we live in a slightly mad world

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Dec 11 1783

William Beadle of Weathersfield, Connecticut slaughters his entire family, then slits his own throat. For some time before the killings, Beadle developed a habit of taking an axe or a knife to bed with him. Mrs. Beadle failed to notice that something might be wrong with Mr. Beadle.

Dec 11 1957

Rocker Jerry Lee Lewis marries his jailbait 13 year old cousin, Myra Gail Brown. Myra’s parents are not told of their coupling until the story was broken by the press the following year. Lewis neglects to divorce his wife Jane Mitcham until April 1958.

Dec 11 1960

In Palm Beach, Florida, retired postmaster Richard Pavlick chooses at the last moment not to ram John F. Kennedy’s car and detonate his seven sticks of dynamite. Pavlick later explains that it was out of concern for Jackie: “I did not wish to harm her or the children… I decided to get him at the church or someplace later.”

Dec 11 1985

Computer rental store owner Hugh Scrutton is killed outside his Sacramento business when he investigates a package left by the Unabomber. It’s his first confirmed kill.

Dec 11 1988

62 people were killed when tons of illegal fireworks exploded in a Mexico City marketplace.

Dec 11 1991

William Kennedy Smith is acquitted of rape charges, stemming from an incident at the Kennedy Compound