While listening to a story on NPR about a pro-bono organization based out of Philadelphia that attempts to solve “cold cases” [The Vidocq Society: Cuisine And Cold Cases], they happened to mention one of the most famous unsolved cases: Jack the Ripper.
Sensing that this was a major hole in my popular cultural game, I had to look this up on Wikipedia. Little did I know that it would suck 20 minutes out of my life. Alas, my 20 minute loss is your gain, so without further delay, strange observations from the Wikipedia entry:
- Surprising Demographics. Most of the victims were prostitutes in their 40’s. This makes me think that the late 19th century was very difficult time to live in - the idea of having to pay for sex with women that old, without the benefit of improved health knowledge, botox and modern cosmetic surgery is somewhat disheartening.
- Entertaining nicknames. Among my favorites were “Leather Apron”, “Dark Annie”, “Long Liz”, “Clay Pipe” Alice and Elizabeth “Drunk Lizzie” Davis. The cake however, was taken down by “Carrotty Nell.”
- Noteworthy Quote (regarding the idenification of a severely mutiliated body): Lydia Hart, a prostitute who had recently disappeared, was disproved when she was soon located in a local infirmary where she was receiving medical treatment to cure the after effects of a “bit of a spree.”
- Unconfirmed Victim Set. Due to the unsolved nature of the crimes, it cannot be confirmed what murders of the era can be attributed to one killer. There is however a set known as the “canonical five” that are almost universally agreed upon as the work of a single killer.
Oh, Wikipedia and insomnia are a dangerous mix.
Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix.
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