Penetrating Observations: Grim Reaper Edition
July 23, 2010
- Researchers using DNA analysis are “85% sure” they’ve identified the remains of Italian painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) in a small church in Tuscany. And it seems that Caravaggio, an artistic genius with homicidal tendencies, probably died from conditions exacerbated by lead poisoning resulting from heavy exposure through his paints. From the levels of lead in his bones, the exposure would have been enough to cause or contribute to his famous behavioral problems. Hat tip: Ed Yong.
- Christopher Hitchens doesn’t drink nearly as much as we all think he does. But he’s still a tragically good example of the conclusion of this recent study: we humans are getting “better” at making decisions that may kill us.
- Caffeine can kill you too…if you consume a whole lot of it at once. Calculate how much of your favorite beverage will kill you here. Via Mind Hacks.
- Even salsa can kill you! Well, no, not really. But salsa-borne bacteria can make you sick, and you could potentially die from that. Anyway the CDC says outbreaks of food-borne illness from salsa and guacamole rose to 3.9% of all food-borne outbreaks in 2008, up from 1.5% in the late nineties. Via Food Politics.
- Aeschylus (524–455 B.C.), Greek tragedian who orchestrated epic dramas of fates, furies, and the meaning of justice, apparently died from a cranial injury when an eagle dropped a turtle on the playwright’s bald head, probably mistaking it for a rock upon which to crack open the turtle’s shell. Via Mind Hacks.
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