Today’s Shattered Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
There were shocks and tremors throughout the summer of 1668 in the region known as Anatolia (largely today part of Turkey). The activity reached a peak in mid-August. The activity reached a peak in mid-August. On the afternoon of August 12, violent shocks were felt from Istanbul to Izmir, and a number of people were killed. A further strong tremor was felt on August 15, when the castle in Ankara was shattered and further deaths were reported.
Ankara Castle
The major shock, however, happened on August 17. In Ankara a series of violent jolts at intervals of three to four minutes rocked the city. Cliffs above it broke up, sending large quantities of rocks and debris crashing down. The town of Bolu, north of Ankara, was almost totally destroyed, with 2,000 deaths reported.
Hacihamza was also razed to the ground, only its fort remaining standing. In Amasya, the historic 15th century mosque of Sultan Bayazid suffered severe damage, and the town of Tokat was also very badly damaged.
Mosque of Sultan Bayazid
Total deaths from these quakes are believed to have been around 8,000. The main tremor was probably equivalent to Richter scale 8; by the end of August more than 200 aftershocks had been reported.
Culled from: Catastrophes and Disasters
Vehicular Murder-Suicide Du Jour!
A Vehicular Homicide/Suicide Case Study
A thirty-three-year-old woman drowned herself and her three children (ages four, eight, and ten) in her two-door sedan submerged in Lake Erie. Their car had been standing with its lights on in a marina parking lot facing the lake. She was seen to drive to the edge of the water, back up, and finally proceed forward at a high rate of speed into the lake. The driver’s blood ethanol concentration was 100mg/dl.. The vehicle was in good operating condition. The ignition was in the “on” position and the other key was in the passenger side door, locking it from the outside. Her husband had lost his job two months previously because he had been charged with grand theft, thus depriving the family of financial resources. The decedent had been despondent over the financial situation and had left home in the car with the children after a debt collector’s visit.
Culled from: Car Crash Culture
I searched but I couldn’t find this story in the newspaper archive. If anyone tracks it down, please send it my way!
Andersonville Prisoner Diary Entry Du Jour!
This is the continuation of the 1864 diary of Andersonville prisoner Private George A. Hitchcock (see the archived version for all entries up until now).
Here’s today’s entry:
October 22nd. Shep. and I have fixed up blankets with Laird of Pennsylvania, by which means we get an extra blanket for nights.
Culled from: Andersonville: Giving Up the Ghost