Category:
Death

Struck by falling dog

I posted a few days ago about a woman who was struck by a sheep that fell off a bridge. Here's a similar (but fatal) case of a motorcyclist hit by a dog that fell off a bridge.

So, while I knew that people being hit by falling humans is a recurring phenomenon, evidently so is people being hit by falling animals.

Rapid City Journal - July 18, 1993

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 27, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Accidents, Death, Dogs, 1990s

Snake As Tourniquet

I find only three instances of this useful and innovative technique in all my searching. But surely there must be more...?








Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 26, 2023 - Comments (6)
Category: Death, Hobbies and DIY, Medicine, Reptiles, Snakes, Worms and Other Slithery Things, 1950s, 1990s

True Crime Podcast on Vinyl

Well, not exactly, but close enough. Use embedded player below.

History of the case here.










Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 25, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Crime, Death, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, United Kingdom, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century

The Doomsday Will of Maurice Dekobra

According to Wikipedia, during the 1920s and 30s Maurice Dekobra was probably the best-known French writer in the world. His most famous book was La Madone des Sleepings (The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars), which according to its Amazon blurb is "one of the first and most influential spy novels of the twentieth century."

I hadn't heard of it. This is probably because (again according to Wikipedia) by the 21st Century Dekobra had become a "total unknown."

In 1945, while Dekobra was still near the height of his fame, he drew up an unusual will. He left his entire library of 17,000 books as well as his art collection to the town of Papeete in Tahiti. He did this because he figured that big cities such as Paris and London would probably soon be destroyed by nuclear bombs. But Papeete might survive. Therefore, so might his books.

Dekobra ended up living until 1973. I haven't been able to find out if, by that time, he had changed his will, or if Papeete ever got his books.

Los Angeles Times - Oct 3, 1945



Dekobra in 1965 holding some of his books

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 15, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, Books

Cremation Bed

Use it as a couch, a bed, or a coffin.

Available from dögg design.









via bookofjoe

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 09, 2023 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Furniture

Unlikely Reasons for Murder No. 14

Source: The Monitor (McAllen, Texas) 02 Nov 1960, Wed Page 1

"I was sick and tired of having to ask for every nickel from my wife," was the reason retired film producer James Howlett gave Glendale police for trying to hire a man to murder his 78-year-old wife.




Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 02, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, Stupid Criminals, Husbands, 1960s

Follies of the Madmen #566

Our syndicated TV show is comparable to the deadliest weapon known to mankind.

Posted By: Paul - Tue May 30, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Destruction, Humor, Television, Advertising, Children, 1950s, Weapons

Kicked To Death By A Camel

According to the article "Camel-Related Deaths" in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology:

Deaths associated with camels involve kicking, stomping, kneeling or sitting on a victim, or biting and shaking and throwing. Lethal mechanisms include hemorrhage from vascular injuries and internal organ disruption, crush asphyxia, and blunt craniospinal injuries. Death may also follow falls from camels or vehicle collisions.

Some searching for examples of camel-related deaths led me to discover a book with the oddball title, Kicked To Death By A Camel, published in 1973.



The author, Clarence J.L. Jackson, was a pseudonym for Richard W. Bulliet, a history professor at Harvard (and later Columbia University). On his Amazon page he writes:

My first novel, Kicked to Death by a Camel, was nominated for an Edgar in the category of Best First Mystery. Some readers have maintained that the best thing about it was the title. Neither Kicked to Death nor any of my subsequent novels, most recently Chakra and The One-Donkey Solution, met much commercial success, but they enabled me to make stories out of my personal experiences, mostly during travels to the Middle East.

Sounds like it could be a fun read. If you're interested, you can either buy a used copy or check it out via archive.org.

Shreveport Times - Sep 23, 1973

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 22, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Death, Books, 1970s

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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.

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