What A Way To Go...!

Since this is actually Freaky Friday, you might just appreciate this story from Listverse.

Death By Toilet

Convicted murderer Michael Anderson Godwin unwittingly saved taxpayers a great deal of money at a Columbia, South Carolina, correctional facility in 1989.

After having his death sentence overturned on appeal, he settled into his new reality as a “lifer.” As he was only 28 at the time, he would more than likely have been there for many years to come.

One fateful day, he attempted to repair a set of earphones that was connected to his television. He bit down on one of the earphone’s wires while sitting on the steel toilet in his prison cell. This turned out to be a deadly combination.

The same prisoner who initially escaped the electric chair unintentionally carried out his own death sentence by electrocution. How ironic.

One thing about it...Karma is a bad mama-jama!

Coffee out on the patio this morning!

A Mother's Love...!

While it may seem a bit strange to us now, back then this probably made a lot of sense to many.

The Grave of Florence Irene Ford

Florence’s mother built a stairway down to her daughter’s coffin so she could comfort her during storms.

During her short life, Florence, born September 3, 1861, was terrified of storms. As soon as one rolled in, she’d run to her mother, Ellen, who would patiently comfort her until the storm passed.

In 1871, at the age of 10, Florence died of yellow fever. Her mother, naturally distraught, couldn’t bear the thought of Florence being buried, as she still wanted to comfort her during storms, even as she lay at rest.

So Ellen had a small window fitted at the head of her daughter’s casket, and a narrow stairway built six-feet down to the level of the window. Ellen had hinged metal trap doors installed at the top of the stairs so she could shut them during storms, protecting her from the wind and rain as she sat by her daughter’s coffin, reading or singing to her until the storm passed.

The grave has changed very little since 1871. The epitaph on the gravestone is still easy to read: “As bright and affectionate a Daughter as ever God with His Image blest.” And behind the gravestone lie the metal trapdoors, which can still be opened today, so cemetery visitors can still comfort Florence during storms.

The only real change came with the addition of a concrete wall in the mid-1950s, erected at the bottom of the stairway to cover the glass window, preventing any potential acts of vandalism.

Natchez City Cemetery sits on the banks of the Mississippi River, its white tombstones neatly arranged on the green grass of Adams County. It’s a quiet spot, and home to a handful of notable tombs. There’s the tomb of Rufus E. Case, a large three-tiered structure that contains both Case and his favorite rocking chair. And the Turning Angel, a monument that watches over five graves and appears to turn to look at people as they walk towards it. But the grave with the most peculiar and arguably most touching backstory is Florence’s.

I don't think this would be allowed today, but it was comforting to the mother, I'm sure.

Coffee out on the patio this morning.

One Tough Woman...!

Many times we tend to overlook women in history. That's really a shame, as some of them were pretty dang tough. Here from Listverse is an article of one such woman.

The Woman Who Was Hanged (And Then Some)

Photo credit: W. Burdet

In 1650, housemaid Anne Greene was seduced by the grandson of her employer and became pregnant. But she told no one. She miscarried six months later and buried the body of her son by herself. When the body was discovered, Greene was charged with infanticide despite clear evidence that the child had been born dead.

Greene was found guilty and sentenced to hang. On December 14, she was “turned off” the scaffold, hanging by the neck for almost half an hour while her friends thumped her on the chest and pulled on her legs with all their might to shorten her ordeal.

Finally, her body was cut from the scaffold and was ordered to be sent to a surgeon for experimental purposes. As she was placed in the coffin, a guard heard Greene breathe. He jumped up and down on her chest a few times to finish her off as an act of charity—or so he said.

Despite this, the surgeon revived Anne Greene with “hot and cold cordials,” throat tickling, and a hot enema. The last one, it seemed, did the trick. Anne Greene was later pardoned, got married, and had three more children before finally dying in childbirth in 1665.


See what I mean? One tough ol' bird, I tell ya!

Coffee inside this morning.

Let's Talk About Physics...!

Nature certainly does a few things in Her own way, and sometimes we just don't know why. She is a smart ol' gal, it seems. Here from Listverse is a good example for ya.

Heat Induced Freezing

Water is the most important liquid on Earth. It’s is also one of the most mysterious and counterintuitive compounds in nature. One of water’s lesser know properties, for example, is that hot water freezes faster than cold water. It is not fully understood why, but the phenomenon, known as the Mpemba effect, was originally discovered by Aristotle over 3,000 years ago. The mysterious effect has been attributed to a range of phenomena, but it remains a mystery.

See what I mean? Just one more of Mother Nature's secrets, I reckon.

Coffee out on the patio before it gets too hot.

The Golden Sword...!

Just imagine finding something like this on your property.You just never know when these things are going to show up. This reported find is from Listverse.

Gold-Hilted Sword

Photo credit: Paul Reid via the Archaeology News Network

While excavating a new soccer field, Scottish workers unearthed a treasure trove of Bronze Age artifacts. Among these, they discovered a mysterious sword with a golden hilt. Believed to be 4,000 years old, the sword is so delicate that researchers are unable to remove it from the ground. Their goal is to lift the entire block of surrounding soil and transfer it to a lab environment. Given its delicate nature, the find may be either a spear point or a broken sword.

Scotland is filled with Bronze Age sites. Researchers were recently able to recreate the likeness of a Scottish woman, “Ava,” who died 3,700 years ago. It turns out the Bronze Age inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands are physically indistinguishable from their modern counterparts. Work on the soccer field has been halted until archaeologists can investigate the site.

It is always amazing to me that objects buried that long in the ground survived at all!

Coffee inside because it is just to hot to sit on the patio.

Built In Lie Detector...!

Here is a little something you might find interesting. Seems we all have a built in lie detector. I didn't know that, did you? Here is the thinking behind this idea.

If you feel like someone is lying, even if you have no logical reason to think so, they probably are. It turns out your gut is much better at detecting lies than your brain. Studies show you’re more successful at determining whether someone is lying when you jump on your first instinct, because having too much time to think about it can make you wrong more often.

Just thought you might find that interesting. Read more about this study here.

Coffee on the patio this morning!

Need A Job? Try This...!

When times get hard for many of us, sometimes the answer is a second job. If you can qualify, this one might just fit the bill.

Professional Mourner

Photo credit: atlasobscura.com

The death of a loved one can be difficult to deal with, and everyone copes in his own way. Some people mourn for days before getting their lives back to normal. Others shut themselves away until they can be around people again.

Still others take it one step further and get professional mourners to do their grieving. Although it may sound weird to the rest of us, these mourners are dedicated professionals in quite a few parts of the world.

Professional mourning has been a thing for thousands of years in many regions, including Africa, China, and ancient Egypt. However, China is mostly where it’s still big business.

The job consists of showing up to the funeral and staging a believable session of mourning—complete with physically breaking down and wailing. This may sound alien to the rest of us, but it’s completely normal in Chinese culture. These pros can also earn quite a bit depending on how good they are.

I found this over on Listverse, of course.

Coffee out on the patio, where the temps are climbing every day.