Dock Ellis and the LSD No-No

This is an animated short presented by NO MAS and chronicles the 1970 no-hitter by Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, who was on LSD at the time he threw the no-no. The sound from the film is actual audio from a radio interview that Ellis did shortly before his death in 2008.

Rosalia Lombardo aka "Sleeping Beauty"

A few years ago I lived in Sigonella, Sicily with my family. My father (A member of the United States Navy) was stationed there for a four year stretch. While there we did a lot of things, but the one trip that always stuck with me was our trip to the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo. There I met Rosalia Lombardo.

Rosalia Lombardo was born in 1918 in Palermo, Sicily. She died of pneumonia is 1920. Her father grief stricken contacted Dr. Alfredo Salafia, a famed embalmer. Dr. Salafia created a new technique and embalmed the body of Rosalia.

Eighty years later her body remains almost in perfect condition, only recently has it begun to show signs of decomposition. The locals dubbed the young girl "Sleeping Beauty" because (despite the discoloration in her skin) she looks as if she is sleeping.

Her remains sit at the very end of the church where she can be seen encased in a glass coffin.

Side Notes:

It was believed for some time that the formula created by Dr. Salafia had been lost or purposely destroyed. However notes in a book written by the late doctor show how he created the formula, and was able to perfectly preserve a body for over 80 years.

The Death of Edgar Allan Poe

On October 3rd, 1849 Joseph W. Walker was walking the streets of Baltimore when he came across a body in the street. The man still alive but muttering incoherently, was covered in filth and his clothes were much to large, leaving the man to believe they did not belong to him. He was rushed to Washington College Hospital were he remained until October 7th, when he succumbed to his ailments and passed away.

The man was Edgar Allan Poe, and some 100 years later. His death is as much of a mystery as the work for which the writer is so widely known.

According to several people, the last time anyone saw him (before being discovered in the street) he had been seen walking the streets uttering the name "Reynolds", over and over again. Then he simply vanishes. No one knows where or what happened to the poet, and there are several theories. None of which can be proven.

Was he murdered? Did he commit suicide? Did he drink himself to death?

No one knows, and sadly. No one will probably ever know.

Side Notes:

Rufus Wilmot Griswold was left in charge of Poe's estate after his death, and even wrote his obituary. But Griswold and Poe were bitter rivals and a biography penned by Griswold described Poe as a very hard drinker, a drug addict, and a madman. An image which stuck and most historians since have attributed to his life. But there are conflicting statements by most of Poe's colleagues and friends that say Poe wasn't like that at all.