[HN Gopher] Dark Humor in the Dark Ages (2014)
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       Dark Humor in the Dark Ages (2014)
        
       Author : diodorus
       Score  : 15 points
       Date   : 2021-11-17 02:46 UTC (20 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.cambridgeblog.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.cambridgeblog.org)
        
       | 1cvmask wrote:
       | Monty Python is the first thing that came to my mind when I saw
       | the title.
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python
       | 
       | I also love the phrase gallows humor:
       | 
       | Robert-Francois Damiens, a French man who attempted to
       | assassinate king Louis XV, was sentenced on March 26, 1757 to be
       | executed in a gruesome and painstakingly detailed manner. He
       | would first be led to the gallows, holding a torch with 2 lbs of
       | burning wax. Pliers would then be used to tear his skin at the
       | breast, arms and legs. Then his right arm, which held the knife
       | he had used for his crime, would be burned with sulfur. The
       | aforementioned areas with ripped skin would then be poured upon
       | with molten lead, boiling oil, burning pitch, wax and sulfur. His
       | body would then be dismembered by four horses, the members and
       | trunk consumed in fire, and the ashes would be spread in the
       | wind. After hearing the sentence, Damiens is reported to have
       | replied: "Well, it's going to be a tough day."
       | 
       | During the French Revolution, Georges-Jacques Danton, who had
       | facial scars from smallpox, when he was about to be beheaded with
       | a guillotine on April 5, 1794, is reported to have said to the
       | executioner: "Don't forget to show my head to the people, it's
       | well worth it!"
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy
       | 
       | Edit: After reading the author references Monty Python
        
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       (page generated 2021-11-17 23:01 UTC)