On August 6, 1890, at Auburn Prison, New York, William Kemmler became the first person to be sent to the chair. He was convicted of murdering his lover, Matilda Ziegler, with an axe. After he was strapped in, a charge of approximately 700 volts was delivered for only 17 seconds before the current failed. Although witnesses reported smelling burnt clothing and charred flesh, Kemmler was far from dead, and a second shock was prepared. The second charge was 1,030 volts and applied for about two minutes, whereupon smoke was observed coming from the head of Kemmler, who was clearly deceased. An autopsy showed that the electrode attached to his back had burned through to the spine. Electrocution as a humane means of execution was first suggested in 1881 by Dr. Albert Southwick, a dentist. Southwick had witnessed an elderly drunkard “painlessly” killed after touching the terminals of an electrical generator in Buffalo, New York. In the prevalent form of execution at the time—death b...
It appears this lion is curious to see what the man at the campsite is watching on his tablet. However, that is just our interpretation. The reality behind all this is that the human in the picture is professional animal trainer Charlie Sammut, and the lion is his perfectly trained buddy. So yes, it’s safe to say that no one was harmed in staging this photo. Baby goats are such sweet, innocent animals — right? For those who don’t know, goats are known for manifesting aggressive behavior, which is their way of asserting dominance. This is probably why they shouldn’t be kept inside the house as pets, but rather on the farm to help with agriculture. This girl would have avoided being rammed if, instead of backing away, she’d slapped the goat on the side of his neck. This jaguar escaped Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal, where it was part of a jaguar show, then proceeded to viciously attack a human. Even though the man survived, the jaguar, who had previously terrorized the ...