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The Euthanasia Coaster
The British comedy panel show "QI" introduced me to the "Euthanasia Coaster." As I understand it, this was purely devised as a "thought experiment" or "art piece" with no plans for reality. I think the best I could do is to copy part of the Wikipedia entry here:
The Euthanasia Coaster is a hypothetical steel roller coaster designed as a euthanasia device to kill its passengers. The concept was conceived in 2010 and made into a scale model by Lithuanian artist Julijonas Urbonas, a PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art in London. Urbonas, who has experience as an amusement park employee, stated that the goal of his concept roller coaster is to take lives "with elegance and euphoria". As for practical applications of his design, Urbonas mentioned "euthanasia" or "execution". John Allen, who served as president of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, inspired Urbonas with his description of the "ultimate" roller coaster as one that "sends out 24 people and they all come back dead".
The concept design of the layout begins with a steep-angled lift that takes riders up 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the top, a climb that takes a few minutes to reach allowing the user to contemplate their life. For comparison, the tallest roller coaster in the world is Kingda Ka at 139 m (456 ft). From there, the user may exit the coaster. If they do not, they would have some time to say their last words and press a button to continue to a 500 m (1,600 ft) drop which would take the train to 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph; 100 m/s), close to its terminal velocity, before flattening out and speeding into the first of its seven slightly clothoid inversions. Each inversion would have a smaller diameter than the one before in order to maintain the lethal 10 g to passengers while the train loses speed. After a sharp right-hand turn, the train would enter a straight, where unloading of corpses and loading of new passengers could take place.
Waterloo Teeth
George Washington never had wooden teeth. I repeat: GEORGE WASHINGTON NEVER HAD WOODEN TEETH. Washington had only one tooth in his mouth when he became President in 1789, and he had false teeth made from ivory and human teeth, purchased from some of his slaves. False teeth date back to at least 700 BC when the Etruscans made dentures out of human and animal teeth held together with gold wire. Ivory and natural teeth became the standard material for false teeth until the early 1700s when porcelain was used, but porcelain teeth were too fragile and didn't really catch on until the mid 1800s when improvements had been made.
In the first half of the 1800s, denture makers found a treasure of raw materials thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte. Following the 1815 battle of Waterloo, scavengers and looters descended on the battlefield, brandishing pliers, and the yanked out thousands and thousands of teeth from the mouths of the dead soldiers. For the next forty years, these teeth were polished, shaped, and matched into dentures. Today, they are called "Waterloo teeth," but that phrase was not used at the time; perhaps their wearers did not know their origin. The human teeth would be set into ivory bases because human molars would have been too difficult and time-consuming to secure on the battlefield. The practice of using human teeth declined after 1850 with improvements in porcelain quality and the development of rubber "vulcanite" to replace the ivory bases.
Actual Waterloo Teeth from the British Dental Association's Museum and a set made of teeth and ivory
In an episode of "Julia," Max's great series about Julia Child, the mother of one of the characters hosts a Jack and Jill party at her home. That was a new phrase for me --- but then what do I know about parties? --- so I looked it up.
It turns out that the phrase "Jack and Jill party" has, in recent years, come to refer to a party with male and female guests, especially a bridal shower or a party designed to raise money for the guests of honor couple.
However, there are other connotations, and I found that it was difficult to nail down an origin story. One source says that the concept began in Canada where the parties were also called stag and doe, buck and doe, or hen and stag parties where admission was charged and cash gifts given to provide some funds to an engaged or newly married couple as they plan their wedding or start their marriage.
Another source states that "Jack and Jill party" was 1980s slang for a sex party which welcomed gay men and lesbians to participate.
Then, I found the reference which I think is closer to the scene in Julia. In 1938 in Philadelphia, Marion Stubbs Thomas organized 21 black mothers and formed an organization called Jack and Jill of America. The organization's intent was, and is, to provide social and cultural education and opportunities to stimulate growth and leadership in children, especially urban black children. They offer education programs and make philanthropic donations to various organizations. Today, there are 230 chapters across the country with about 40,000 members.
Franz Reichelt
The British historical sketch comedy show "Horrible Histories" features a recurring segment called "Stupid Deaths." One episode introduced me to the French tailor (of Austro-Hungarian birth) Franz Reichelt (1878-1912). Reichelt became a successful tailor and dressmaker, but he became obsessed with the idea of creating a safety suit for pilots that would convert into a parachute allowing them to survive a fall should it become necessary. The successful inventor of a reliable device was bound to receive great fame and financial rewards. After perfecting his design, he decided to test it from the nearest high point, so he started petitioning the authorities to allow trial runs from the top of the Eiffel Tower. He apparently told them that he planned to use dummies, and they finally granted him permission. On February 4, 1912, Reichelt arrived and took the plunge himself, falling 187 feet to his death.
Alexander Girard and the International Folk Art Museum
The great long-running PBS show "Craft in America" recently had an episode focused on the International Folk Art Museum and Festival in Santa Fe New Mexico. The museum opened in 1953 and is recognized as the world's collection of international folk art. The museum acquired a huge part of its permanent collection in 1978 when Alexander Girard and his wife donated their personal collection, which now occupies an entire wing.
Girard (1907-1993) was born to an American mother and French-Italian father in New York City, but he was raised in Florence Italy. After studying architecture in London and Rome, he opened design studios in New York and then Detroit. He became well known as a designer on his own, and then he built a remarkable career designing textiles for mid-century furniture designers like Herman Miller and Charles and Ray Eames. Along with his fortune, he and his wife acquired a large collection of folk art, textiles, and toys from around the world.
It was a great episode of "Craft in America," and the museum is definitely now on our bucket list of destinations.
Rolex POW Watches
Many of the companies and name brands that we know so well today played major roles in World War II, contributing hugely in financial and material means, on both sides. Many Swiss companies remained neutral and dealt with both sides, but the Rolex Watch company stood out by firmly supporting the Allied side. I never knew any of this until a Rolex POW (prisoner of war) watch showed up on an episode of "Antiques Roadshow."
During WWII, many Swiss watchmakers sold watches in bulk to the militaries on both sides of the conflict. Rolex did not; they chose to sell to Allied officers being held in German POW camps, and they sold them with the caveat that they needn't worry about paying for the watches until after the war was over.
The company that became Rolex was founded in 1904 by Hans Wilsdorf and his brother in law as Wilsdorf & Davis. Wilsdorf had moved to England from his native Germany. Rolex became very successful and profitable until WWII when war made business and exporting difficult. Wilsdaorf realized that he, quite literally, had a captive market next door in Germany, and he started marketing Rolex watches to Allied, mostly British, officers in POW camps. He forged a relationship with the International Red Cross, also based in Switzerland, the humanitarian organization allowed by both sides to inspect and to distribute mail, food, clothing, and other necessities to POWs, and the Red Cross took orders and delivered the watches. Rolex advertised in POW camp publications - yes, those existed - and always touted that payment should not be a concern. The Germans allowed the transactions even though they often confiscated watches when prisoners arrived; it's not clear why Rolex was allowed. Thousands of men acquired Rolex watches, and there are stories of these watches being used in the planning of escapes, most famously the 1944 mass escape from Stalag Luft III which was fictionalized in the film "The Great Escape." In 2022, a Rolex worn by one of the real-life escapees was auctioned off for $189,000 (second picture below). It specifically was used to calculate the time required to move through the tunnels and the timing of the German patrols.
Pearl Hart
Pearl Hart is another name that caught my attention on an episode of the British history sketch comedy series "Horrible Histories." And her story is quite interesting.
Pearl Taylor (1871-1955) was born to religious and affluent parents in Ontario, Canada, and she received an excellent education. In boarding school, she grew enamored with a young man named Hart, described as a rake, drunkard, and gambler. The two had a tumultuous relationship, separating often but having two children who were raised by Pearl's mother. During one of their good periods, the couple attended the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. While Hart worked as a midway barker, Pearl became fascinated by the cowboys and cowboy life demonstrated by Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. When the fair ended, Pearl left Hart again and headed west, supporting herself, and her alcohol, morphine, and cigar habits, through cooking, singing, and prostitution. In 1899 Arizona, when her attempt at gold mining didn't pan out, and she got word that her mother was seriously ill, she and her mining partner decided to rob a stagecoach, one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in US history. Upon their arrest, her gender won her notoriety and sympathy, and the jury acquitted her. However, the government immediately won convictions on charges of tampering with the US mail. She served a couple of years in prison before being pardoned by the Arizona governor. She then took the stage briefly to describe her experiences and worked briefly in Buffalo Bill's show. Then, she largely disappears from public life, living quietly under different names and with different husbands until her death in 1955.
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