1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (127 page)

973

FACT :
Two thousand years ago, the condemned in the Moche civilization in Peru
suffered shockingly brutal execution methods
, including being skinned alive, decapitated, drained of blood, or bound tightly and picked to death by vultures.
That’s harsh, all right, but I give them points for creativity.

Jean Kellaway, The History of Torture and Execution: From Early Civilization through Medieval Times to the Present (Globe Pequot, 2003).

974

FACT :
Being unmarried can shorten a man’s life
by ten years
.
Being married can shorten it by a lot more.

eBizarre,
www.ebizarre.com
.

975

FACT :
The pillory was a common punishment in colonial America and eighteenth century England and France. Similar to stocks, the pillory held offenders in place
as onlookers pummeled them
with rocks, garbage, food, feces, dead animals, and more, sometimes to death. In 1756, four Englishmen died after just one hour in the pillory.
That would be fun, actually. To throw stuff, I mean. Not to be in the pillory.

Jean Kellaway, The History of Torture and Execution: From Early Civilization through Medieval Times to the Present (Globe Pequot, 2003).

976

FACT :
In Los Angeles, California in 1970, authorities discovered “Genie,” a feral child who had spent ten years
locked alone in a room by her abusive father
. At thirteen, Genie could barely walk and talk, was not toilet-trained, could not chew solid food, and could not focus her eyes further than twelve feet.
Genie’s dad—now there’s a guy who needs to be pilloried. I’d bring baseballs and bricks.

“Genie: A Modern-Day Wild Child,” in Learning About Learning, Great Explorations in Math and Science series from the Lawrence Hall of Science, (The Regents of the University of California),
FeralChildren.com
,
www.feralchildren.com
.

977

FACT :
Ingested cocaine may lead
to severe bowel gangrene
caused by reduced blood flow.
Gangrene is defined as “necrosis or death of soft tissue . . . usually followed by decomposition and putrefaction,” so the bowels are the ideal place for it.

“Cocaine,” Psychology Today,
www.psychologytoday.com
.

“Cocaine,”
Dictionary.com
,
www.dictionary.reference.com
.

978

FACT :
A five-year-old English girl nearly died in early 2009 after she had swallowed so much of her own hair that
it became a rope-like structure
that wrapped around her organs—a condition known as Rapunzel Syndrome.
“Hair today, gone tomorrow.”

Luke Salkeld and Alison Smith Squire, “The Real-Life Rapunzel: The Moral of Millie’s Grim Tale Is, Don’t Chew Your Hair,” Daily Mail, May 23, 2009,
www.dailymail.co.uk
.

979

FACT :
A 2009 study revealed that young male children of busy or neglectful parents can feel more closely bonded
to characters from the television shows they watch
, like Bob the Builder, than their fathers.
Just another reason not to let your kids watch Barney.

“Boys Develop Closer Bonds with Bob the Builder Than with Parents,” Daily Mail, May 25, 2009,
www.telegraph.co.uk
.