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Leach, an English circus performer, was no stranger to danger as he was the second person and the first male ever to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel in 1911. He was able to earn a decent living giving an account of his harrowing experience in vaudeville shows and posing for pictures with his barrel. During a promotional tour in New Zealand in 1926, Leach slipped on an orange peel, severely injuring his leg in the process. The injury became infected and subsequently turned gangrenous, necessitating the amputation of his leg. In spite of the radical procedure, he still died of complications that developed afterwards.

Alexander Bogdanov (1873 - 1928): Death from Obsession for Eternal Youth

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In 1924, Bogdanov, a Russian philosopher, revolutionary, author and physician, started playing with the idea of achieving eternal youth or at least partially reverse the aging process through blood transfusion. After undergoing about a dozen transfusions himself, Bogdanov was pleased to note the positive changes occurring in his body, such as better eyesight, less falling hair and improved skin tone. A friend even commented to his delight that he looked ten years younger after the procedure. He lost his life in 1928 when he was transfused with blood of a student suffering from tuberculosis and malaria.

Henry Winstanley (1644 - 1703): Death from Overconfidence

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Winstanley was an English engineer who built the very first Eddystone lighthouse to help protect sea vessels from the treacherous Eddystone Rocks near Plymouth. So great was his confidence in the soundness of his lighthouse design that he even went to the point of wishing to be inside it during "the greatest storm there ever was." Well, he got what he wanted. Winstanley perished along with five other occupants when the tower completely collapsed on November 27, 1703, during the Great Storm of that year. He was visiting that very night to do some repairs.

Kurt Gödel (1906 - 1978): Death from Paranoia

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Gödel, Austrian-born American mathematician and philosopher, suffered frequent bouts of mental illness and instability in later life. He had an abnormal fear of being poisoned, and would not eat of his food unless his wife Adele first tasted them. So when his wife was hospitalized late in 1977 for six months, he refused to eat in her absence and eventually starved himself to death. He weighed only 65 pounds when he died.

Vic Morrow (1929 - 1982): Death by Helicopter Rotor Blades

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Morrow was an American actor and director best known for his work on the 1960's hit television series "Combat." Morrow died on the set of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" while shooting the scene wherein he and two children were running from the pursuing helicopter. The special firework explosions caused the helicopter to spin out of control and crashed on three of them. Morrow and one of the children were decapitated by the blades while the other child was crushed beneath the helicopter's landing skid.

Ray Chapman (1891 - 1920): Death by Baseball

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Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was struck dead by a baseball pitch. In those days, baseball pitchers purposely misshaped the ball by dirtying, scratching and cutting it before it was thrown it at the batter to render it difficult to see. On August 6, 1920, Carl Mays of the New York Yankees pitched such as ball so hard smashing it into Chapman's skull, which created a sound so loud that Mays imagined it hit the end of Chapman's bat, so he fielded the ball and tossed it to first base. Chapman died 12 hours later in a hospital.

Horace Wells (1815 - 1848): Death by Anesthesia

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Wells was an American dentist who pioneered the use of anesthesia, particularly nitrous oxide (or laughing gas), in the field of dentistry. Wells became increasingly addicted to chloroform while testing various gases for their anesthetic properties. One day in 1848, he got himself arrested and put in prison for spraying two women with sulfuric acid in his delirium. As the effects of the drug began to subside, he was told of the gruesome act he had committed. In despair, he committed suicide by slashing a major artery in his leg after anesthetizing himself with chloroform to block the pain.

Martha Mansfield (1899 - 1923): Death by Matchstick

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While working as the lead actress on the film "The Warrens of Virginia," the 24-year-old Mansfield suffered serious burns to her body when her Civil War costume of hoopskirts and ruffles was accidentally set on fire by a lit matchstick thrown away by a smoking cast member. Her leading man, Wilfred Lytell, threw his topcoat over her to put out the fire while her chauffeur got his hands badly burned in his attempt to remove her blazing clothing. Despite the efforts to save her, she died less than twenty four hours after being rushed to a hospital.

Jim Fixx (1932 - 1984): Death by Jogging

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Fixx, the author of the 1977 best selling book "The Complete Book of Running," was credited for popularizing the sport of running/jogging. He emphasized the health benefits of regular physical exercise and how it can significantly add to a person's longevity. Even though he lived what he preached, Fixx died at the relatively young age of only 52 from a massively fatal heart attack during one of his daily run. An autopsy revealed that one of his coronary arteries was almost 100% clogged, a second 85% obstructed and a third 70% blocked; and that he had three other attacks in the week prior to his death.

Allan Pinkerton (1819 - 1884): Death from Tongue Bite

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Pinkerton, a Scottish detective, was best known for establishing the very first detective agency in the United States, the Pinkerton Agency, and for introducing innovative investigative techniques still very much in use today, such as "assuming a role" (undercover work) and "shadowing" (suspect surveillance). In June 1884, Pinkerton bit his tongue as he stumbled on a sidewalk in Chicago, but did not immediately sought treatment. His tongue injury developed into an infection that caused his death a week later.

Probably you might want to click on the following links to further satisfy your cravings for the unusual, strange and bizarre.

• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History
• Intriguing Email Stories Relating to Health and Medicine
• Unusual Wills and Testaments
• Premature Obituaries
• Premature Obituaries 2

Whether you’re a cork sniffer, panty sniffer, or consider yourself a connoisseur of any other type of odor, sniffing your way to a better America ain’t all that easy. In spite of the fact that our founding fathers declared that all men are created equal and have the right to the pursuit of happiness, we seem reluctant to describe our true feelings after sniffing at our pleasure, at our wont, at our leisure and at our discretion. Not to worry.

Every time a certain guy walks into a room, everyone knows he’s there. Wherever he goes, he attracts people. They  like him and always have, ever since he was a kid. She was always “Miss Popularity.” She always got what she wanted, because she had a magic way of making  people want to be near her. Charisma? Universal charm?. Is it looks? Is it a certain inbred self confidence?  You’re attracted to a certain stranger. Someone keeps following you and won’t let you alone. Two strangers meet and are instantly attracted. Many scientists believe that pheromones can be responsible. Only your nose knows.

Smells come to us in all waves, forms, sizes and intensities. We experience “people” smells all day without actively seeking them. Certain scents present themselves as reminders of the past. Certain odors help us fanaticize about the future and some are so overpowering that they virtually tumble into our lives and linger forever. There is the scent of new-mown grass, the after-odor of gunpowder and the ever familiar reminder - summer has passed and autumn is on the way – the odor of burnt leaves.

And then there is the smell of love and lovemaking. It brings you into a world of fantasy and pleasure – unforgettable – even after the affair is finished. Remember your first love? There was a smell there, a first time for you, one you’re always trying to reproduce while traveling your love-journey through life. The intimate smell of lipstick, makeup, sweat and sex. Then it was the best smell. You’ll never forget it. Snippets of it appear from time to time, and until you die, you will try relive that first time. You loved it then and you love it now.

Then there are everyday smells: Fish smells, paint smells, fuel smells, the smell of decay, hydrogen sulfide – rotten egg smells, the smell of cooked bacon, human flatulence, dog flatulence, flatulence in general and flatulence in specific. Think about how mom’s apple pie used to surround you with pleasure, and the thrill of  a “new-car” smell. Think about the smell of clean sheets and the smell of school when you were a kid. Think about how the odor of cigarette smoke as well as how the aroma of the “best grass east of the Mississippi” used to turn you on. You can smell a Mexican neighborhood, Russian apartment house and a Polish kitchen. You know it’s Italian when  you smell it, and you can find your way to a Chinese restaurant in any city in the country. What’s that smell in the air after a thunderstorm?

There are street smells – carbon monoxide, factory smoke, burnt fat from the grill of a restaurant or bar, and the raunchy smell of garbage as it swelters in a pile on a hot summer day. There are office smells and orifice smells - the smell of floor wax and furniture polish and the smell of a window after it’s been washed. Don’t forget the scent of people in a crowded elevator, a mixture of perfume, aftershave, sweat,  and breath. Musks – some biological – some man or woman made, and others of undetermined origin are churned into this mixture, making you want to get to your office floor and finally breathe some “fresh” air. Some are attractive, and it scares you that you don’t know why.

Smell is an irrepressible sense. You can’t contain an odor. It can escape and travel wherever it wants to go. Close your eyes, stop-up your ears, numb your skin, cover a bad taste with a good taste or spit disgusting things out; but you MUST breath to stay alive. Some say smells “intrude” upon our bodies and against our will, and for this reason are extremely difficult to forget.. You may forget a bland movie, but remember the odour of the person in the seat next to you, for some years to come.

Feminine intuition isn’t just a myth. Some experts maintain that women have a better developed sense of smell then men.  This could be due to, what many believe, is a “genetic predisposition” to react  to the nurturing instinct – the smell of a baby, the smell of impending harm to an offspring, and the smell of unrequited fear when about to be attacked. This could account for a heightened sense of detecting nuances and undertones during very intimate situations, when whiffs and odours of various intensities fill the air.

Let’s face it, out of  all the kinds of smells on earth, there are really only two kinds: smells you like, and smells you don’t like. Even more interesting, is that each person has her or his  own personal idea of likeable or distasteful smells.  There have been arguments about smell, scientific studies about smell, treatises about smell and even speeches about smell. There have been books about smell and stories about smell. The discussions, definitions and characterizations about cranial nerve I are incalculable.

Smelling is something more than just sniffing. It mirrors emotions and creates them at the same time. It brings back memories. It can warn of an impending disaster, and can be a major ingredient in the cocktail of emotions leading to sexual arousal. You can almost sniff the sometime odor of hostility.. There is the terrifying smell of fear.  Some say that they can detect an odor of falseness or  unbelievability. A baby has a certain smell and the elderly seem to have a halo of almonds surrounding them.

Anatomy of a smell

What makes a smell, a smell?  Obviously, it takes at least two things:  The aroma, which is actually a mixture of chemicals wafting through the air; and the nose: the schnozzla, the sniffer, the nasal protuberance, the honker. Anatomically speaking, the nose houses the nostrils or nares that admit and expel air for respiration. It sticks out from the face for a reason – so that it can be the first to tell the brain about outside threats, dangers, the whereabouts of food, and of course, where the boys and girls are, as well as who is a boy and who is a girl.  The act of reproduction begins here.

Whether you like a smell or despise it, all a smell or odor is, is an intermingling of chemical molecules that form a cocktail of sorts. This arises or wafts into space,  is carried by air currents and received – in humans – by the nose. Since the body depends on the nose for breathing (along with the mouth), its nostrils are always open. The lungs rely on these nostrils to enable breathing and bring in oxygen so that they can supply it to the body along with carbon dioxide and a host of other gaseous components. We call these  varyingr mixtures of chemical molecules, smells. Molecular mixtures are sensed by nerve endings  in the nose and sent to the brain for interpretation.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, in an attempt to compete with newfangled television that was stealing movie audiences, producer Mike Todd developed Smell-O-Vision. However, only one such show ever made it to a movie theater. It utilized an idea developed by a German movie technician, Hans Laube. The idea involved rigging each theater seat with hollow tubes that upon an electronic signal, could transmit various scents during crucial movie scenes. This could involve the scent of flowers during a romantic scene or the smell of gun smoke during a battle scene. It never caught on, due to the fact that removal of one scent before another could be released, was next to impossible.

No discussion about smells would be complete without taking about Sissel Tolaas, a lady who says that she can “smell” her daughter when she’s happy. She describes herself as  neither an artist nor a chemist. She defines herself as a “smell educator.” She says that there are no such things as “good smells” or “bad smells.” She maintains that the “smell of fear” is separate and apart from the ordinary “sporting sweat smell.” She maintains that she can “smell” people who have fear, and has – in fact – bottled that odor. For example: She collected armpit samples of sweat from men who had extreme phobias and fears of other human beings. These smells were incorporated into a “touch and sniff” product, and painted on the wall in an exhibition, entitled “FEAR,” shown at MIT and other institutions around the world.

Can you smell fear, aggression or hate? Forget touching a wall. Can you really smell when you’re in danger?  Some, like Sissel Tolaas, say that you can, and this may be an important factor in saving your life some day. According to an elephant research project in Kenya, we know that by smell alone an elephant can distinguish a threatening human from one who means no harm.

Due to lack of the ability to speak, animals evolved certain sensitivities that enabled them to “talk” to each other in other ways.  One of the primary reasons is and was to promote reproduction. By exuding certain chemicals, the female can signal to a male that she is available to reproduce the species. Smell also helps an animal to survive. An animal can sense the presence of another for protection purposes or as a defense. Most of the scientific world today agrees that these mechanisms exist in human beings, today.

There are strange, biological chemicals that, when emitted, relate directly to sex. Called

“pheromones,” they seem to act by binding to protein receptors in the nose. Once the

brain recognizes them, they elicit a sexual response. It seems that the same pheromones

that provide a perfect attraction  between one set of  individuals, can repulse  and even

suggest fear. These pheromones are complex compounds, and in humans appear in body

fluids such as sweat, nasal, mouth and vaginal secretions, and even urine.

In addition, smell is taste. The 1st cranial nerve, or the olfactory nerve (projections of the olfactory bulb), goes through  the ethmoid bone of the skull, and serves as the sensor or receiver of smell. It is a sensory nerve, only, as opposed to several of the other cranial nerves that also serve other functions. When you pinch your nose and disarm cranial nerve I, there is no taste. Kids know that “holding” their noses allows them to take all sorts of evil smelling and tasting concoctions foisted upon them by the adult world. Not being able to smell is called anosmia..  If you experience anosmia, you will also experience ageusia. the inability to taste. Many things can cause this – from pinching the nose to temporary blockage by a sinus infection, or a head injury. While it’s only a trivial problem for some, for others, it can have a serious effect on life and survival.

The nose knows

Who can forget what is possibly the world’s most famous defense of the nose?

Valvert: Your nose is . . . very big.
Cyrano: Yes, very.
Valvert: Ha!
Cyrano: Is that all?

 

Cyrano de Bergerac  Edmond Rostand 1897

We all know Valvert’s ultimate fate!

The visible part of the human nose protrudes from the face.  It goes from the forehead to above the upper lip, and includes nostrils. A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, a divider that consists of  mostly of cartilage, and separates the nostrils. In the nostrils are turbinates, receptor cells that can transmit an inhaled chemical to the brain, the controller of the central nervous system. Get it? There are axon cells in the brain that are neurotransmitters, and can to transmit impulses to the body that result in engorgement and hormonal release –orgasm. Your nose is probably  the most important sexual organ you have.

Nose shape is part of your genetic being. Witness the “Roman nose,” the upturned “Irish nose, ” the strong broad nose of African genetics and the fabled Semitic protuberance. We are at once proud of our heritage and look to our ancestors with reverence and respect, while seeking to disassociate ourselves from the past, to become an individual.

These are conflicting and troubling factors that have bothered humanity for centuries. In fact, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a “nose job” can cause unexpected reactions from a patient’s friends or relatives, who relate nose shape to long- loved and revered familial facial traits. In spite of this, rhinoplasty ( a nose job) is one of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures in the world. Why? According to New Image.com, any person who needs a “nose job” these days can afford it, due to “guaranteed financing” and only $99.00 down.

Then there is the Barbara Streisand Profile Nose,  possibly more famous than  Cyrano. In a 1977 Playboy interview, she admitted that her “deviated septum” is responsible for a “special quality” in her voice. She said that, “If I ever had my nose fixed, it would ruin my career.”

The nose is a valuable commodity in today’s retail market. For example, Target offers 529 different products on line, associated with noses. In addition to “Sparkle Chain Nose Pliers”, there are Venetian noses, blunt noses and assorted animal noses. There are nose pliers, nose tweezers, a men’s deluxe nose-hair trimmer and “pick your nose paper cups.” This is only the beginning. Noses are popular and can be trimmed and adorned with nose clips, nose pins, nose jewelry, nose tattoos, nose makeup and nose wipers. Handkerchiefs, of course, never go out of style.

 Famous smells we all know, love and despise

 

Ammonia

This is a chemical compound, NH3. It is normally a gas and is an important component to the nutritional needs of organisms, worldwide. It is a necessary ingredient in all foodstuffs and fertilizers. Chemically, it is a nitrogen atom, bound to three hydrogen atoms. The strong, pungent odor is easily recognizable in cleaning products, cat urine, fertilizer, and in some people – sweat.

 

Skunk Odor

Skunk musk is a mixture of seven ingredients. Six contain sulfur thiols (sulfer, oxyten and hydrogen)  that give skunk musk its awful smell. A person is able to smell skunk musk in concentrations as low as one part per billion. The skunk blows this out of two ducts. The spray can be adjusted, either to a mist or stream, just like your garden hose. It can be directed towards a specific target and can be shot up to 20 feet “with both barrels.” Make no mistake about it, this is not just a bad smelling chemical mixture, but when sprayed in the face of an animal, can temporarily blind and stun. Victims experience watering eyes, nasal irritation and nausea. Asthmatics can experience breathing problems. Rabies is NOT transmitted through skunk musk.

Smell of decay

Hydrogen sulfide, H2S, is the culprit here. Whether it’s the smell of rotten eggs, rotten flesh or degrading sewage, these molecules can damage concrete, metal sewer pipes and other mechanical equipment. No need to go into detail here about smelling rot. . When a turbinate in your nose encounters an H2S molecule, it wastes no time in sending the signal to your brain about death, decay or dying close by.

 The smell of flowers – roses, violets, etc.

First, flowers did not evolve their beautiful scents to attract YOU, although the sweet odor is amazingly calming . It takes ethylene, an almost hypnotic chemical, to help you enjoy that beautiful smell of a rose or the lingering scent of violets.   A flower needs to reproduce, just as any living thing. The chemical attraction is for bees and a multitude of   other animals that flit from bud to bud, picking up pollen and nectar from one and transferring it to the other. A flower scent can travel as much as 1800 miles, but due to manmade pollutants in today’s world, the more probable distance is less than 600 feet. A plant produces ethylene that enhances its lifespan as well as its scent.

 Vaginal odor

Books and scientific studies abound about this one. We know that short-chained fatty acids like acetic acid, propanoic acid and butonoic acid occur in vaginal secretions, in different quantities, and vary with the age and time of the menstrual cycle. These copulins probably account for normal vaginal odor. Aided by this, the female of every mammalian species has evolved a transmission method to attract the male, thus enabling continuation of the species throughout the ages. Does this work in humans? You bet it does. Al Pacino aside, the scent of a woman is attractive to sexual partners. Its pungency varies from woman to woman and changes with age. However, beware. If the odor is strong or unusual in any way, consider a medical workup to determine the cause.

 

Hospital smell

Here is a variety of smells, whiffs and odors, depending on where in the hospital you may be. Mainly, you can sniff mixtures of cleaning agents such as ammonia compounds and alcohol. Mix in a little dried blood and mucus, various exudates that waft through the air ducts, as well as  and the breath of your doctor, nurse or caregiver. It’s curious to note that this is the first smell and breath that a newborn encounters.

 

The smell of the battlefield

Only a select few of us live to relay this to others. It is indelible and unforgettable, consisting of gunpowder, blood, machine oil and decay. This is “The smell of Death.” When encountered after a battle, it remains forever in the minds of survivors. There are amazingly poignant narrations from  9/11 survivors that  are saturated with descriptions of smells, odors, whiffs and stinks. Count your blessings and thank your lucky stars that you have never experienced this type of “smell” first hand. If you have, be glad that you can describe it to others, and perhaps eliminate this smell forever. In doing so, you may be able to limit these descriptions to only second-hand accounts.

Google Jimmy Durante, you’ll go back to the days of vaudeville and live entertainment. A piano-playing waiter with, possibly, the largest “schnozzola” in the Western hemisphere, he was famous for laughing at his own deformity. Given a byline in a guest editorial, Durante, wrote,

“All of us have schnozzolas, if not on our faces, in our characters, minds or habits. We are, in short, ridiculous in one way or another. When we admire our schnozzolas, instead of defending them, we begin to laugh and the world laughs with us. What a great world it would be if we all learned to laugh at our schnozzolas. We wouldn’t have wars, suicides, race hatreds, or economic distress, and sickness of soul and body would be rare indeed.” Jimmy Durante, His Show Business Career, David Bakish, McFarland 1995.

The sense of smell is considered by many to be a divine gift. Many believe that your nose makes your personality, and that without it, “you wouldn’t be you.” There is some truth to all of this. Just think about it, and smell your way to a better world.

Steve Irwin (1962 - 2006): Death by Stingray

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Irwin was an Australian wildlife expert and a well-loved TV personality, who gained worldwide fame from his internationally broadcast wildlife documentary program "The Crocodile Hunter," which he co-hosted with his wife Terri. While filming the documentary "Ocean's Deadliest" at the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Irwin swam too close above one of the stingrays with the cameraman directly right in front of it. Threatened by their presence, the ordinarily harmless stingray instinctively responded by flexing upward its razor-sharp, barbed tail which pierced Irwin's chest and into his heart, an injury that brought about his untimely demise at only 44 years of age.

Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): Death by Stuffing Chicken

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One of the leading figures of the English Rennaisance, Bacon was a statesman, philosopher, scientist and author, whose celebrated works "Novum Organum" (1620) and "The New Atlantis" (1626) contributed significantly to the European scientific revolution. During a particularly heavy snowstorm in 1626, Bacon suddenly came up with the thought of possibly using snow to preserve meat. Desirous of finding out, he went to nearby marketplace to buy a fowl and had its internal organs removed. Standing outside in the snow, he immediately began stuffing the fowl to freeze it. However, the fowl never froze, but he did. He contracted pneumonia and died a few days after.

Gregori Rasputin (1869 - 1916): Death by Poison, Gunshot, Beating and Drowning

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Rasputin was a Russian mystic and monk who gained considerable influence on Tsar Nicholas II due to his unusual ability to use hypnosis to control the hemophilia suffered by Alexei, the heir to the throne. Rasputin survived being fed cakes laced with potassium cyanide and being shot through the heart. He was shot three more times by his assassins who found him to be alive and struggling to get up as they drew near to his body. He was then beaten with clubs and thrown into the freezing Neva River. When his body was recovered, an autopsy revealed that the cause of death to be hypothermia.

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632 - 1687): Death by Conductor's Staff

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Lully was an Italian-born French composer who worked most of his life as the appointed musician in the court of Louis XIV of France. While conducting the Te Deum in honor of Louis XIV's recent recovery from sickness, Lully was so deeply engrossed on keeping the tempo by banging his long staff against the floor (as was the custom of the time before the baton came into common usage) that he struck his toe so hard that the would developed into an abscess. He refused to have his toe amputated even if the wound had turned gangrenous and had spread, leading to his death two months after the incident.

Sherwood Anderson (1876 - 1941): Death by Toothpick

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Anderson was an American author best known for his collection of short stories "Winesburg, Ohio" (1919) and the novel "Dark Laughter" (1925). He died in Panama of peritonitis that developed after accidentally swallowing a toothpick embedded in a martini olive at a party held on an ocean liner bound for Brazil.

George Allen (1918 - 1990): Death by Gatorade

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Allen was an American Football coach, who was showered by some of his Long Beach State players with an ice cold bucket of Gatorade in celebration of their season-ending win over the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on November 17, 1990. Afterwards, he even granted media interviews for some time under the cold weather with a piercing wind and boarded the bus back to Long Beach State still in his drenched clothing. Since then, he acknowledged that he had not been feeling completely well. He finally succumbed to pneumonia on December 31, 1990.

Alexander Litvinenko (1962 - 2006): Death by Radiation Poisoning

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Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian State Security Services, who fled his country to the United Kingdom where he was granted political asylum in 2000. Litvinenko was hospitalized on November 1, 2001 when his health unexpectedly deteriorated. It was later discovered that he had been poisoned with significant amounts of the rare and extremely toxic radioactive element polonium-210. He died three weeks later, thus becoming the first known casualty of deliberate radiation poisoning. His murder marked the start of a new era of nuclear terrorism.

Jack Daniel (1850 - 1911): Death from Stubbed Toe

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In 1905, Jack Daniel, founder of Tennessee whiskey distillery, had trouble opening his safe early one day at work as he always had difficulty remembering the right combination. He kicked the safe in frustration resulting in a toe injury that later became infected; and eventually died (six years later) from blood poisoning attributable to the mishap. He could have just dipped his toe in his famous whiskey to ward off infection.

Isadora Duncan (1877 - 1927): Death by a Scarf

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Duncan was an American dancer, considered by many to be the mother of modern dance. Her extreme fondness for long flowing scarves was the cause of her death in a freak automobile accident in France at the age of 50. Duncan was strangled by her own scarf when it got caught in the rear wheel of a moving car.

Claude François (1939 - 1978): Death by a Light Bulb

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François was a French pop singer, best known for writing "Comme d'habitude," which was adapted for the English public by Paul Anka into the celebrated hit "My Way" famously sung by Frank Sinatra. François noticed a broken light bulb while standing in a bathtub filled with water in his Paris apartment. But being a stickler for orderliness and cleanliness, he cannot help but try to change the bulb, resulting in his death by electrocution.

For more articles on the unusual, the strange and the bizarre, click on the following links:

• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History
• Intriguing Email Stories Relating to Health and Medicine
• Unusual Wills and Testaments
• Premature Obituaries
• Premature Obituaries 2

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Williams was a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning American playwright known for psychological dramas such as "The Glass Menagerie" (1945), "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1948), and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955). Williams died in his room at the Hotel Elysee in New York after accidentally choking on a bottle cap. He would customarily open the eyedrop bottle with his mouth, and then lean backwards to place eyedrops in each eye. According to the police report, his lack of gag response was largely the result of drugs and alcohol abuse.

Thomas Midgley, Jr. (1889 - 1944): Death by Strings and Pulleys

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Midgley was an American mechanical engineer turned chemist best known for his controversial discoveries of tetra-ethyl lead (TEL), a gasoline additive dubbed as ethyl by General Motors to avoid any mention of the highly toxic substance lead that prevents internal combustion engine from knocking; and Freon, a chlorinated fluorocarbon (CFC) used as a non-toxic refrigerant in household appliances. In 1941, Midgley contracted polio that left him severely handicapped, so he devised an intricate network of strings and pulleys to assist others lift him from bed. This system became the ultimate cause of his death when he got himself entangled and died of strangulation in 1944, some three decades prior to the discovery of the destructive effects of CFC on the ozone layer.

Attila the Hun (c.405 - 453): Death from Nosebleed

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Attila, the leader of the Huns, earned the nickname the "Scourge of God" for his brutality and rapacity. Under his leadership, his army conquered large areas of central and eastern Europe and ravaged Italy in the declining years of the Roman Empire. In spite of his fearsome reputation, Attila was well-known for being a light eater during large banquets. However, on his very own latest wedding feast, he let himself loose, stuffing himself heavily with food and drink. He suffered a severe nosebleed sometime during the night and drowned in his own blood in a stupor.

Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601): Death from Failure to Heed Nature's Call

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Brahe was a Danish nobleman credited for the most accurate astronomical and planetary observations of his time, a remarkable achievement in the days before telescopes. Brahe, known for his immoderate drinking habits, already had bladder problems but was not able to relieve himself before the banquet started. However, he made his condition worse by drinking excessively during dinner that he had to hold his pee for the entire duration of the unusually long banquet for it was taken as an extreme insult to the host to leave an unfinished meal. His actions resulted in an infection caused by a severely strained bladder, ultimately leading to his painful death 11 days later.

Li Bai (701 - 762 AD): Death by Embracing the Moon's Reflection

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Li, considered as one of the greatest poets in the history of China, was well known for his love for alcoholic beverages and often created in his best poetries while intoxicated. One evening, Li Bai drowned in the Yangtze River, having fallen off his boat in his drunken attempt to embrace the moon's reflection in the water.

Adolf Frederick (1710 - 1771): Death by Favorite Dessert

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Adolf Frederick was the King of Sweden from 1751 until his death due to indigestion, after having overindulged himself with more than a dozen servings of his favorite dessert, semla served in a bowl of hot milk, on top of a meal comprising of lobster, sauerkraut, caviar, smoked herring and champagne. Accordingly, he is most remembered as "the king who ate himself to death" by Swedish schoolchildren.

Clement Vallandigham (1820 - 1871): Death by Court Demonstration

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Vallandigham was a controversial Ohio politician who resumed his successful law practice after the American Civil War. He was one of the defense attorneys representing the murder suspect Thomas McGehan in a case for killing a certain Tom Myers during a barroom scuffle. He sought to demonstrate to the jury of the possibility that Myers accidentally killed himself while attempting to draw his pistol from a kneeling position. He reenacted the scene grabbing a gun he thought to be unloaded and ended up shooting himself. Though he died from his wound, he succeeded in convincing the jury and got his client acquitted.

Franz Reichelt (18?? - 1912): Death by Parachute-Overcoat Failure

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Reichelt was an Austrian tailor who attempted to combine his interest in tailoring and aviation by creating a garment that would serve both as an overcoat and a parachute. He desired to demonstrate his invention by jumping off the Eiffel Tower, which was the tallest man-made structure in the world at the time. He had informed the authorities that a dummy would first be used, but decided at the last minute to do it himself. On February 4, 1912, he stepped from a platform of the Eiffel Tower with unfounded confidence and fell to his death, all of which were recorded by the press cameras.

François Vatel (1631 - 1671): Death by Delayed Delivery

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Vatel, chef to Louis XIV of France, was famous for creating the sweet vanilla-flavored whipped cream known as the Chantilly cream, which was served at the banquet given by Louis II de Bourbon in honor of the king. At the very same banquet, Vatel was overly distressed over the tardiness of his seafood order that he ran himself through a sword as he could not bear the disgrace of a delayed meal. His body was discovered by his assistant, who was sent to inform him that his order had arrived.

James Creighton, Jr. (1841 - 1862): Death by Baseball Bat Swing

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Creighton, a baseball player regarded by sports historians to be the game's first superstar, was credited for throwing the first fastball and accomplishing the first recorded triple play. In 1862, the 21-year-old Creighton suddenly died in the middle of his greatest season yet. At the time, players swung huge bats almost completely with their upper body; and it was alleged that Creighton swung the bat too forcefully causing an internal injury, probably a ruptured bladder or inguinal hernia. He managed to continue playing despite the excruciating pain; and died a few days later at his parent's place.

Click on the following links for some more articles on the unusual, the strange and the bizarre:

• 10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History
• Intriguing Email Stories Relating to Health and Medicine
• Unusual Wills and Testaments
• Premature Obituaries
• Premature Obituaries 2

• Bob Hope once pursued a career as an amateur boxer.  He was known then as Packy Ease.
• Rock Hudson was born Roy Fitzgerald.  His agent said "I named him after the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River."
• At the time when Lucille Ball was under contract with the MGM Studio, she was loaned to Paramount for a role in the movie The Greatest Show on Earth.  However she became pregnant.  When Cecil B. De Mille learned of the impending arrival, he told her husband, Desi Arnaz "Congratulations.  You're the only man who's ever screwed his wife, Cecil B. De Mille, Paramount Pictures and Harry Cohn - all at the same time."
• Horror movie stars Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee share the same birthday - May 27th.
• Rudolph Valentino's owned a cat's eye ring, which was purchased in a San Francisco novelty store.  It was dubbed the "destiny ring" because Valentino died while wearing it.  Then a major hollywood studio's chosen successor to Valentino, Russ Columbo, who was heir to the ring, died in a car crash while wearing it.  The ring then went to Columbo's friend Joe Casino, who died shortly afterward when a truck hit him.
• Humphry Bogart was quoted as saying "In my first twenty nine pictures, I was shot in twelve, electrocuted or hanged in eight, and was a jailbird in nine....Is that a record to be proud of?"
• James Dean's voice had to be dubbed into the banquet scene for his drunken mumblings.  His voice was inaudable but when it came time to redub the lines Dean has already died.  The voice you hear is that of Nick Adams.
• Natalie Wood's appearances in the last scenes of the movie Brainstorm had to be edited in from earlier footage because she died in a boating mishap before completion of the film.
• We all know Pablo Picasso because of his artistic genius.  However, he once wrote a play called Desire Caught by the Tail.  Characters included Big Foot, Fat Anxiety and Thin Anguish.  One disappointed critic wrote in his review that it had "the features of medieval morality plays with twentieth century smut".  Needless to say, it was a complete flop and has only been performed three times since it was first produced in 1941.
• W.C Fields was so paranoid about losing track of his loose cash that he continually opened bank accounts.  What is fascinating is that he used fictious names such as Figley E. Whitesides, Aristotle Hoop, Ludovic Fishpond and Cholmondley Frampton-Blythe.  Talk about eccentric.

In India, the wealthy sect, called the Parsis, believed that the mortal flesh contaminated the earth as well as any fire that would be used in cremation.  Because of this belief, they placed their dead on dokhmas (which means towers of silence).  There, carrion-eating birds picked the bones clean and the bones were allowed to be bleached by the sun.  Only after the bones are completely bleached, were they considered pure enough for burial.

Some tribes of Australian aborigines placed their dead in trees to rot, while other tribes believed that the flesh should be eaten in order to acquire some of the admirable traits of that departed person.

In Melanesia, inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands buried their dead twice.  First, they would bury them, then dig up the bones and carve them into spoons and other utensils.  They believed this was an act of piety.  Eventually, these utensils were placed in caves facing the sea.

The most famous odd burial rite is attributed to the ancient Egyptians. They developed elaborate techniques of mummification on the basis of their belief that the departed soul would eventually return to it's body.  Because of this belief, they would remove the brain and organs from the body and place them in a canopic jar.  Then the body was packed with aromatic spices and soaked in a salt bath for 70 days.  Afterward, it was wrapped in a gummed cloth and placed in a Sarcophagus, which is a elaborately decorated coffin type container.

Although embalming is the most common form of preservation, it is not the only technique used.  In Africa, the Loango people smoked their deceased much the same way as you would smoke a ham.  Alexander the Great was reportedly preserved by means of wax and honey.

Then there was Richard Hull, a 17th century Englishman who was convinced that, on Judgement Day, the dead would rise up and the world would be "reversed".  Because of this belief, he ordered that he be buried upside down astride a horse.

Even some of our more modern burial customs come from surprising roots.  Few people know that the custom of wearing black did not always stand for mourning.  Our forefathers feared ghosts so much that they tried to hide themselves during the burial by painting their skin black so as not to be possessed.  Tombstones were placed on the grave not only to mark the spot but also to deter the living from walking on the grave for fear of possession.

As a closing note, here are a couple of strange tombstone inscriptions:

• "Bathing, wine, and love affairs.  These hurt our bodies, but they make life worth living" - On an ancient Roman tomb.
• "Why weep ye?  Did you think I should live for ever?  I thought dying had been harder." - Louis XIV

But some have been much crazier:

War Pigs

Pigs were used during ancient warfare as a countermeasure to war elephants. The idea was that pigs would be set on fire than let loose on the enemy. The elephants would panic at the sight and sound of flaming and squealing pigs which would cause them to ran away, crushing their own troops. In practice it didn't always work. Burning pig cannot be controlled, so a lot of times the pigs would cause harm to the army that deployed them.

Bat Bombs

Using bats as bomb was an idea developed during the Second World War.

The premise was that at dawn, a bomber plane would release bomb casings containing bats with small bombs attached to them. The casings would release a parachute and open mid flight, releasing the bats which would then nest in attics of Japanese houses which were mostly made of wood and paper. The bomb would then go off and burn down the building.

The tests showed that it was much more effective than standard incendiary bombs used during World War II, starting 3625 to 4748 fires as opposed to 167 to 400 fires of a regular bomb.

This idea, which was named Project X-Ray did not see execution because of the slow development, and the invention of atom bomb.

Anti-Tank Dogs

Dogs were used as anti tank weapons by the Soviet army during World War II. The idea was that dogs would be starved then trained to run under tanks in search of food. This would trip a small level on their back which would detonate a bomb strapped to them. In practice it didn't work so well.

First of all, the dogs were trained on Soviet tanks, so once let loose on the battlefield they would run under the wrong tanks. Sometimes the dogs would be scared by the tank engine's ramble and refuse to proceed. The Nazis also started putting flamethrowers on top of the tanks to be used against the dogs.

Despite all these setbacks, the Soviet dogs managed to disable 300 German tanks.

Navy Dolphins

US Navy used dolphins as early as the 60's to detect mines, enemy divers and recover objects. There are also rumors that the military uses dolphins to lay their own mines and destroy ships and submarines in kamikaze attacks.

The craziest use of dolphins comes from the Soviet Union. The dolphins there were trained to attack enemy divers with harpoons attached to their back and drag them to shore so they could be captured. These dolphins have been actually sold to Iran in 2000.

Voytek the Bear

While this isn't a story about military training bears, but rather a single incident, it was so crazy that I had to include it.

Voytek was a Syrian brown bear adopted in Iran by the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. At the time the bear was less than a year old, and became an unofficial mascot of the units stationed nearby. It was later officially drafted into the Polish Army. He would drink beer, smoke cigarettes, wrestle and sleep with the other soldiers. During the battle of Monte Cassino, Voytek helped the soldiers move ammunition crates.

After the war Voytek lived in the Edinburgh zoo, where he was visited by Polish veterans until his death.

It was no fluke of whim of fancy that caused Bram Stoker to pick the Balkans for the home of Count Dracula.

Over the centuries there have been hordes of vampires or similar creatures in the mythologies and folklore of various cultures. But the image of the vampire which most of us in Europe and America carry with us today had its origins in the Slavic and Greek lands of Eastern Europe. In fact, the legend of the vampire is still an important part of the Balkan region today.

Origin of the Name "Dracula"

King Sigismund of Hungary, upon becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in 1410, founded a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon to be champions of Christianity and defenders of the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Its emblem was a dragon, wings extended, hanging on a cross. Vlad III's father (Vlad II) was admitted to the order in 1431. From then on he wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.

The word for dragon in Romanian is "drac" so Vlad II became known throughout Wallachia and its surrounding areas in the Balkans as "Vlad Dracul," or "Vlad the dragon." In Romanian the ending "ulea" means "the son of." Vlad III thus became Vlad Dracula, or "the son of the dragon." (The word "drac" also means "devil" in Romanian, a name which, along with many other "endearments" the enemies of Vlad III would undoubtedly have heartily bestowed upon him.

Historical Background

During Vlad III's lifetime there was a constant struggle to obtain control of Wallachia. A region of the Balkans (in present-day southern Romania), back then it lay directly between the two powerful forces of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.

When Constantinople fell to the Sultan Mohammed the Conqueror in 1453, all of Christendom was suddenly threatened by the armed might of the Ottoman Turks eager to bring Islam to Europe even if the only sure way to do that was through violence. The Hungarian kingdom to the north and west of Wallachia, which reached the height of its prominence during this same time, assumed the role of defender of Christendom.

This left the rulers of Wallachia between a rock and a hard place, as they were thus forced to appease these two empires to maintain their survival, often forging alliances with one or the other, depending upon what served their self-interest at the time. Vlad III is hailed by the Romanian people for his success in standing up to the encroaching Ottoman Turks and establishing relative independence and sovereignty, although only for a brief time.

The Life of Vlad III (1431-1476)

Vlad III was born in November or December of 1431 in the Transylvanian city of Sighisoara. The house where he was born is still standing. Little is known about his early years. He had an older brother, Mircea, and a younger brother, Radu the Handsome. His mother was a Transylvanian noblewoman. In 1436 his father successfully claimed the throne of Wallachia. During this time Vlad III learned all the skills of war and peace that were deemed necessary for a Christian knight.

In 1444, at the age of 13, Vlad and his brother Radu were sent to Adrianople as hostages to assure the Sultan of their father's loyalty. He was released in 1448, but his younger brother chose to remain in Turkey, where he had grown up.

Although the Turks supported Vlad III in his quest for the Wallachian throne, his initial reign was extremely short (two months), and it was not until 1456, with the aide of the Hungarian king that he returned to the throne. He established Tirgoviste as his capital city, and began to build his castle some distance away in the mountains near the Arges River. It is during this time that most of the atrocities associated with Vlad III took place.

Atrocities of Vlad Tepes

Above and beyond any of his other accomplishments, the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty and bloodthirstiness. Impalement was his preferred method of torture and execution. Impalement was one of the most hideous ways of dying imaginable, as it was slow and excruciatingly painful.

A horse was attached to each of the victim's legs, which were slowly pulled apart, and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted through the buttocks and through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances were victims were impaled through other body orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Victims were even sometimes impaled upside down.

Vlad Tepes often had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns. The most common pattern was a ring of concentric circles on the outskirts of a city that was his target. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim. The decaying corpses were often left up for months. Once, in 1461, Mohammed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, and no stranger to the ravages which war inflicted on the human body, returned to Constantinople in shock and horror after the sight of 20,000 impaled Turkish prisoners greeted him and his men outside the city of Tirgoviste. The sight is called "the Forest of the Impaled."

Thousands were often impaled at a single time. In 1459, on St. Barthlomew's Day, Vlad III had 30,000 of the merchants and boyars of the Transylvanian city of Brasov impaled. One of the most famous woodcuts of the period shows Vlad Dracula feasting amongst a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Brasov while a nearby executioner cuts apart other victims. It was also rumored that Vlad liked to drink the blood of his victims from a bowl while dining with them.

Although impalement was Vlad Dracula's favorite method of torture, it was by no means his only method. The list of tortures employed by this cruel prince who sometimes seemed to be more animal than man includes: nails in heads, cutting off limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, cutting off noses and ears, scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or to wild animals, and burning alive.

No one was immune to his punishment and there was no question that he derived a twisted pleasure from his actions. His victims included women and children, peasants and great lords, ambassadors from foreign powers and merchants. However, the vast majority of his victims came from the merchants and boyars of Transylvania and his own Wallachia.

Vlad Dracula began his reign of terror almost as soon as he came to power. His first significant act of cruelty may have been motivated by a desire for revenge, although this hardly mitigates the horror of his actions. Early in his main reign he gave an Easter feast for his boyars and their families -- boyars were the ruling upperclass. Vlad was well aware that many of these same nobles were part of the conspiracy that led to his father's assassination and the burying alive of his elder brother, Mircea. During the feast Vlad had all the assembled nobles arrested. The older boyars and their families were impaled on the spot. The younger and healthier nobles and their families were marched north from Tirgoviste to the ruins of his castle in the mountains above the Arges River. The enslaved boyars and their families were forced to labor for months rebuilding the old castle with materials from a nearby ruin. According to the reports, they labored until the clothes fell off their bodies and then were forced to continue working naked. Very few survived this ordeal, and those who did live till the completion of the castle were then rewarded for their efforts by being impaled.

Despite this incident, Vlad Tepes' atrocities against the people of Wallachia were usually attempts to force his own moral code upon his country. He appears to have been particularly concerned with female chastity. Vlad also insisted that his people be honest and hard working.

The End of Vlad

Although Vlad III experienced some success in fending off the Turks, it was relatively short-lived. The Turks finally succeeded in forcing him to flee to Transylvania in 1462. Reportedly his first wife committed suicided by leaping from the towers of Vlad's castle into the waters of the Arges River rather than surrender to the Turks. Vlad escaped through a secret passage and fled across the mountains into Transylvania. Later, the King of Hungary, Matthias Covinus had him arrested him and imprisoned in a royal tower.

He was said to have been a prisoner from 1462 until 1474, however, during this period he was gradually able to rehabillitate himself in the king's eyes. He even married the king's sister and fathered 2 sons.

Reports have it that even in captivity Vlad could not give up his favorite past-time; he often captured birds and mice and proceeded to torture and mutilate them. Some were beheaded or tarred-and-feathered and released. Most were impaled on tiny spears.

In 1476 Vlad retook the throne of Wallachia, but shortly after this he was killed in battle against the Turks near the town of Bucharest on December of 1476. There are conflicting reports about how his death came about. Some indicate that he was assassinated by disloyal Wallachian boyers just as he was about to rout the Turks. Other accounts have him falling in defeat surrounded by the ranks of his loyal Moldavian bodyguards. Still other reports claim that Vlad, at the moment of victory, was accidently struck down by one of his own men. The one undisputed fact is that ultimately his body was decapitated by the Turks and his head sent to Constantinople where the sultan had it displayed on a stake as proof that the horrible Impaler was finally dead. He was reportedly buried at Snagov, an island monastery located near Bucharest and accessible only by boat.

Bogie was a Christmas present. He was born on Christmas Day in 1899. His father was a wealthy doctor and his mother was quite a famous illustrator. As a baby, he was often used as a model for her magazine and ad illustrations. He grew to be an intelligent young man and joined the Navy. He fought in World War I in 1917. While in battle, shrapnel hit him and that his how he got his scar and famous lisp. In 1926, he married actress Helen Menken, but the marriage ended in 1929. He began acting in Broadway plays. His big break came when he played the role of Duke Mantee in “Petrified Forest”. He went to Hollywood and successfully recreated the character for the film version. He signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He married and remarried again. His third marriage came in 1938 when he wed Mayo Methot, which may have been the biggest mistake of his life. She had an extremely violent temper and was a heavy drinker. They fought so often they became known as the Battling Bogarts. That is when he really began to drink heavily and chain-smoked.

He starred in “Casablanca” in 1943. In 1944, he starred in “To Have and Have Not”. This is where he met Lauren Bacall, who became the true love of his life. Bogie divorced Mayo in 1945. He married Bacall eleven days later. They had two children. He went on to make many popular films, of which he starred in “The African Queen” with Katherine Hepburn and won his only Oscar award. His final film was in 1956. He went through a nine hour surgery to remove a malignant growth from his throat. Cancer eventually won. With Bacall at his side at his home in Hollywood, he died on January 14, 1957. His last word's were “I should have never switched from Scotch to martinis.”

John Barrymore

John Barrymore was born on February 15, 1882. He was an American actor often called the greatest of his generation. He received fame as a stage actor, especially in Shakespeare plays. He was the brother of Lionel and Ethel Barrymore and the grandfather of Drew Barrymore. He attended Georgetown college, but was expelled after getting caught in a Bordello. He would go on many a drinking spree, but always showed up for his plays and silent movie roles. His greatest success came with his portrayal of Hamlet in 1922, which lasted for 101 consecutive performances. He got more into silent films and became most famous for “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), “Sherlock Holmes” (1922) and “Don Juan” (1926).

Barrymore collapsed while appearing on the Rudy Vallee radio show and died a few days later in a hospital room. His last words were “Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him”.

Sir Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. What can you say about the greatest Prime Minister and leader of Britain the world has ever known. He saw combat in India and the Sudan, was famous for becoming a war correspondent and wrote about his exploits. He held many cabinet positions and following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His speeches are legendary and so inspirational to the British troops. After the outbreak of WW II on September 3, 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. He realized the growing threat of Hitler long before the war began, but very few listened. Finally, he was recognized as the great leader he was to become. His most famous quote from one of his speeches was “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour”.

Churchill went on to become great friends with Franklin D. Roosevelt and between the two, secured vital shipping routes for food, oil and munitions. He became known as the “British Bulldog”, but his health was fragile. He had a mild heart attack in 1941. He contracted pneumonia in 1943. Amazingly, he continued in many political affairs and after a series of strokes, he died on January 15, 1965 at the age of 90. His final words were “I'm bored with it all”.

Eugene O'Neill

Eugene O'Neill was born on October 16, 1886. He was born in a hotel room in Times Square. He was sent to a Catholic boarding school and found refuge in reading books. He spent several years at sea, where he began suffering from depression and alcoholism. He developed tuberculosis in and sought respite at a sanatorium, where he decided to devote his life to writing plays. His first published play “Beyond The Horizon” was very well received when it opened on Broadway in 1920 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His most famous works are “Anna Christie” (Pulitzer Prize 1922), Desire Under The Elms” in 1924, “Strange Interlude” (Pulitzer Prize 1928, “Mourning Becomes Electra in 1931 and his only comedy, “Ah, Wilderness!”. After a ten year pause he wrote perhaps his most famous work “The Iceman Cometh” in 1946.

He still suffered from depression and alcoholism and got severe Parkinson's disease, which made his hand tremor and unable to write. He died in room 401 of a Sheraton Hotel in Boston on November 27, 1953. He was sixty-five years old. His final words were “I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room, and damn it, died in a hotel room”.

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford was actually born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas on March 23, 1905. She was only five months old when her father took off and left a family behind. As a child, she loved watching vaudeville and when she became of age, began dancing in a chorus line in New York City. She made quite an impression in a few forgettable films and eventually made the movie “Paris” which gained her even more fame. She continued to appear in flapper-themed movies and became somewhat famous for her role in “Our Dancing Daughters”. She starred with Clark Gable in “Possessed” (1931), which led to a brief affair. She was then cast in “Grand Hotel” where she received even more acclaim. She continued to star in many films. She eventually signed with Warner Brothers. She worked extremely hard in her new performance and it paid off with her winning an Academy Award for “Mildred Pierce”. She made many movies in her career, but is perhaps best remembered for starring as “Blanche Hudson” in the suspenseful thriller “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?” (1962). She insisted Bette Davis for the role of Jane and the rest is history. If you have never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and watch it. For my money, it is one of the greatest movies ever made. She went on to make a few more films and several television appearances.

In 1973, she made her last public appearance at a party honoring her old friend Rosalind Russell. Russell had breast cancer and died two years later. On May 8, 1977, Joan gave away her beloved Shih Tzu “Princess Lotus Blossom”, which was a signal to her friends that death was near. She died two days later at her New York apartment from a heart attack, while also ill with pancreatic cancer. Her housekeeper began to pray out loud, and Joan's final words were “Damn it…Don't you dare ask God to help me”.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City. The Roosevelt's were very wealthy. Roosevelt was very sickly as a child and asthmatic. Despite the illnesses, he was hyperactive and mischievous. He started taking boxing lessons to deal with bullies. He eventually attended Harvard and was quite active in sports. He was even a runner-up in the Harvard boxing championship. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1880. His interest in politics led to becoming a New York State Legislator. He finally left New York as he became disillusioned by New York politics. He bought a ranch in the Badlands of the Dakota Territory while on a buffalo hunting expedition. He built another ranch, named Elk Horn. He learned to ride, rope and hunt He became a deputy sheriff and was relentless in his pursuit of outlaws. The severe winter of 1886-87 wiped out his herd of cattle and he returned east.

Forever known to everyone as “Teddy”, he decided to get back into politics and ran as a Republican candidate for New York City. He came in third. In 1888, he campaigned for Benjamin Harrison and Harrison appointed him to the United States Civil Service Commission. Later he became president of the board of New York City's Police Commission. There he established new disciplinary rules, created a bicycle squad and standardized the use of pistols for officers. Later, Teddy found volunteers from cowboys from the Western territories and formed the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, which became the famous Rough Riders. They fought in the 1898 Spanish-American war and under his leadership became famous for the charge up San Juan Hill. He was nominated for the Medal Of Honor.

After leaving the army, he was elected governor of New York. President McKinley appointed him as Vice-President. After McKinley was shot, he became President of the United States. He constructed the now famous West Wing. In 1909, after his second term, he left for an African safari became famous for his reputation as a big-game hunter. He died on January 6, 1919. His final words, just before death were “Put out the light.”

Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks was born on May 23, 1883 in Denver, Colorado. He began acting on the Denver stages at an early age. He became a sensation in his teens. He moved to New York to pursue an acting career. He made his Broadway debut in 1902. In 1907, he married Anna Beth Sully, daughter of a wealthy industrialist. He signed a contract with Triangle Pictures in 1915 and began working under D.W. Griffith. His first film, “The Lamb” showed off his remarkable athletic abilities, which brought him much attention. In 1916, he established his own company and soon got a job at Paramount. By 1918, Fairbanks was Hollywood's most popular actor.

At a party, he met Mary Pickford and they began having an affair. In December of 1918, Anna had had enough and won a decree of divorce from Fairbanks. Fairbanks, Pickford, Charles Chaplin and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1919. Fairbanks was determined to marry Pickford, but she was still married to actor Owen Moore. He grew tired of her not getting a divorce and she quickly divorced Moore. Fairbanks and Pickford were married in 1920.

By 1920, Fairbanks had completed 29 films, but it was his performance in “The Mark Of Zorro” which showcased all his unique talents as an actor and swashbuckler. He became a superstar. His last silent film was “The Iron Mask” in 1929. He and Pickford made their first talkie in “The Taming Of The Shrew”, but it was poorly received. His last film was “The Private Life Of Don Juan” in 1934, after which he retired from acting.

He soon began an affair with Lady Sylvia Ashley and he and Pickford separated in 1936. In Mach of 1936, he and Ashley were married. His health began to decline and in December of 1939, at the age of 56, Fairbanks suffered a heart attack. He died a day later at his home in Santa Monica. His last words were “I've never felt better.”

Doc Holliday

John Henry “Doc” Holliday on August 14, 1852. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1866, when he was 15 years old. He later attended Valdosta Institute where he received classical education in rhetoric, grammar, mathematics, history and several languages. In 1870, 19 year old Holliday began dental school in Philadelphia. He received a degree of dentistry and later opened a dental office. Shortly after beginning his practice, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, possibly contracted from his mother. He was given only a few months to live. He figured moving to a drier and warmer climate would help his condition. In 1873, he moved to Dallas, Texas where he opened another dental office. But he soon began gambling and found a greater source of income. He got into trouble with the law and decided to leave the state.

In the following years, fueled by a hot temper and an attitude that death by gun would be better than death by his disease, he started drinking heavily. He referred to a drink as “I'm Your Daisy”. He continued traveling all over the west and eventually ended up in Deadwood, where he became fast friends with Wyatt Earp. They moved to Dodge City, but it was too civilized for them. He became friends with all the Earp brothers and they eventually made their way to the silver-mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona. Everyone knows the story of the famous shootout with the Clanton boys. After the famous gun battle, things grew worse for the Earp brothers. Virgil Earp was ambushed and permanently injured in 1881. Morgan Earp was ambushed and killed in 1882. They all left Tombstone. The Earp brothers left for different parts of Colorado.

Doc spent the rest of his life there. He deteriorated badly and in 1887 was prematurely graying and in terrible physical condition. He made his way to Glenwood, where he hoped the hot springs would help, but it was too late. As he lay dying, he asked for a drink of whiskey. Amused by his bootless feet - no one ever thought he would die in bed with his boots off - his final words were “Well I'll be damned. This is funny.”

Note: Most of the bio information and photos were obtained from Wickopedia.

Photo one, below, belongs to an animal often kept as a house pet, the photo is by Silas, from Wikimedia.

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Photo two, below, is of an animal that can walk on glass.

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The third photo, below, is of an animal you might think you know, but are you sure?

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Photo four, below, belongs to an animal that is considered endangered in the world.

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The fifth photo, below, is the front limb of an animal.

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Photo six, below, is a bird, but what kind?

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Photo seven, below, is clearly designed for climbing in trees.

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The eighth photo, is another bird, this should be easy.

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The nineth photo is an x-ray, but just what creature owns these bones?

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Finally photo ten, below, belongs to an animal closely related to llamas.

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Answers

1. Chinchilla - Give yourself a full point if you guessed this correctly. These animals are often kept as house pets, but additionally they are used for fur. They are slightly smaller than a small house cat, and are fairly easy to care for, but for some people the trick is being able to find pet supplies for them. Also they may be illegal to keep in some areas.
2. Tokay Gecko - Give yourself a full point if you said Tokay Gecko, half a point for Gecko. They are a tough little gecko with a strong bite, in fact they have been known to bite and hold on for a long time, even hours. If you should ever find yourself bitten by one of these little guys the best way to get it off you is by plunging your hand into luke warm water. Their feet are well adapted to climbing leaves, which as pets, means they can climb on glass.
3. Cat with extra toes - Ah ha, if you said "Cat" you get only half a point, if you noticed the cat had extra toes, you can take the full point. These cats are called polydactyl, and are often considered as being lucky.
4. Siberian Tiger - Half a point if you said "Tiger", because it was pretty easy, full point if you said "Siberian Tiger". The Siberian Tiger tends to have fewer stripes, and fewer markings on their front limbs. The stripes might even appear to be brown rather than black. Although some people think tigers make good pets, it is not really fair to the tiger to be kept as one, and ultimately hurts owners of other exotic animals when a person cannot care for their tiger properly and the public attacks ownership of all exotics as a result.
5. Alligator - No points if you said Crocodile, one point if you said Alligator. Alligators have wider and shorter heads than crocodiles. Although some people find them cute as babies and purchase them as pets, if the lucky animal survives it eventually grows into a huge problem. Some owners then illegally release them into the wild. I would not even consider suggesting anyone get one as a "pet", while they might be fine in zoos, these are definitely not "pets".
6. Turkey - This bird is often used for food, but in this case, it is used for points, give yourself one if you said "Turkey". It might surprise to you know that these birds are not named after the country, Turkey. Rather the country is named after the birds. Domestic turkeys cannot fly. Wild birds have limited flight but it is still enough to help them escape from preditors.
7. Lemur - These little primates are from Madagascar, it was a bit tricky so give yourself a point if you got it right. Many species of lemurs are extinct thanks to deforestation of their home land, which is Madagascar.
8. Blue footed Booby - Get a point if you got the full name correct. These birds are thought of as being a bit on the dopey side. In fact they have little fear of humans so were easily caught and eaten by fishermen. They have foot fetishes themselves, as part of their mating ritual involves the male displaying and stomping his lovely blue feet to impress the female.
9. Bound human foot - Yup, those bones are human, get one point if you said "human" get a bonus half point if you said "bound foot". This was a practice that occurred in China. It is believed that at the time a smaller foot on the woman was considered more desirable so parents took to binding the feet of their daughters. This involved the breaking of toes and caused great pain, and even had the risk of death because of infection during the process. Foot binding resulted in a permanent, and often painful, deformity.
10. Camel - This was an easy one, it is of course a Camels foot. There had to be some easy ones, I don't want to make anyone cry over a little game. Camels have two toes on their large feet, which are specially adapted to walking on hot shifting sand.

Add up your points and let us see how you did.

Zero - Four points. You're really not a very observant person, maybe you have your head in the clouds a bit too much, and are blissfully unaware of what lies beneath. You wouldn't know a foot if it kicked you in the face, be careful here or you won't have a foot to stand on. Your favorite place is your house.

Four and a half - Seven. You are normal. Nothing special about you, you know some feet, you don't know some feet. You know about some critters, but not too many. Your favorite place is the mall.

Seven and a half - Nine. You spend a lot of your time walking with your head down, this is great, you find lots of money that way! You also get to know many kinds of feet. You talk to animals and they talk back. Your favorite place is the zoo.

Nine and half or more. You have a classic foot fetish. Get help now, or don't. It really doesn't matter to me. Just make sure those feet are clean. Your favorite place is illegal.