URBAN HELL

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There is a website called Urban Hell where people post pics of hellish urban environments, as the title makes clear. According to the website:

The Downsides of Modern Development

A photography subreddit of all the hideous places human beings built or inhabit. Come here for aesthetic appreciation of the darker side of the cities, towns, and villages in our shared world.

The site is at:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/

Recently Bored Panda posted a selection of pics from that site, at:

https://www.boredpanda.com/urban-hell-pics-best-of-all-times/?cexp_id=115410&cexp_var=59&_f=homepage_featured

Following are some of the Bored Panda posted photos, with BP captions and selected reader comments, followed by some pics without comments.

It will make you appreciate your own home and environment as you possibly shudder and silently think “There but for the grace of God . . . “

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Mumbai, India

Reader comments:

I was born in Mumbai. There are piles of trash EVERYWHERE. It's so sad :(. I thought this was the norm until I moved elsewhere.

I thought the billboard was the urban hell... I'll take the garbage over anything that can be called "the Trump way" any day!

Atrocious

Wow renovations at the white house went quick.

If it's in Mumbai, why is it in English?

Most places have English as their second language

The sign does say Trump tower Mumbai however I completely agree with the sentiment. It’s funny the US created the housing first model to eliminate homelessness, but refuses to implement it. However countries that have implemented it have had major successes

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The Annual Monsoon Ritual Of Mumbai's Ocean Giving Back What Has Been Dumped In It

Reader comments:

Utterly disgusting behaviour of doing THAT!

They probably don't have a good system for dealing with trash accumulation. And other countries, like the U.S. sends their plastic waste to India. It's supposed to be recycled. But monsoons are too powerful, and overwhelm the process.

That's on all of us. We are all complicit in the pollution of our world.

Good for the ocean. It does not want all that garbage.

We need to stop this plastic craze, disposable wrappings!

So gross. You couldn't pay me to go to that part of the world.

Is that, .......is that, a........a HAND?!!!! Do you guys see it? Right there on the step??

Is it on the top step where a part of the pic is blurred out?

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Beirut Port

Reader comments:

Should say: "My mind blowing, corrupt government DID this!"

Impressive spray-paint-handwriting

We’ll probably be saying this in the U.S. sooner rather than later. 🫤

Drill, baby, drill… This is all so fúcked up.

Why does it say it in English?

Because political messages are often written in English - more people will understand them abroad, spreading the message to a wider audience. Things were written on the Berlin Wall in English, too.

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A Boy Gathers Recyclable Items From A Semi-Dry Drain, At Taimoor Nagar In New Delhi

Reader comments:

There is no municipal waste management in New Delhi.

There bloody well should be!

There is over 1 billion people in India, so why can't some of them ( say a couple of million ) be employed to clean up the trash ? Better still would be to educate the population not to litter in the first place.

One major obstacle is poverty. If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from you sure ain’t got time to think about recycling

India seems to be represented very heavily in this list….

Awful country! And the worst part is..they have nukes!

Yes, they have nukes, but oddly I'm much more concerned about Russia and the US having nukes, as neither has a mentally stable adult in charge.

Shitehole

What is the Indian Government doing? Shameful.

Just the amount of disease possibility.

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Ah Yes, Trees

Reader comments:

Those are quite ambitious butt-plugs!

Life-sized Lego trees, I think this is Saudi Arabia so a no-water option makes sense, but this is just bizarre.

This is the drive up to the parking lot for Lego Land in Florida

What is it?

🎶Fake plastic trees🎶

looks like the hulk did a poo

Maybe they are lights or something?

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Uae Nad Al Sheba III Neighborhood

Reader Comments:

Imagine getting drunk and trying to find your house...

Probably not a good idea to get drunk out there anyway.

little boxes, on the hillside ...

Little boxes made of ticky-tacky

Incredibly dehumanising.

Huh, oh you can't miss us. We are the orange house on the third street to your left

I'd never leave my house because I'd never find it again.

This is not real. Can't you guys see that the roofs are all the same? Same items, same place. These clearly were copied and pasted OR AI generated. Prove me wrong!

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Hong Kong

Reader comments:

Human storage units, sad.

Amazing just how many separate and unique human lives and stories are occurring simultaneously in one city block

As a first step it's better than people being homeless. Don't compare it with Jeff Bezos' home, compare it with the cardboard box on a snowy street that appeared in a recent list here on BP.

Not a step up from homelessness necessarily. Given the population density some of those could still cost a fortune to live in.

Holy mole!

Damn the day when the elevator breaks! And you have 10 bags of groceries all by yourself!

Hive culture.

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Electrical Wiring And Water Pipes In A Brazilian Favela

Reader comments:

Raw ingenuity and survival instinct in action.

The plumbers and electricians are heroes. Maybe insane heroes, but heroes nonetheless.

How does anyone work out where anything starts and finishes? Such a mess.

They don't troubleshoot connections here, they just run another line.

Heaven help any poor electrician or plumber who has to make repairs here.

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Cairo, Egypt

Reader comments:

Holy cow, I thought it was landscape not buildings.

Motherboard

A perfect example of human overpopulation.

I feel on the verge of a panic attack just looking at some of these pictures.

I can't wrap my mind around this.

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Some without comments . . .

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Contrary To Popular Belief, The Belgian Coast's Real Estate Did Survive To The Two World Wars. Its Cultural Heritage Was Destroyed By Real Estate Developers' Greed And Public Officials' Lack Of Care

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Chinese Ghost Town Of Mansions Reclaimed By Farmers

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Thanksgiving Traffic in LA

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San Francisco, USA

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Hong Kong's Dismal Cage Homes House Thousands Of People

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New Delhi - During Lockdown vs. Now

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Hong Kong Street Life

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People Offering Prayers At River Yamuna, India, Which Is Frothing From Industrial Waste

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Naples, Italy

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People Living Next To A Helicoidal Street In Chongqing

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Magnitogorsk, One Of The Worst Polluted Cities In Russia. Only 28% Of The Children Born In The Town Are Fully Healthy

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Residential Building In Hong Kong

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Johannesburg, South Africa

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Dhaka, Bangladesh

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"Lying Skyscraper" In Moscow. About 736m Long

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

FUNNY FRIDAY

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After my recent problems and battles with the internet and the blog site, it seems appropriate that the internet is this week’s theme.

Enjoy readers.

Caution: risqué content ahead.

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SOME HUMOUR:

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I've got a meeting with the guy that invented the progress bar during the era of dialup internet. He's going to be here in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Edit: Apparently he's stuck in traffic and he's going to be here in 6 hours 54 minutes.

Edit2: He's making better progress than thought, he will be here in 12 minutes.

Edit3: Apparently it will now take him 5 days

(I remember those days. Otto)

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Parents to me in 1997: Don’t trust anyone on the internet

Me to parents in 2025: Don’t trust anyone on the internet

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My ex told me she wants to get back together again.

I have to be the luckiest man in the world.

First I win the lottery and now this.

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I was curious as what my parents did for fun before the internet…

I asked my 23 siblings and they didn’t know either.

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I got a new stick deodorant. The instructions said, “Remove cap and push up bottom.”

I can barely walk, but when I break wind, the room smells lovely!

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A man walks into a pharmacy and says to the pharmacist: “Can I get some deodorant please?” “Aerosol or ball?”

“Nah, for under the armpits.”

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You can never trust the internet

All the websites offer me cookies but I never receive any of them

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Calaway's Law states that "the best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it's to post the wrong answer."

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Me: What's the wifi password?

Bartender: You need to buy a drink first.

Me: Okay, I'll have a coke.

Bartender: Is Pepsi okay?

Me: Sure. How much is that?

Bartender: $3.

Me: There you go. So what's the wifi password?

Bartender: You need to buy a drink first. No spaces, all lowercase.

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Wife texts husband on a cold winter morning: "Windows frozen, won't open."

Husband texts back: "Gently pour some lukewarm water over it and then gently tap edges with hammer."

Wife texts back 10 minutes later: "Computer really messed up now."

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Two salesmen were going door to door, and knocked on the door of a woman who was not happy to see them. She told them in no uncertain terms that she did not want to hear their offer and slammed the door in their faces. To her surprise, however, the door did not close and, in fact, bounced back open. She tried again, really put her back into it, and slammed the door again with the same result - the door bounced back open. Convinced these rude salesmen were sticking their foot in the door, she reared back to give it a slam that would teach them a lesson, when one of the men said: "Ma'am, before you do that again, you need to move your cat."

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A man from the city bought himself a farm.

On his first day at the farm he was walking his acres, discovering the creeks, hills and other features when he came upon a large hole in the ground. He looked inside but he could see only blackness. He picked up a small stone and dropped it into the hole, waiting to hear it strike the bottom to ascertain its depth, but he heard nothing.

He then dropped in a larger stone, with his ear held over the hole, but again he heard nothing.

Looking around he noticed a railway sleeper. With some effort he managed to push it into the hole. As he waited to hear the sound of it striking the bottom, a goat ran out from some nearby bushes and charged straight at him. He managed to get out of its way at the last moment but the goat continued straight on, into the hole.

A short while later a man came by and said to him “’Scuse me, mate, but you haven’t seen a goat around here anywhere, have you?”

”Well, as a matter of fact I have,” he replied. “A goat came out of those bushes, charged at me and dived into this hole.”

“That wouldn’t be my goat, mate,” he replied, “mine’s tied to a railway sleeper.”

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LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:

Previously posted but worth a re-post for the excellent rhyming:

To his bride, said the sharp eyed detective,

"Can it be that my eyesight's defective?

Has your east tit the least bit

The best of your west tit,

Or is it a trick of perspective?"

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GALLERY:

From Leo, thanks L:

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RELIGION:

God was missing for six days.

Eventually, Michael the Archangel found him resting on the seventh day and inquired, 'Where have you been?'

God smiled and pointed down through the clouds.

‘Look, Michael. Look what I've made. It's a planet,' replied God, 'and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test balance.'

‘Balance?' answered Michael. ‘I'm confused.'

God pointed to different parts of earth.

‘For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor.

Over here I've placed a continent of pale-skinned people and over there is a continent of dark-skinned people. Balance in all things.'

God continued pointing to different countries.

‘This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice.'

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, 'What's that one?'

'That's Washington State, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills and plains. The people from Washington State are going to be handsome, modest, mostly intelligent, humorous and they are going to travel the world.’

‘They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving and known throughout the world as diplomats, carriers of peace and producers of software,’ God explained.

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, then asked, 'But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance.'

God smiled. ‘There is another Washington, and wait until you see the idiots I put there!’

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CORN CORNER:

How do you get Dick from Richard?

You buy him a drink first.

Btw

The answer is that rhyming nicknames were popular in medieval times. Because everything was written out by hand, names were often shortened on paper, so Richard became Ric, Rick, or Rich. The fad for rhyming nicknames gave rise to Dick, Hick, and Hitch. Of those, only Dick survived. Similar examples include Rob and Bob for Robert or Will and Bill for William

In the 12th and 13th centuries everything was written by hand and Richard nicknames like Rich and Rick were common just to save time. Rhyming nicknames were also common and eventually Rick gave way to Dick and Hick, while Rich became Hitch. Dick, of course, is the only rhyming nickname that stuck over time.

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Set your wifi password to 2444666668888888

So when someone asks tell them it's 12345678

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

BIG THINGS (PART 1)

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The website Megalophobia features photographs submitted by the online community of big things. Visit it by clicking on:

https://www.reddit.com/r/megalophobia/

By the way:

Megalophobia is an anxiety disorder marked by an irrational fear of large objects. This fear can provoke severe anxiety and panic attacks, significantly impacting an individual's quality of life. This fear can manifest in many forms, anything from towering buildings and natural formations to oversized everyday items. While the object of fear varies from person to person, common triggers include large statues, tall buildings, expansive bodies of water, and even large vehicles.

Recently Bored Panda featured a selection of those photographs at:

https://www.boredpanda.com/fear-gigantic-things-pics-megalophobia/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_Bored_Panda_Weekly_Automation&utm_term=2025-01-04&lctg=d10b98b7-dff0-4bf1-8d51-fefca3e7234a

Here are some of the BP pics with BP captions and reader comments. Some of the big items, if not all, will astound you.

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Unreal Landscape: Dolomites, Italy

Selected comments:

It's absolutely majestic!

I will admire it from the bottom of that slope.

Looks like an alien world...

Serene!!

How can you not want to immediately be there? 💕

This just proves how gigantic the earth really is. Just beautiful

The edge of one plate pushed up by another. Bigger version of a slab of sidewalk lifted by a tree root

Reminds me of Pride Rock from The Lion King 😊

The light .... It's otherwordly!

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Thunderstorm Over Panama. Picture Taken At 37,000 Feet By Santiago Borja

Selected comments:

How do you even get a shot like that? Amazed. Spectacular!

A huuuuuge ladder.

Just wow

Nature....ANGRY!

A forever moment.

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Perseid's Meteor Shower Over Stonehenge

Selected comments:

Taken over a longish timespan, probably several hours.

i went through that once at sea. saw about 40 an hour all night. 1976

In ancient times... 'undreds of years before the dawn of 'istory... lived a strange race of people... the Druids...

how come I never see this kind of thing when I go past

Remember what happened during the Triffid shower

Nope, I always keep my eyes closed. And a keen lookout for my tomato plants afterwards.

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Just Imagine Going Hiking In The Woods And Coming Across This Beast

Selected comments:

Mr Moose makes the trees look like alders 🌱

That's Miss Moose... missing an important part to be a Mr.

I saw moose many times. There used to be an Air Force Base in northern Maine (Loring), and I was stationed there for a couple years. I was working on the flightline the night when a military police officer in an SUV-type car was honking the horn at a massive male moose trying to get the moose to leave the runway. The moose got mad, attacked the car, and flipped the car on its side.

Was driving though Wyoming on our way to see Mt. Rushmore when we noticed a moose down off the road near a creek. Then we noticed the woman it was chasing down. The moose had a small calf and the woman's dog wouldn't stop barking at it. So she picks up the dog and tried to get away when the moose kicks her in the back with it front leg, sending her face down into the dirt. She got back up with her dog and tried to get away again, but the moose followed and kicked her to the dirt again, with the dog still barking. We stopped and started shouting at her to come up to the highway. She did, and the moose followed. We were driving a little Aspire with our camping gear taking up everything but the front two seats. So all 3 of us, plus the dog, crammed in with one of us sitting on the stick shift, and managed to close the door. But uh oh, the passenger side window was rolled down and none of us could quite reach it because we are all sitting on each other

One of us was barely able to reach the handle and was desperately trying to roll the window up while the moose was closing in. The dog would not stop barking. We managed to get the window closed just as the moose reached us, and I swear to god we all thought it was going to smash the window. Fortunately, it decided it couldn't reach the dog so walked on with its calf. But don't ever mess with mama moose.

May be hard for some to believe, but there are actually people who will get close to get a selfie.

Not hard to believe. People are idiots.

We had one in our campsite last fall. We have a tree tent, called a Tentsile, that is strung between trees 4 ft off the ground. Effing moose stepped OVER the straps. OVER.

OMG. So my ex and I were "camping" with some friends. Yeah, we were in a van that got stuck in the snow up in the Cascade National Forest (WA State). I was the only girl & had to pee. So I walk down the road a ways (full moon, so it was gorgeous at about 1:00am) and find my perfect peeing bush. Doing my business when I hear this "chuffing" noise. I turned my head and came face to face with a bull moose easily this size. I couldn't see the end of his rack in my peripheral vision, he was so big. So, I said "Um, hello. Not here to bother you, just had to pee. WOW - You're a BIG fella, aren'tcha?" He just stared at me for a minute (that lasted an hour) and moseyed on down the road. I was terrified and thrilled at the same time. No one belleved me until I made them walk down the road where they could see his tracks. One of the most awesome nature encounters I've ever had.

I suspect a flying squirrel is nearby...

[ My contribution for Scottish Dave:

A Scotsman walks into a bar in Canada and notices an animal's head hanging on the wall He asks the bartender what it is and the bartender replied “a moose". The Scot says "Jesus Christ! How big are the cats then?” ]

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Iceberg Passing By A House In Greenland

Selected comments:

I'd love to see that in real life - while standing on solid, rocky ground.

With a fluffy, warm jacket!

"Wall of ice closer today Thag"

Very very very very scary to me,

If I lived somewhere as cold as Greenland I’d want a very cozy house that looks like it’s sealed with great insulation and double pane windows. I’m freezing looking at this little trailer.

Honey, can you get me some ice for my drink please?

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White-Bellied Sea Eagle

Selected comments

Magnificent

It's majestic, but I'll admire it from a safe distance. Just look at that beak!

Beautiful bird, even more beautiful woman that is handing it so for me I see two stunningly beautifully gorgeous creatures loving up on each other

That bird looks like something out of Narnia!

For some reason, I do not think I would like to put my face within pecking distance of that pointed beak

I didn’t even notice the eagle

lost in girls eyes

Magnificent bird, and the eagle to her left is nice as well.

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The Sky Looks Way Too Much Like A Gigantic Wave

Selected comments

Kelvin-Helmholz clouds or fluctus clouds. Beautiful but tiny bit scary..

Not fluctus as they are not curling in wave shapes. This is a cumulus cloud.

*puts on goggles and snorkel and prays*

If I saw that, I think I would scream like a two-year-old and soil my trousers.

terrifying!

Looks as though the road goes straight into the ocean

Incoming tsunami!!!

Holy C**p! Runnnnn!

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Saltwater Crocodile Next To A Human

Selected comments:

Gonna be a hard pass from me, thanks

That's not all I'd pass.

That's just a straight-up dinosaur.

Is the human in a plastic container to keep them fresh for the crocodiles snacking pleasure?

I've seen videos of them next to boats and it's mind blowing how big they actually are!

I'd love to do this! It looks absolutely amazing and a wee bit terrifying!

It's not wee, it's massively terrifying. The only wee would be flowing out of me in sheer fright

Is the croc held captive? Looks like walls in the background

Of course it is

And this is why you don't go swimming in the Northern Territory of Australia.

I have done it in The Northern Territory, Australia 🇦🇺, It's called The Cage of Death 🐊🤠✨️

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And another for Disco Dave from Scotland to finish . . .

Kelpies

The Kelpies are a pair of monumental steel horse-heads between the Scottish towns of Falkirk and Grangemouth. They stand next to the M9 motorway and form the eastern gateway of the Forth and Clyde Canal, which meets the River Carron here. Each head is 30 metres (98 ft) high.

Selected comments:

If I had no idea what these were, and drove by them on a foggy day like that, I would probably think, "Well, I guess the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are here. It was fun while it lasted."

This is so cool. Particularly in a foggy day like that.

I’m not usually bothered by big things but for some reason, the Kelpies make me really uncomfortable. I could not for the life of me say why.

Stunning monument

Spent a wonderful morning there…magnificent…

Imagine not knowing about these and randomly stumbling upon them.

I would like to see these in good sunlight.

They're in Scotland, not gonna happen.

By the way:

Dave et al, some notes and comments:

• A kelpie, or water kelpie is a mythical shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a grey or white horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil".

• Almost every sizeable body of water in Scotland has an associated kelpie story, but the most extensively reported is that of Loch Ness. The kelpie has counterparts across the world, such as the Germanic nixie, the wihwin of Central America and the Australian bunyip. The origins of narratives about the creature are unclear, but the practical purposes of keeping children away from dangerous stretches of water and warning young women to be wary of handsome strangers has been noted in secondary literature.

• The Kelpies are a pair of monumental steel horse-heads between the Scottish towns of Falkirk and Grangemouth. They stand next to the M9 motorway and form the eastern gateway of the Forth and Clyde Canal, which meets the River Carron here. Each head is 30 metres (98 ft) high.

• The sculptures, which represent kelpies, were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013. An unveiling ceremony took place in April 2014. Around the sculptures is an area of parkland known as The Helix.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

POETRY SPOT

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Edgar A. Guest was born in 1881 in England, but his family moved to the United States when he was 10. It is believed that he wrote more than 11,000 poems. Guest wrote about family, work, children, and God. 

In the poem ‘Equipment’ he shows that each person has the ability, the equipment (legs, arms, a brain) to do amazing things, but we must each work hard to get to where we want to be. We must look within ourselves to find the strength and courage needed to do great things with what has been given us.

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EQUIPMENT

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You've all that the greatest of men have had,

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes

And a brain to use if you would be wise.

With this equipment they all began,

So start for the top and say, "I can."

Look them over, the wise and great

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes.

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,

You can be great if you only will.

You're well equipped for what fight you choose,

You have legs and arms and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen great deeds to do

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose your place,

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study the truth to know.

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within,

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself, my lad.

You were born with all that the great have had,

With your equipment they all began,

Get hold of yourself and say: "I can."

--Edgar A. Guest

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

MISCELLANEOUS FACTS

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Arthur Boyt (1938 – 1923), a retired biologist from Cornwall, ate roadkill for more than 50 years. He was also the author of several roadkill recipe books. Calling himself a “freegan”, he declared a badger sandwich a favourite.

Journalists rang him regularly to ask what he had had for Christmas lunch, answers included beached sperm whale casserole with brussel sprouts, and his 2015 Christmas dish of dolphin, which he sauteed live on air on a radio show. This caused a controversy in that the dolphin was the property of the British Crown. He responded that it was not illegal to dispose of a dead dolphin body and that he had simply disposed of it via his mouth.

He also liked dog, the best being Labrador, but if he found a dog body with a collar, he tried to reunite it with the owner.

He once served his unsuspecting sister cat and only told her afterwards. At her son’s wedding she tried to beat him up.

He would really have had a feast on the roadkill available on the highway to Canberra.

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Hippocrates (c 460 – 370 BC), known today as the “Father of Medicine”, was of the opinion that eating dogs was likely to cause indigestion but boiled puppies were tasty meals for invalids.

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The earliest archaeological evidence of soup dates back to 6,000 BC and was hippopotamus soup.

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BTW:

What’s the difference between a Hippo and a Zippo?

One is heavy, the other is a little lighter.

(Boom, boom, tsshh)

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Caramel was created in about 1,000 AD by Arabs mixing sugar and water to create a crystallised liquid. It was not used as a food item but as a beauty product, by women to remove hair from their legs.

It was not until about 1860, when milk and cream were mixed in with sugar and water to create the caramels we know today.

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It has been theorised that Shakespeare may have had syphilis, explaining his obsessive interest in “the pox”, his clinically exact knowledge of it, the final poems of the sonnets and the misogyny and revulsion from sex prominent in his writings in what been termed his tragic period. It is also supported by contemporary gossip. Not only was he notoriously promiscuous, he was also part of a love triangle in which all three parties contracted venereal disease.

It has also been hypothesised that Shakespeare received treatment for syphilis, the treatment being mercury vapour, which left those treated with several problems, especially tremors. The saying was “A night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury.” This supports Shakespeare’s late-life decrease in artistic production, social withdrawal and hair loss. It would also explain the decline in his handwriting. His final signatures show a marked tremor.

Shakespeare's six surviving signatures, all from legal documents.

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William Stark was a Senior Second Officer aboard the Queen Mary. He was asked to prepare gin and lime drinks for the Captain and two other officers but couldn’t find the gin in the Captain’s cabin so asked a steward to assist. The steward located a gin bottle but was not aware that it contained toxic tetrachloride, used to clean furniture. Stark used it to make the drinks and drank his in one gulp. He commented that the gin was “funny”. Declining to have his stomach pumped as not being that big a deal, he died shortly after of tetrachloride poisoning. His ghost is said to haunt the RMS Queen Mary.

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Former US President Richard Nixon (1913 – 1994) had an irrational, excessive fear of hospitals, once stating “If I go into the hospital I’ll never come out alive.” The condition is known as nosocomephobia and it caused Nixon to refuse hospital treatment for a blood clot in 1974.

In 1994 he suffered a severe stroke as a result of a blood clot which had travelled to his brain. He died 3 days later in hospital.

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Ritchie Valens (1941 – 1959), noted for hits La Bamba and Donna, was a student aged 15 when a plane collided mid-air with an Air Force plane and crashed into his school yard. 8 people died and 78 were injured. Valens was not at school that day in that he was attending his grandfather’s funeral but it nonetheless caused recurring nightmares and a fear of flying, known as aviophobia.

On February 3, 1959 – “The Day the Music Died” – he flew the one and only time. The plane crashed in Iowa in bad weather, also taking the lives of Buddy Holly, J P ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was 17.

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In 1987, Canadian Kenneth Parks drove 20 kilometres to Pickering Ontario to the home of his in-laws. Entering with a key they had previously given him, he used a tyre iron to bludgeon his mother in law to death. He unsuccessfully then attempted to choke his father in law to death. Covered in blood, he drove to a police station and said “I think I have just killed two people.”

His defence, supported by neurological reports, was that he was sleepwalking at the time, a condition in the category known as automatism, hence he was not criminally liable. He maintained that he fell asleep on the couch in his own home, that he woke up in his in laws’ house and had no knowledge of how he had gotten there or what had happened.

The jury agreed and he was acquitted.

His wife must have been very forgiving, he went on to have 6 children.

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Guy Fawkes (1570 – 1606), one of the 8 1606 Gunpowder Plotters intending to blow up the British House of Lords. Charged with high treason, all were sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered and their body parts put on display. Standing on the scaffold with the hangman’s rope around his neck, he cheated his executioners by jumping from the scaffold, breaking his neck. His body was nonetheless drawn and quartered, and the parts put on public display.

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Speaking of hangings . . .

William Brodie (1741 – 1788), often known as Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinetmaker, deacon of a trades guild and Edinburgh city councillor. He was also a secret burglar, partly for the thrill, partly to fund his gambling and the rest to support 2 mistresses and 5 secret children. He used his daytime work to obtain information about the security systems of his customers and to make wax impressions of heir keys.

Brodie was also an amateur inventor and is credited as being involved in designing an improved gallows and means of execution by hanging. Until that time, persons to be hanged were pushed from a high platform and strangled to death. Brodie helped perfect the trapdoor-and-lever system that became the standard gallows.

Brodie was apprehended and sentenced to death for his crimes. On the gallows he asked if he could inspect the apparatus. Pronouncing it satisfactory, he was dropped to his death by his own device.

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This one's for you Steve (who hates the Star Wars films but gave me a birthday card the plays the Star Wars theme when it is opened) . . . 

Alec Guinness played Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1977 Star Wars film but hated it, describing it as “banal” and “mumbo jumbo". He threw away Star Wars-related fan mail unopened and in his autobiography recalled that he was approached by a small boy who said that he had seen the film a hundred times. Guinness said that he would give him an autograph if he promised not to watch it again. The boy burst into tears.

Guinness also said that it was his idea to have Obi-Wan killed off, to make his part shorter.

Ironically the film made him rich, he was the only actor to get a cut of the profits.

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In 1931 Nazi chief Heinrich Himmler (1900 – 1945) asked fellow Nazi Hugo Boss (1885 – 1948), shown above, to design his soldiers a uniform that would inspire fear in men and “success with girls”. The result was a black uniform with a black hat sporting a silver skull. 

By 1938 the Boss label was working exclusively for the Nazis and military machine, producing uniforms for the SA, the SS, Hitler Youth, the postal service, the national railroad and Wehrmacht, using 140 Polish and 40 French slave labour persons.

After World War II, the denazification process saw Boss initially labelled as an "activist, supporter and beneficiary" of Nazism, which resulted in a heavy fine, also stripping him of his voting rights and capacity to run a business. This initial ruling was appealed, and Boss was re-labelled as a Mitläufer ("fellow traveller"), a category with a less severe punishment. Nevertheless, the effects of the ban led to Boss's son-in-law, Eugen Holy, taking over both the ownership and the running of the company.