March, 2004
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March
4, 2004 A man who lived in his own “zoo” of lizards and insects was fatally bitten by a pet black widow spider — then eaten by the other creepy-crawlies. Police broke in to Mark Voegel’s apartment to find spider Bettina along with 200 others, several snakes, a gecko lizard called Helmut and several thousand termites had gorged on his body. Neighbours alerted police after becoming alarmed by the stink. A police spokesman said: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa. Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth. There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles. Larger pieces of flesh torn off by the lizards were scooped up and taken back to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders." Loner Voegel, 30, never invited people back to his “jungle” home, a small apartment in the German city of Dortmund. Police described it as a cross between a botanical garden and the butterfly breeding ground in the serial killer movie The Silence Of The Lambs. One tarantula had built a nest the size of a swallow’s in a corner of the ceiling. Voegel also had a boa constrictor and several poisonous frogs from South America. Spider expert and animal cruelty officer Gabi Bayer said he kept creatures “that should never be allowed in a private home”. She said: “He had spiders so aggressive they are the equivalent of a pit-bull in the animal world.” The reptiles were allowed to roam free in the flat. The heating elements on two tanks containing spiders and their termite snacks had exploded and dislodged the metal tops allowing them to escape. Voegel is thought to have been dead for between seven and 14 days. A post-mortem will be carried out in the next few days. But authorities believe Bettina alone was responsible for Voegel’s death. Culled
from: The Sun ********************************************************************** Sure, blame it all on poor little Bettina! My question is... how did they know Bettina's name? Did she have a little collar with an ID tag or something? Anyway, this is a perfect example of why I dislike apartments. You just never know what the guy next door is up to!
******* Sorry for my disappearance over the last week. I was in Chicago for a few days and ran out of time to send out a proper notification. Yeah, yeah, yeah... don't give me that look! ******* Okay, flimsy excuse over... It's time to tally up the votes for Round Four of the Morbid Caption Contest. And the winners (advancing to the next round) are: "Tikes' Tender Tackle Turns Tantalizing Tidbits" (26%) and "...the other white meat." (24%) Thank you again for turning out to vote! We've only
two more rounds to go before the finals (yes, I really blew the timing
on this whole thing didn't I? Live and learn time again.) 1) "pooch pinches tiny tot's tallywhacker" 2) "taste test results are in: discerning pets prefer kosher babies!" 3) Ooooohhhhhhh 4) I heard it used for homework, but this kid's explanation to future sex partners will have to be "Sorry, my dog ate it." 5) "Go fetch the ball Sparky! No! Not that one!" 6) Bacon, Bacon, Baco....Penis, Penis Penis I Smell Penis. Announcing New Pen-os, it's what your dog wants. 7) Penis and bits, Penis and bits, I'm gonna get me some Penis and bits. 8) Dog eats bone, er -- never mind 9) Apparently the dogs return the passion for the Nunguda people. 10) "Glans Best Friend"
And to see the MFDJ that is the inspiration for this contest, please go to the January, 2004 archives and check out the January 6th fact: http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/morbid/archives/morb0104.htm ******* Ghastly! You may have seen some pictures going around the net of a supposed "gangbanger" who was crushed beneath the wheels of a semi-truck. Well, after a few months of suspense, our old reliable friend Snopes has found the story behind the images. If you're interested, have a gander: http://www.snopes.com/photos/gruesome/carjack.asp Thanks to o_coileain for the link. |
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March 7, 2004 Today's Ceremonial Yet Truly Morbid Fact! In Japan, the night before a funeral, the very close relatives hold a special ceremony called 'Otsuya' to farewell the body. They burn candles and incense and stay awake all night, just in case the person wakes up. Monks also visit to pray and give the person a Buddhist name. After the body has been cremated, relatives each take a bone with chopsticks and place it in a white pottery jar. This is done to send a message that the family has not abandoned the body. The voice box bone is a special bone because it is the shape of Buddha sitting in prayer. After 49 days the bones are moved to a gravestone at the cemetery. Culled
from: Death - The Last Taboo: Cremation ********************************************************************** If only I was semi-competent with chopsticks, I could do this with my Mother's bone fragments. Alas, it would not be a successful exercise, I fear... Oh, and while we're discussing Japanese rituals - Matt also warned against standing chopsticks up in a bowl of rice, as this is considered a symbol of death. Hmmmm, that just might be a good culinary addition to the next Halloween party... ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! This most excellent piece of morbid mirth was generously provided by b. What's 18 inches long and makes women scream? . Crib Death |
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March 8, 2004 Today's Evil Yet Truly Morbid Fact! On December 4, 2003 Congo health officials found themselves investigating the poison deaths of 64 people, allegedly from a potion used to ward off evil spirits. The Roman Catholic priest who allegedly administered the drink fled the village of Bosobe the previous week after people started falling ill. "It was some sort of oily substance, which was given to supposedly deliver them" from the spirits, Health Minister Yagi Sitolo said of the potion. No other information, including details on the priest and his whereabouts, was available from the remote region, 300 miles northeast of Congo's capital, Kinshasa. Many of Congo's 59 million inhabitants mix indigenous beliefs with those introduced by organized religions, such as Christianity and Islam. Culled
from: Associated Press ********************************************************************** I think Depeche Mode summed this one up quite well: "I
don't want to start any blasphemous rumors ******* Here's a follow-up on the "Chopsticks In Rice As Death Imagery" fact from yesterday, courtesy Jay (and thank you to everyone else who wrote with similar comments as well): "Just as a note, the chopsticks-thing is a general, Asian belief/superstition, stemming from Buddhist practices. Sticks of incense are burned in twos and protruding from a sand-filled brazier at a temple or, commonly, the earth before the grave of the deceased. Chopsticks, carelessly stuck straight into a bowl of rice mimics the characteristics of the funerary incense and the reminder of death while dining is considered extremely impolite."
******* My Brush With Morbidity by Traci "On
Memorial Day Weekend I persuaded my boyfriend to go to the outlet mall
about 30 minutes south of Austin... On the way "Since the exit was approaching, I decided to go ahead and ride the access road for the mile or so it would take. A bit further on, the access road went uphill as the highway proper went downhill. It was on this rise that the access road came about even with the accident. "Because I was uphill of the accident, and there was no traffic blocking my view, I saw quite a bit more than I bargained for. The SUV was by itself, facing south, roughly in the middle of the 3 lanes. The driver's door was sitting open. All around the site, and for many miles around, sheets of paper were floating and resting on the asphalt and grass. As we passed the vehicle itself, I got a fleeting glimpse of legs and a person sitting sideways in the driver's seat. I assumed at first that it was a man and I said aloud, "I wonder why they haven't put the guy in an ambulance. OH! That's why." Which of course engendered immediate curiosity in my 3 year old. We changed the subject and drove on. The person's head was covered with a short white sheet or towel that was soaked in blood. The lap was covered in blood and gore and it trickled down to pool on the pavement. "The (as we later discovered) woman was a teacher and had taken home papers to grade over the long weekend." Now, that's a great bit of strategic driving! Of course, I'm never that lucky... I always show up when the body has long been removed and is already cold in the morgue, and the tow truck is just starting to pull away from the scene. Such a pity... |
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March
10, 2004 In 1983 in the vicinity of Cheshire, England the skull of a bog woman was dug up. The find comprised an incomplete skull with some hair and the left eyeball intact. Living near Lindow Moss at the time was Peter Reyn-Bardt, whose wife had disappeared more than twenty years earlier. When the local police told Reyn-Bardt of the discovery of a skull, he promptly confessed to his wife's murder and was duly tried and convicted. The hapless husband would have been well-advised to remain silent, since Lindow Woman was subsequently dated at Oxford University to 210 AD, give or take eighty years. Culled from: Death: A History Of Man's Obsessions and Fears ********************************************************************** "Oh... Um... You know I was just kidding about that whole murder thing, right?" ******* My Brush With Morbidity by Kuhar "While living in Manhattan I had occasion to see a variety of rather morbid sights. One was within weeks of my move there. An elderly woman had been hit by a transit bus. Well, not so much hit: as it was approaching the bus stop and slowing down, the front bumper caught hold of her right torso and opened her up like a can-opener... There were some undentifiable organs that had spilled onto the street from her opened side... sort of like a broken pinata lying on the ground." Now, this one is really sad. Poor lady... One minute you're on your way to Bingo, the next you're spilling your candy all over the road... ******* Morbid Caption Contest! Okay, I think we're ready for the last of the first round eliminations for the latest Morbid Caption Contest (for the January 6th MFDJ - http://www.asylumeclectica.com/asylum/morbid/archive/morb0104.htm). But first, let's check out the two lucky winners from the fifth round: 1) I heard it used for homework, but this kid's explanation to future sex partners will have to be "Sorry, my dog ate it." - 20% 2) Penis and bits, Penis and bits, I'm gonna get me some Penis and bits. - 19%
1. "little nipper's nipper nicked by family pet" 2. "Bay Bee's Prepared Meat Sausages: Enjoyed by dogs in ALL countries" 3. I guess this is one dog who couldn't reach his own 4. Elderly dog subsides on baby food in cruel twist 5. It looks like bacon, it smells like bacon....bacon...bacon...BACON!!!! 6. "What am I, chopped liver?" 7. "Cocktail weiner" 8. HOT DOG!!!! Yummie!!! 9. "tale o' the pup that ate master's winkie" 10. "mutt steals family jewels" Please cast your vote at http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/morbid/ |
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March 12, 2004 Today's Putrid Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A recluse’s life ended in the same manner that he had lived - unnoticed. His overweight corpse lay unmoved in a bathtub full of water as nature took its course. His body went through the cycles of death: rigor mortis followed by the process of decomposition. His flesh began to shrivel and then bloat as gases escaped his decomposing body. Bloating of the flesh is normal after death but the water made the process significantly exaggerated. Weeks went by but still no one noticed. Every now and then a drop of water would wander out of the bathtub’s faucet and fall on his bloated body. Of course, the man’s neighbors would have no way to know what was happening, but the water had begun to pool, eventually flowing out of the tub. Water damage began to appear on the ceiling below. But water wasn’t the only thing leaking from the floor above. The man’s flesh had rotted away from the body with the water and had seeped in the same cracks that the water had, raining its putrid load on the unsuspecting occupants below. When crime scene cleaner Neal Smither reached the scene, the police and paramedics still hadn’t figured out how to get the body out of the tub. During the time the body had been allowed to rot, the flesh had expanded more and more, until it finally sealed the bathtub like a cork. “Their problem was that they couldn’t get their hands around him to strap him and yank him out of the tub,” remembers an amused Smither. The police needed Smither to help them poke a hole under the man’s collarbone. “We were then able to feed our water pump hose through the hole, turn it on and release the pressure which allowed the body to sag a bit and lift him out.” Culled
from: The Golden Gate [X]PRESS ********************************************************************** Well, now, if that doesn't cure the munchies, I don't know what will. <shudder> The rest of the article is quite fascinating, in a most disgusting way, as well. ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Here's a nifty trinket that was created for cigar smokers, but can easily be adopted as a nifty bit of morbid decor: http://www.noblecollection.com/catalog/product.cfm?id=NS9220&catid=0 It's very regal looking, isn't it? If you prefer the more peasant-variety guillotine, you may be interested in the one that I have sitting right in front of me at this very moment: |
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March 13, 2004 Today's Practical Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Officials in Botswana have reportedly urged people wanting to kill themselves to "use trees" and not trains. "If people want to commit suicide, they should use trees, not our trains," the country's minister of works and transport Tebelo Seretse said. "I am sick of these people who throw themselves in front of the trains. The drivers are people - why turn them into murderers?" she was quoted as saying. Train drivers in the diamond-rich southern African country often faced having to remove human body parts from their engines. Culled
from: The Sydney Morning Herald ********************************************************************** Now, why don't our officials come out with practical, sound advice like that? ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! You can thank Lara for this one. (Too bad I didn't use it for yesterday's fact - it would have fit perfectly with the bathtub theme.) What do you do if an epileptic has a fit in the tub? . Throw in your laundry! <crash!> |
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March 14, 2004 Today's decidedly explosive fact is dedicated to Nohemi, who claims to be the youngest list member. (Age withheld as it could incriminate me!) A belated happy birthday to you, Nohemi! Today's Explosive Yet Truly Morbid Fact! On May 13, 2000 approximately 100 tons of fireworks and other explosives detonated after a fire in the factory of S.E. Fireworks, situated in the middle of the working class housing estate of Mekkelholt in the northern Dutch city of Enschede. In a split second almost 400 houses were reduced to their foundations and another 1,000 damaged. Twenty-two people were killed and nearly 1000 were injured. In August, 2002 Andre De Vries was sentenced to 15 years for intentionally setting the blaze, and in April, 2002 the owners of S.E. Fireworks (Rudi Bakker and Wilhelm Pater) were convicted of importing and selling illegal fireworks, breaking safety codes and violating storage licenses. They were handed a six-month sentence. One of the 22 fatalities in the blast was cameraman Marcel van Nieuwenhoven, who had rushed to the scene and was filming the fire from a nearby rooftop when the largest blast occurred. Amazingly, the camera and video footage survived the vicious blast intact, and has been posted on the web. This is one compelling piece of video, especially the slow motion footage of the fatal explosion at the end. It's quite obvious that this was a blast he would not survive. http://www.media.ebaumsworld.com/index.php?e=fireworkfactory.wmv Information
culled from: CNN ********************************************************************** Here's a website with an image of Marcel: http://www.tvcameramen.com/newsroom/news08.htm . A lot of people in the forums I've seen (such as this one: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,8565743~mode=flat) call him "stupid" for staying on that roof, but I think it's always commendable when news reporters stay in the line of fire to capture what will eventually become amazing historic footage. I, for one, am quite happy that there are some people willing to put their personal safety on the line so that I can view footage like this. Or this amazing 9/11 documentation which was shot by photographer Bill Biggart who was killed when the second tower collapsed. His camera gear was discovered in the rubble and the photographs were amazingly intact. And here's
the link (ever-so-generously submitted by Abby): Another brave reporter giving his life for our morbid fascination. Let's have a few moments of silent contemplation for the sacrifice they both made for us. .
******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! This one's from young Nohemi. Q: What's pink and red and sits in four corners of a room? . .
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March 21, 2004 Today's Explosive Yet Truly Morbid Fact! In 1933,
workers renovating the Bank of England buildings in London uncovered
an unusually large lead box below the foundation. The 7 1/2-foot rectangular
container turned out to be a coffin. A metal plate identified the occupant
as "Mr. William Danl. Jenkins. Died 24 March 1798, Aged 31."
Researchers determined that Jenkins had actually been an employee of
the bank. The 6-foot-7-inch tall bank clerk was an unusually tall man
for the 18th century and was of particular interest to the medical community.
Several surgeons had offered to pay a reward of 200 guineas for his
corpse. To keep Jenkins safe from body snatchers, his friends and colleagues
decided the best place to deposit his remains was in the bank and they
obtained permission from the bank's directors to bury him on the premises.
The rediscovered remains were eventually moved to the Information
culled from: The Roots Web Weekly E-zine, 28 January 2004 ********************************************************************** Yes, I'm back... and faithfully so! ... at least until March 31 when I will be vacationing with my girlfriend for five days. I tell you, if I could just quit my job as a corporate slave and work on this exclusively, I'd be a much better newsletter writer! ******* Morbid Family Photo Album Du Jour! Jodie has sent me some photos he stumbled across in the family coffers, and Oh! such fascinating coffers! "I posted up pictures of my Great Grandfather's pathology class with their cadaver." And they are grand pictures, indeed! Please take a gander for yourself: http://www.geocities.com/j_osogood/CSR ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Now, here's a fun game inspired by Steve Irwin. See how many babies you can feed to the croc! http://www.zipperfish.com/free/games/crochunter.html Thanks to Geoff S. for sending this one my way ******* Tragedy Du Jour! This article by Nick Coleman about the burning death of a homeless man was forwarded to me by Helen. It's an interesting read, and puts into sharp perspective the tragedy of homelessness. IMHO, of course. http://www.startribune.com/stories/357/4372185.html |
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Today's Pestilent Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Bubonic Plague, aka the Black Death, was usually found in cities where rats were plentiful and the people lived in crowded conditions, all the better to hasten the spread of death. But occasionally, the disease wound its way into less populated areas. One such occurrence was in England in 1665, when a man went to the remote village of Eyam with a bundle of cloth from London. Unfortunately, the cloth was infested with plague-carrying fleas and the villagers began to get sick. At the urging of the local clergyman, the village completely isolated itself in a heroic effort to keep the sickness from spreading. As a result nearly everyone in Eyam died. Ironically, most of the inhabitants would have survived if they had followed their instincts instead, which was to flee at the first sign of the black death. Information
culled from: The Big Sleep
********************************************************************** Ghastly! Of course, if you keep up on the news, you have heard by now of the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of the Hamas Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization, who was killed during an Israeli airstrike, which will undoubtedly lead to retaliations by the Palestinians, and so the cycle of warfare continues unabated. But... I bet you didn't know that graphic photos of Yassin The Deceased can be found online, did you? Well, thanks to Gaby, now you do! (Not for the remotely squeamish... but then it wouldn't be in the "Ghastly!" feature if it was, would it?) http://www.alburaq.net/forum/thread.cfm?CFB=1&Tid=36516 ******* Follow-up Du Jour! Stephen has kindly forwarded me a link to an image of the coffin of William Daniel Jenkins, the star of yesterday's MFDJ, who was buried under the Bank Of England by friends to spare his body from anatomists of the day: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/walkthrough/stories2.asp |
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March 23, 2004 Today's Tyrannical Yet Truly Morbid Fact! In early times, Grecian states were ruled by 'tyrants' - wealthy men who seized power unconstitutionally. [Gee, sound familiar??? - Comtesse] Many centuries later, the Roman writer Valerius Maximus related a number of anecdotes that he had collected concerning the use of torture by these rulers. One victim was 'the virtuous Theodore', who suffered flogging, the rack, and branding with red-hot irons, without divulging the names of his fellow conspirators against the tyrant Hieronymos. Finally, he named Hieronymos's right-hand man, whom the tyrant immediately killed, in a fury, before he realized he had been deceived. Information
culled from: The
History of Torture ********************************************************************** Hmmmmmmm... I wonder if that would work with Karl Rove? ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Elizabeth has forwarded one of the funniest Ebay items ever. You gotta love this one! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3183459250&category=20898 ******* Bad Epileptic Joke Du Jour! Colin offers up this one: What do you call it when an epileptic falls in your lettuce patch? . Seizure Salad. ******* Ghastly! Since I know how much you all loved those pics of the Hamas leader's bits and pieces, I thought I'd share another gore-ific set of pictures. Not quite AS gore-ific, but then few pictures are! These are some tabloid photographs from Thailand, courtesy our friend Alf: |
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March 25, 2004 Today's Deep-Seated Yet Truly Morbid Fact! On July 3, 1968, a man climbed onto the roof of the lavatory in the children's playground in Central Park, New York, and began firing at random: an eighty-year-old man and a twenty-four-year-old girl were killed before the sniper was shot by the police. He turned out to be a Bulgarian immigrant "with a deep-seated hatred of communism" that seems to have turned into a deep-seated hatred of American society. Information
culled from: The
History of Murder ********************************************************************** Okay, am I the only one out there who thinks that you don't really need to have some fancy philosophical reason for wanting to shoot up Central Park? I mean, the last time I was there, after nearly getting run over by several rollerblading youth, it really did seem like the *sensible* thing to do... ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Princess Darlene forwards a link to a wonderful site which has the best collection of Death Masks I've ever seen. Fascinating stuff! |
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March 28, 2004 Today's Obsessive Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A computer game addict in western China collapsed and died at his screen after playing the popular online game Saga non-stop for 20 hours. The 31-year-old began playing the game regularly at an internet cafe in Chengdu, Sichuan province, three months before his death, according to the South China Morning Post. An employee at the cafe said he would play for more than 10 hours a day and was found dead on Saturday morning, March 6, 2004, after a marathon 20-hour session. Information
culled from: The
Age ********************************************************************** Do you think it's a bad sign that I'm sitting here thinking, "What a wuss! ONLY 20 hours and he *died*??? I can understand a sore back, maybe... " Some people just don't have the stamina for the internet. I had an interesting little morbid experience today. My siblings and I went to a favorite picnicking spot of my Mom's to spread some of her ashes among the wildflowers that she loved. Of course, I was the one doing the spreading, being the only one willing to touch the ashes. As I was spreading some ashes alongside the creek, a wind gust ended up blowing her back into me... and I think I inhaled some of Mom accidentally. I brushed her off my clothes and continued on as if nothing had happened. Actually, it didn't bother me at all... It's my Mom, after all... It was kind of comforting in its own way. (Luckily, I don't think my siblings saw... or they might have been grossed-out. Weirdos...) ******* Morbid Word Du Jour! Miss Jukes sends another great morbid Oxford Word Of The Day our way. Memorize this and impress (or distress) all your friends! pollinctor (From http://www.askoxford.com/) |
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March 30, 2004 Here's the lastest in what appears to be a disturbing new hobby among Asian men... Today's Lucky Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A Cambodian man cut off his penis when he said he was visited by four hungry spirits in a dream and he had no chicken or duck to offer them. Thirty-three-year-old Soun Ney told the spirits to go away when they first appeared to ask for food, and waved his penis at them in defiance. "Devils, I don't have any chicken or duck for you," he was quoted as saying by local police chief Phoeung Vat. "If you want to eat anything, you can eat my penis." Soun Ney said the spirits agreed to eat his penis. He was rushed to a hospital near the capital Phnom Penh after he castrated himself with a butcher's knife. "He is lucky to be alive," Phoeung Vat told Reuters. Villagers in the deeply impoverished southeast Asian traditionally offer chicken, duck or cake to the spirits of the dead to ward off bad luck. Information
culled from: Reuters ********************************************************************** It doesn't say whether he was asleep or awake when he cut off the penis... but in either event, I think it might be wise for you sleep-walking guys to start locking up the knives at night. Because you just never know when the hungry spirits will visit you! ******* I'm sorry to say that I'm going away for a few days to spend time along the misty, rocky shore and within the mesmerizing arms of the redwood forest with my very special someone. I shall be back on Monday to torment you all. I know it's disappointing, but please, lock up the razor blades! I shall return. But before I leave, here's something to cheer you up... ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! It's rare that a flash short can make the usually dour Comtesse chuckle, but this one did just that. Thanks to Sherry for sending the link my way. |
