A Brief History On January 4, 1903, Thomas Edison’s company filmed the execution of Topsy the Elephant, the largest purported casualty in the “War of the Currents”! The big argument over whether to use alternating current as championed by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse or direct current as championed by Thomas Edison had already been decided in favor of alternating current a decade before Topsy became an afterthought and legend of the Current Wars. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Edison, the most prolific inventor of all time (electric light, phonograph, motion pictures, etc.) had been engaged in a bitter struggle with rival…
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A Brief History On January 2, 1979, the murder trial of punk rock legend Sid Vicious began. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find that the trial never came to a conclusion. It was not because of a mistrial or legal wrangling, but because Vicious killed himself with a heroin overdose before the trial ended! Sid Vicious, born John Simon Ritchie, was a famous punk rock star with the group, Sex Pistols. It is hard to say if Vicious committed suicide or died of an accidental overdose, but in light of previous suicide attempts and claiming that he and his girlfriend…
A Brief History On December 31, 1993, transgender person Brandon Teena was raped and murdered. Teena’s tragic life and death served as the inspiration for the 1999 major motion picture Boys Don’t Cry, starring Hillary Swank. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find 21-year-old biologically female Brandon Teena living as a man in Nebraska. Having been born a girl and named Teena Brandon, Brandon exhibited transgender tendencies as an adolescent and despite her mother’s denial and consternation continued to progress that way through high school, ending up expelled only 3 days before graduation. Living as a man under the transposed name,…
A Brief History On December 30, 1977, serial killer Ted Bundy escaped from jail and went on to continue his killing spree. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find this murderous psychopath had actually escaped once before! In June of 1977, having been jailed for assault and kidnapping (getting a sentence of only 1 to 15 years) Bundy was facing a murder charge and escaped from a window at the courthouse in Aspen, Colorado, running free for 6 days before being recaptured. The second escape was from an actual jail in Glenwood Springs, Colorado despite possibly only having to serve a…
A Brief History On December 22, 1984, the tables got turned on criminals when their victim shot them! Digging Deeper Bernhard Goetz, a 37-year-old white man, riding a New York subway believed himself threatened when approached by four African-American men ages 18 and 19. In an instant after initial contact, five shots rang out in rapid succession and all four young men were shot. Although the four young men were apparently carrying screwdrivers for their intended breaking into of vending machines, none of them actually threatened Goetz with a screwdriver when they either asked or demanded $5 from Goetz. Being…
