Civil War reenactor injured in groin by his horse

by Sean McLachlan on

Two Civil War reenactors were injured yesterday preparing for a reenactment of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.

One man playing a Confederate cavalryman got pinned under his horse, while a Union cavalryman got injured when his horse stepped on his groin. Exactly how he got into a position where his horse could do that is unclear. Both were given medical attention but neither was thought to be seriously hurt.

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek was the first major Civil War battle west of the Mississippi. A Confederate army was menacing Springfield and a smaller Union force attacked the rebel camp on the morning of August 10. The Union army was defeated and its general, Nathaniel Lyon, was killed. Both sides suffered heavy losses.

Frank James, brother of Jesse James, fought on the Confederate side in this battle. He and his brother later became rebel guerrillas before ending up as famous outlaws.

Missouri had already been the scene of several small battles and skirmishes, including the Battle of Boonville, the first truly important battle of the Civil War.

A reenactment of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek will take place today through Sunday near Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.

[Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

For sale: Austrian Alps

by Sean McLachlan on


The Austrian firm Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft is causing controversy by trying to sell two summits in the Carnic Alps. Rosskopf and Grosse Kinigat are being sold despite protests from locals. While the company has said that purchasers won’t be allowed to fence off the peaks or deny mountaineers from passing by, people are still wondering why they’re being sold.

And well they should. Nobody is going to spend 121,000 euros ($175,280) without plans to build, and the Alps look best without any human interference. Not that this area is completely unspoilt. During World War One the Austro-Hungarian army fought the Italians from these peaks, and there’s a war memorial on one of them.

Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft is a government-owned corporation that specializes in selling public lands such as these two peaks.

Still, the peaks must have some great views and challenging climbs. Rosskopf is 2,603m (8,540 ft.) and Grosse Kinigat is 2,689m (8,822 ft.). So if you want to buy an Alp or two and get some angry neighbors in the bargain, give Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft a call.

[Photo of Grosse Kinigat courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Cobras cause panic on train in Vietnam

by Sean McLachlan on


Passengers on a train in Vietnam got an unwelcome shock when dozens of cobras and king cobras were seen slithering under the seats.

The train, traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, was stopped at Quang Ngai when the incident happened. Apparently someone was smuggling the animals when they broke loose. Police gathered up 45 kilos (99lb) worth of snakes but didn’t find the smuggler.

Cobra is a popular dish in Vietnam, even though the poisonous reptiles are legally protected. Check out this video for a rather gruesome look at how one is prepared for a ten-course meal.

While snakes on a train are something new, there have been several incidents of snakes on a plane. Last year Abu Dhabi police arrested a passenger carrying four pythons on a plane. Back in 2008, smugglers shipped several boxes of snakes on a Vietnamese plane.

Junkie steals 100-year-old morphine, doesn’t get high

by Sean McLachlan on


There’s nobody quite as determined or stupid as a junkie.

Maybe it’s hard to buy a hit on the streets of Cashmere, Washington, or maybe this particular junkie was short of cash. In any case, someone with a craving for drugs broke into the Cashmere Historic Museum and Pioneer Village and made off with a bottle of morphine pills dating back to World War One.

A doctor interviewed by the Wenatchee World newspaper said that the century-old pills would have long since lost their potency and wouldn’t have any effect at all, good or bad.

The intruder left a trail of destruction in his or her wake, as junkies usually do. Museum officials found a broken fence, a broken door, and a trashed display case. The case was a rare original from a period doctor’s office dating to 1890. Volunteers are now cleaning up the office so they can reopen it to the public.

This isn’t the first time the museum has been broken into. Its historic saloon has been burgled a couple of times by drunks looking for booze. There’s no alcohol in the saloon, and the folks at the Cashmere Historic Museum and Pioneer Village may want to rethink having real medication on display in their doctor’s office, even if it hasn’t been able to get anyone high since Burroughs was in short pants.

[Morphine cure ad c.1900 courtesy Mike Cline via Wikimedia Commons]

Crucifixion nails found in Israel? Probably not.

by Sean McLachlan on

There’s been a shocking archaeological discovery in Israel. Nails from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ have been found!

Well, no, probably not.

The claim comes from Israeli Canadian documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, the Washington Post reports. Jacobovici has done several documentaries on Christian subjects and came across an archaeological report from 1990 mentioning the discovery of nails in the tomb of a man named Caiaphas. For those who know their Bible, this is the same name as the Jewish high priest who plotted to arrest Jesus and then gave him to the Romans. The name is right, the date of the tomb is right, so the nails must be those from the Crucifixion, right?

The Post quotes Jacobovici as saying, “There’s a general scholarly consensus that the tomb where the nails were found likely belonged to Caiaphas. Nails at that time were a dime a dozen, but finding one in a tomb is exceedingly rare.”

Actually neither of these statements is true. The Post quotes an Israeli archaeologist as saying that the inscriptions in the tomb aren’t clear as to the occupant’s identity, and I myself have seen Roman nails turn up in tombs. They were pretty common objects, after all.

The timing of this announcement just before Easter and just before Jacobovici’s next documentary comes out (titled “Nails of the Cross” to air Wednesday on the History Channel), adds to the suspicion that Jacobovici is fooling either himself or us.

There’s also the question of why a Jewish high priest would take the nails of someone who he thought was a false prophet to the grave with him, or even how he got them in the first place since it was Jesus’ family and followers who removed Jesus from the Cross.

In the view of this former archaeologist, this story is more of the usual sensationalism masking as science that fills so much of the media. A bit like the spurious discovery of Caligula’s tomb.

Never fear. There are plenty are saints’ relics in Rome, including enough nails for a dozen Crucifixions. Gadling’s own David Farley has even written a book about the Holy Foreskin, which you can also visit in Italy. Actually there’s more than one relic claiming to be the Holy Foreskin, but that’s another story. . .

[Image of Roman nails courtesy user Takkk via Wikimedia Commons. These are not the same nails that came from the tomb mentioned in this article.]