay with more than 90% of its electrical needs.

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The Original Seven Wonders of the World

There has recently been a commotion around the world as a new 7 wonders were being voted on and selected. So, before everyone forgets the original list, this is the complete 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. The earliest extant copy of a list of the 7 Wonders comes from Antipater of Sidon from around 140 BC. What list site would be complete without the first famous list?

1. Great Pyramid of Giza [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 2650-2500 BC
By:The Egyptians

The great pyramid is the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) which he had built for his tomb. When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m (481 ft) high. Over the years, it lost 10 m (30 ft) off its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries, only to be surpassed in height in the nineteenth century AD. It was covered with a casing of stones to smooth its surface (some of the casing can still be seen near the top of Khefre’s pyramid). The sloping angle of its sides is 51 degrees and 51 minutes. Each side is carefully oriented with one of the cardinal points of the compass, that is, north, south, east, and west. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at any level, with each side measuring 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%.

Sadly, this is the only one of the seven wonders still in existence.

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 600 BC
By: The Babylonians
Destroyed: After 1st Century BC
Cause: Earthquake

The Hanging Gardens were located in what is now Iraq and Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for having built them. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubine who had been “brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings”.

Strabo and Philo of Byzantium saw the gardens and said this:

“The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway…”

“The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns… Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels… These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches… This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators”.

3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 550 BC
By: The Lydians, Persians, and Greeks
Destroyed: 356 BC
Cause: Arson

The Temple of Artemis was in the ancient city of Ephesus near the modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey. Those who saw it considered it to be the most beautiful structure on earth. The composer of the original list of 7 wonders said this: “But when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the [other Wonders] were placed in the shade, for the Sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside Olympus.”

The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated façade overlooking a spacious courtyard. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally over the whole platform area, except for the central cella or house of the goddess.

The temple housed many works of art, including four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by the finest artists at the time. When St Paul visited the city, the temple was adorned with golden pillars and silver statuettes, and was decorated with paintings. There is no evidence that a statue of the goddess herself was placed at the center of the sanctuary, but there is no reason not to believe so.

On the night of 21 July 356 BC, a man named Herostratus burned the temple to ground in an attempt to immortalize his name, which he did indeed. Alexander the Great was born the same night.

4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 435 BC
By: The Greeks
Destroyed: 5th-6th Centuries AD
Cause: Unknown

This is the statue of the god in whose honor the Ancient Olympic games were held. It was located on the land that gave its name to the Olympics. At the time of the games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods: Zeus.

The statue was so high that its head nearly touched the ceiling, giving one the impression that if he were to stand up, he would unroof the temple. It was so large that most descriptions that exist are of the throne and not the body or head of the god.

The Greek Pausanias wrote: On his head is a sculpted wreath of olive sprays. In his right hand he holds a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold… In his left hand, he holds a sceptre inlaid with every kind of metal, with an eagle perched on the sceptre. His sandals are made of gold, as is his robe. His garments are carved with animals and with lilies. The throne is decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory.

5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 351 BC
By: The Persians, and Greeks
Destroyed: 1494
Cause: Earthquake

This is another burial place (like the Great Pyramid) which was located in the city of Bodrum (Halicarnassus) on the Aegean Sea, in south-west Turkey. The structure was rectangular in plan, with base dimensions of about 40 m (120 ft) by 30 m (100 ft). Overlying the foundation was a stepped podium which sides were decorated with statues. The burial chamber and the sarcophagus of white alabaster decorated with gold were located on the podium and surrounded by Ionic columns. The colonnade supported a pyramid roof which was in turn decorated with statues. A statue of a chariot pulled by four horses adorned the top of the tomb.

The beauty of the Mausoleum is not only in the structure itself, but in the decorations and statues that adorned the outside at different levels on the podium and the roof. These were tens of life-size as well as under and over life-size free-standing statues of people, lions, horses, and other animals. The statues were carved by four Greek sculptors: Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus, each responsible for one side. Because the statues were of people and animals, the Mausoleum holds a special place in history as it was not dedicated to the gods of Ancient Greece.

6. Colossus of Rhodes [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 292-280 BC
By: The Hellenistic Greeks
Destroyed: 224 BC
Cause: Earthquake

The Colossus was located at the entrance of the harbour of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece. Contrary to popular believe, the statue did not straddle the harbour, it stood to its side. The project was commissioned by the Rhodian sculptor Chares of Lindos. To build the statue, his workers cast the outer bronze skin parts. The base was made of white marble, and the feet and ankle of the statue were first fixed. The structure was gradually erected as the bronze form was fortified with an iron and stone framework. To reach the higher parts, an earth ramp was built around the statue and was later removed. When the colossus was finished, it stood about 33 m (110 ft) high. And when it fell, “few people can make their arms meet round the thumb”, wrote Pliny.

Sadly the statue stood for a mere 56 years, but was so beautiful that it earnt its place in the seven wonders. We do not know what the statue looked like so only guesses can be made in attempts to draw it.

7. Lighthouse of Alexandria [Wikipedia]

Constructed: 3rd Century BC
By: The Hellenistic Egyptians
Destroyed: 1303-1480 AD
Cause: Earthquake

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located on the ancient island of Pharos, now a promontory within the city of Alexandria in Egypt. Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one had a practical use in addition to its architectural elegance: The Lighthouse of Alexandria. For sailors, it ensured a safe return to the Great Harbor. For architects, it meant even more: it was the tallest building on Earth. And for scientists, it was the mysterious mirror that fascinated them most. The mirror’s reflection could be seen more than 50 km (35 miles) off-shore.

Of the six vanished Wonders, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was the last to disappear. Therefore we have adequately accurate knowledge of its location and appearance. Ancient accounts such as those by Strabo and Pliny the Elder give us a brief description of the “tower” and the magnificent white marble cover. They tell us how the mysterious mirror could reflect the light tens of kilometers away.

The internal core was used as a shaft to lift the fuel needed for the fire. At the top stage, the mirror reflected sunlight during the day while fire was used during the night. In ancient times, a statue of Poseidon adorned the summit of the building.

Afterword

The descriptions of the Wonders used here is taken from the work of Associate Professor Alaa Ashmawy. and Listverse

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Urban Legends Debunked

We all love urban legends, we all love to hear them, and we all love to spread them. From dead animals, dead people, and the living dead, to animals in fast food, humans have an odd desire to be horrified by these tales. This is a list of 10 of the most famous urban legends that are still doing the rounds but are completely false.

1. Walt Disney’s Body is Cryogenically Frozen

The rumor tells us that Disney, who was well known for being a technical innovator, had his body put into a vat of liquid nitrogen upon his death so that he could be re-animated (har har) when scientists discovered the means. Some versions of the tale even tell us that Walt’s cryo-vat is hidden under the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in Disneyland!

Sorry to tell you, this is entirely false. On December 15, 1966, Walt Disney died of complications from the treatment he was receiving for lung cancer. Following Disney’s wishes, his family had him cremated (they have since confirmed this fact) and his ashes were interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, which you can visit to this day.

2. Santa Claus was invented by Coca-cola

In the 1930′s, Coca-cola was looking for ways to spread their burgeoning empire during the winter months – traditionally slow for soft drink sales. They hire Haddon Sundblom, a highly regarded commercial illustrator who proceeded to create a series of images of Santa Claus that associated him with coke. His drawings became a regular annual sight for the coca-cola corporation which helped to spur on the idea that they had conceived the image.

In fact, the red-suited jolly man was already a well established depiction of Santa Claus by the 1920s. The New York Times reported this in 1927: “A standardized Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardized, as are the red garments, the hood and the white whiskers. The pack full of toys, ruddy cheeks and nose, bushy eyebrows and a jolly, paunchy effect are also inevitable parts of the requisite make-up.”

3. McDonald’s Shakes are made from reconstituted animal fat

This rumour has been very popular on the internet and I even remember it from my own childhood. The belief was that the liquid poured into the milkshake machine (and the icecream machine) was reconstituted fat – either from pigs or chickens. I even witnessed the filling of one of the machines when I was a teenager and the colour and consistency did seem to give weight to the legend.

However, these days fast food restaurants like McDonald’s are required by law to make the full nutritional information of their products available to consumers. This is the complete list of ingredients in a McDonald’s shake: Whole milk, sucrose, cream, nonfat milk solids, corn syrup solids, mono and diglycerides, guar gum, vanilla flavour, carrageenan, cellulose gum, vitamin A palmitate. Admittedly some of these things sound a little weird, but they are all perfectly safe for human consumption and are not animal by-products. Incidentally, carrageenan is a type of seaweed (also called Irish Moss) – it is used to control freezing agents in the shakes – if it were excluded the milkshake would be a solid block.

4. Snuff films

I am almost certain that this one will cause a stir in the comments! The idea is that films are made (either because very wealthy people will pay for them, or sick people will make their own) in which a person is murdered in the course of filming. This legend probably piggy-backs on other rumours of cannibalism, necrophagia (if you don’t know what this means, don’t look it up – you will regret it), and necrophilia. In recent years it has been helped along by films such as 8mm (starring Nicholas Cage) which treats the subject as if it were fact.

But actually, the fact is, there has not once been a snuff film that has been found. Every time there is a report in the press about one, upon investigation it turns out to be false. There is even a one million dollar reward for anyone that can come up with a commercially sold snuff film. The reward has been on offer for many years now with no one ever stepping forward to claim it.

5. The most Holy religion of Jedi

Some years ago a strange rumour started to pass around the internet – the claim was that if enough people wrote “Jedi” as their religion on a census form, the government would be compelled to include it as an official religion on the next census. This first started with an English census in 2001, followed by an Australian one, and a New Zealand one in the same year.

Not only is it entirely false (as census departments have nothing to do with the wing of Government that could make this happen), but in Australia, and New Zealand, you can be fined $1000 for falsifying your census results. Not only do you risk a fine, but the census information is used to determine allocation of tax funds, so by lying people are doing other members of society a disservice.

6. Kentucky Fried Chicken name change

I should first state that I actually believed this urban legend! The legend is that Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC because they feared that the word “Fried” had negative connotations that were not good for marketing. (There was another ludicrious legend that surely no one would believe, it claimed that KFC were breeding super chickens to get more meat from them and by law they could not refer to them as Chickens because they were a new race of animal.)

As it turns out, Kentucky Fried Chicken were not concerned about bad publicity at all – in fact, the company has not given a specific reason for the name change. You may be interested to know that the company is now once again beginning to use the original name of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

7. Lemmings occasionally throw themselves from cliffs

This urban legend has quite an awful beginning; in the 1958 Disney documentary White Wilderness, a camera crew forced a group of lemmings off a cliff to document their supposed suicidal behaviour. The film was made in Canada and lemmings were brought in for the film after they were purchased from Eskimo children. The lemmings were filmed in a variety of artificial situations and then herded to a cliff where they were pushed to the edge to simulate a migration.

It is unknown whether Disney was aware of the behaviour of the film crew, but the fact remains, lemmings do not throw themselves from cliffs.

8. The Daddy Longlegs

For quite some time there has been a rumour spreading that the daddy longlegs spider is the most poisonous spider but is unable to kill humans simply because its fangs are not strong enough to pierce our skin. In fact, there is a small twist here – it is not possible for us to test the toxicity of the spider because of international codes of ethics and amnesty international (for some bizarre reason).

In reality, the most poisonous spiders are the Brown Recluse and the Funnel Web Spider.

9. Who invented the toilet?

Contrary to popular belief, it was not Thomas Crapper. Crapper is known to most as an ingenious Victorian plumber who came up with the idea of a flushing lavatory. The majority of this deceit comes from a book written in 1969 by Wallace Reyburn: Flushed with Pride: the Story of Thomas Crapper. This author also, interestingly, wrote The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra. Crapper was in fact a plumber, and he did take out a number of plumbing related patents in his time, but none was for the flush toilet.

In reality, Alexander Cummings is generally credited as being the inventor of this illustrious gadget, in 1775 (50 years before Crapper was born). Joseph Bramah and Thomas Twyford improved upon Cummings’ design by adding the ball-cock. Finally, the use of the term crapper for a lavatory is of unknown origin but is believed to have started out in America.

10. Made in USA, Japan

I am sure you have all heard this one: apparently the Japanese renamed a town in Japan to Usa so they could legally exports goods to the US and conceal their original place of origin. This legend was spurred on by the fact that in post-war American, Made in Japan became synonymous with cheap poorly made goods. It is, of course, ludicrous to think that American customs officially would simply shrug off the import of products that are clearly labeled to mislead.

An interesting addition to this tale is that Sony Corporation intentionally made their “Made in Japan” labels small so that American people would not realize that it was a Japanese company. A large number of Sony shipments were turned away by Customs officials because the labels were smaller than regulations required them to be.

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Adriana Lima : The Best Photo

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