The House Of Doom...!

As we all know, the criminal mind can be very twisted and cunning at times. Here is a story that could be right out of a fiction novel. I got this little gem from the folks over at Listverse.

The FBI Agent And The House Of Doom

Photo credit: Surprise Police Department/AP

An FBI agent was injured after being shot from a booby-trapped wheelchair on a property in Oregon.

On September 7, several law enforcement officers were called to the home of 66-year-old Gregory Rodvelt (pictured above) in the small town of Williams. They were there at the request of the real estate lawyer tasked with selling the place after Rodvelt was forced to forfeit the property.

It seems that Rodvelt placed several traps before leaving. He was charged with assault for injuring the agent, and court documents described the event as a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Perhaps most telling was a circular hot tub which was turned on its side and rigged to roll over anyone who triggered a tripwire. Also inside were spike strips and the wheelchair that injured the FBI agent.

The makeshift trap consisted of a wheelchair fitted with shotgun ammo and other items that caused an explosion when a person stepped on a fishing line. An X-ray found a shotgun pellet in the officer’s leg.

Although Rodvelt has been in jail in Arizona since April 2017, he was released this August for a few weeks to prepare for the property forfeiture. Presumably, that is when he rigged all the traps.

I get the feeling that this was not a very nice man, ya know? I sure wouldn't want him for a neighbor.

Coffee out on the patio this morning!

How About Some Spider Music...?

As we all know, nature has endowed her creatures with some pretty amazing skills. What you may not know is the extent that music plays to some of Her critters.

They Play Music On The Web

A spider plays music on its web, using the vibrations as though it were a plucked guitar string. This fetches information about its mate, its prey, and even the strength and flexibility of its web. “Most spiders have poor eyesight and rely almost exclusively on the vibration of the silk in their web for sensory information,” says Beth Mortimer of Oxford University. “The sound of silk can tell them what type of meal is entangled in their net and about the intentions and quality of a prospective mate.”

The echoes also give accurate information about the condition of the web. Spiders can feel these incredibly small vibrations through organs on their legs (known as “slit sensillae”). By tuning the silk, spiders can control and adjust the properties of the silk as well as the way the individual threads interconnect with one another.

Researchers have shot bullets and lasers at the silk to measure its vibrations. Spider silk is tough but still able to transfer even the slightest information effectively. For humans, these sonic properties may inspire the creation of new lightweight technologies such as intelligent sensors.

Maybe if we were a bit more in tune with Nature, we could tune in on some of their music. On second thought, man could never be quiet long enough to hear much that nature has to offer...sadly.

Coffee out on the patio this morning!

A Truly Big Sinkhole...!

Once in a great while, nature fights back at us by creating something so fearsome, we are at a loss as to how to deal with it. Such is the case of the Sinkhole of Guatemala.

The Great Guatemalan Sinkhole

BY ADMIN | MAR 15, 2018

Mother Nature is always unpredictable, and in some corners of the Earth, extremely unforgiving too. Some places in this world experience horrendous hurricanes or catastrophic earthquakes, whereas others experience extensive droughts or devastating tsunamis. But, if you happened to be in Guatemala in 2010, you would have been a witness to something much more bizarre – a direct tunnel to the core of our planet.

Just south of Mexico is the sunny region of Guatemala, a country which is jam-packed with beautiful attractions and scenic views. If you’re looking for a tranquil getaway, then Lake Atitlan would be a perfect option. Alternatively, if you want to hop in a time machine and travel back through history, the ancient Mayan City of Tikal would fit the bill.

But, one thing that Guatemala has an abundance of is volcanoes, and that’s exactly what the residents of Guatemala City fear the most. You see, when it comes to volcanoes, most people would be petrified about the possibility of a ferocious eruption with tons of fresh lava spewing out. However, with Guatemala City, it’s the fact that it’s situated on top of weak volcanic pumice.

Now, you’re probably wondering why that’s such a bad thing, right? Well, as the foundations are so unstable, the area has a serious problem with sinkholes. If you’re not aware of what they are, just imagine a ginormous hole in the ground; they happen because the weak pumice succumbs to the pressure from above. On Sunday 30th of May 2010, though, a particularly bad sinkhole opened up.

With no warning or prior indication, the Earth just suddenly crumbled, and within seconds there was a huge hole in the ground that dug down miles and miles. Let’s just say, anyone or anything that dropped down there would never be coming back up. Smack-bang in the middle of the city is where it occurred, and the rough size of the thing was 60-feet wide and 30-stories deep.

Unfortunately, as it was in the middle of the city, it meant a three-story building and an innocent individual’s abode was sucked into it. Of course, panic erupted, partly because there’s a big dangerous hole present and partly because they knew it was going to be there for a while. Why? Because it’s fair to say Guatemala isn’t exactly blessed with great finances, and the current state of the infrastructure there means sinkholes are difficult to fill in.

So, if you ever take a trip to Guatemala, be sure to keep a beady eye out for humungous holes in the ground that just casually blend into the surroundings. Oh, and if you live in Guatemala City, just pray the event of 2010 doesn’t repeat itself because the last thing you want is your home spiraling into the depths of a sinkhole.

I got this story from the folks at Knowledgenuts, where you can see another picture of it from the air.

Coffee out on the patio again this morning.

Who Really Invented The John...?

The history of man wouldn't be complete without a look at how we have managed our waste over the years. Maybe it's time to finally lay this "crap" to rest with this little history of the toilet.

Who Really Invented The Toilet?

BY SEAN TUOHY | MAY 26, 2018

Contrary to popular belief, there was no man named John P. Crapper who invented the flush toilet. However, a man named Thomas Crapper did make numerous improvements to the flush toilet that had been invented more than two centuries before Crapper was born. He is also known for having promoted modern-day indoor sanitary plumbing with his inventions and products, which he sold through his company, “Thomas Crapper & Co Ltd”. In addition, the expression “using the John” and the slang term “crap” do not originate from Crapper’s name at all. The term, “John” originated from Sir John Harington, who is credited as the original inventor of the flush toilet. The slang term “crap” is a word that is derived from Middle English and earlier from Dutch and Old French. However, The reference to the toilet as “The Crapper” originated with US soldiers returning from England after WWII who saw the company name on the logo which was stamped on Crapper’s products at the time.

Did you ever wonder where the expression “I need to use the John” came from or another expression regarding the waste we deposit in the toilet referred to as “crap”? Many incorrectly believe the inventor of the toilet was a man named John P. Crapper whose name is the supposed source of the above terminology. His assumed middle initial “P.” is thought to refer to what is produced when we urinate. However, John P. Crapper is a made up name, though not completely. Actually, the word “crap” originates from Middle English, where the term was used to reference rubbish or chaff, but its reference to human waste originates from two earlier words, including the Dutch word “krappen” meaning to cut off and Old French, “crappe”, meaning waste or rejected matter.

The truth is that there really was a man named Thomas Crapper (1836-1910) who is credited with greatly improving the flush toilet and promoting modern day indoor sanitary plumbing. Among his improvements to the flush toilet are the “floating ball cock” and the “U-bend”, which were incorporated in the toilets he sold with his company, “Thomas Crapper & Co Ltd”. This led to many US soldiers stationed in England during World War II to refer to a toilet as “The Crapper”, since the company’s name appeared in the logo which was stamped on Crapper’s products. From there, the reference was brought back to the United States as soldiers returned at the end of the war. However, the original flush toilet was actually invented in 1596 by a man named Sir John Harington, where it is thought that the expression “I need to use the John” came from. He invented the first flushing toilet and installed a prototype version in the palace for Queen Elizabeth I, who was his godmother.

However, the foul smell from the plumbing below was a problem he would never solve. Alexander Cumming later patented a design of the flush toilet utilizing what is known as an “S-trap” in 1775, which is a curvature in the plumbing below that retains some water in the piping to block the foul smelling gases from entering the residence. Later, in 1778, a man named Joseph Bramah invented the first practical flush toilet.

Though not the original inventor of the flush toilet, Crapper made some key improvements to the design and promoted the use of sanitary indoor plumbing with his company that sold his flush toilets as well as numerous Victorian bathroom fittings. Today, Crapper’s company name, inscribed on manhole covers in Westminster Abbey, is still a minor tourist attraction in London.

Now that we have that mystery all solved, I feel much better...don't you?

Coffee out on the slightly wet patio this morning!

Bill Tilghman For Western Wednesday...!

Ever wonder just what some lawmen did before working for the law? A few had some close with the law themselves. Here is Bill's story, thanks to Listverse.

Bill Tilghman

Photo credit: Robert G. McCubbin Collection

Bill Tilghman was born in Iowa but moved to Kansas. When he was still a young man, Tilghman became a hunter, and he claimed to have killed 12,000 bison in only five years, much to the annoyance of the local Native Americans, for whom this meant food. During an exchange in September 1872, Tilghman is said to have killed seven Cheyenne braves. It wasn’t his only scrape with the law. Two years later, he just barely escaped being lynched after he was accused of murdering a man in Granada, Colorado.

In 1875, he opened a saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, and in 1878, he became the town’s deputy sheriff. He is said to have collected more rewards for bringing in outlaws than anyone else. During his time as sheriff, he was accused of corruption and selling whiskey to the Native Americans. He was also arrested several times for running a brothel and facilitating gambling.

Tilghman was shot on November 1, 1924, while trying to arrest a corrupt Prohibition officer. Karma?

Seems to me that what goes around, comes around...ya know?

Coffee out on the patio again this morning!

The Denver Spiderman...!

Sometimes the criminals in the movies get some crazy nicknames. Come to think of it, that happens in real life as well. Here is just such a case of a crazy nickname.

The Strange Tale Of The Denver Spiderman

BY M.ADMIN | NOV 16, 2013

In 1941, a man was found murdered in his house, with all the windows and doors locked. It looked like the case would go unsolved until a year later police heard strange noises coming from a tiny crawl space in the attic. The killer had been inside the house the whole time.

In September 1941, Philip Peters was found bludgeoned to death at his home. What police couldn’t figure out was how it happened. All the doors and windows in Peter’s home were locked from the inside, and there were no signs of forced entry whatsoever. It looked like the mystery would go unsolved.

Eventually Philip Peter’s widow and son returned to live in the house after a hospital stay. They soon started hearing noises at night: shuffling and knocking. Even neighbors reported seeing “odd lights.” So, the family came to believe that the house was haunted. And there was still the mystery surrounding the death of Mr Peters. The police responded to these reports of ghostly sounds by searching the house, but coming up empty. The family had had enough and moved out. However, the police, not willing to let the case go, and not willing to buy into the “ghost” theory, began to carry out surveillance.

One day, that surveillance paid off. Almost a full year after the initial murder, in July 1942, two police officers on a stakeout outside the house saw something move in an upstairs window. They rushed inside and up to the attic where they saw a man trying desperately to squeeze into a tiny gap. They pulled him out and found that he’d been living in a tiny cubby hole in the wall this whole time, occasionally making brief forays downstairs for food and water. Although the hole was too small for most men, the man was able to contort himself to fit into it. It turned out his name was Theodore Coneys, a homeless man who’d been living in the attic for quite some time. Philip Peters had startled him one day as he foraged for food resulting in the initial murder. He was dubbed the Spiderman for both the weird length of his fingers and for the length of time he’d spent living in his spider-hole in the attic.

I'm surprised that we don't hear of more cases like this. Just thinking about it makes me nervous, ya know?

Coffee inside once again this morning!

Mysterious Grave Of John Renie...!

Every once in a while, someone plays a prank on us from their final resting place. Were they being mean, or just going out with a chuckle?

John Renie

Photo credit: Robert Cutts

Welsh house painter John Renie died in 1832. The unusual inscription on his grave takes the form of a grid, 19 squares across and 15 squares high. In each square is a letter. The center row, for example, reads “o J s e i L e r e H e r e L i e s J o.” You can make out some clear words. “Here” and “Lies” are in that in that string above, and you can see the start of “John.” But why the jumble?

After 170 years, a local TV station finally analyzed it, determining that it was a type of acrostic puzzle. Starting at the H in the very center and working outward, the sentence “Here Lies John Renie” can be read in 46,000 different ways.

Some people say Renie was trying to fool the devil, to keep his soul safe. The local vicar thinks they’re taking the inscription too seriously. He expects it “was just a bit of fun” meant to provide entertainment for those that saw it.

I actually think that this is a cool way to be remembered after you pass. Kinda leave them thinking about the riddle and not feeling too sad.

Coffee out on the patio this morning.