How a court jester slapped the king's butt, then brilliantly convinced him not to kill him Triboulet served as court jester under King Francis I, who ruled France from 1515 to 1547 . Triboulet's quick humor rescued him from Francis I's deadly wrath, not once, but twice. Court jesters hold a unique place in history. Playing the fool for kings and queens meant they were always in close proximity to royalty, but so very far from their rank and station. Comedians often like to push boundaries, but that can be a dangerous business when your job is to entertain the peope who have executioners at their beck and call. Especially when you forget your place—or purposely ignore it, as the case may be—and playfully smack the reigning monarch square on the behind. That little whoopsie was the claim to fame of Triboulet, a court jester who served King Francis I in 16th-century France. But it was how he got away with slapping the king on the butt and living to tell about it that earne...
Dead in Lead: The Puzzling Lead Mask Deaths and the Cryptic Mystery That Still Haunts Investigators
Matching suits, cryptic notes, and handmade lead masks? Unpacking one of the strangest unsolved cases of the 20th century.
On a sunny day in August 1966, a couple of kids playing were with their kites on a hill in Rio de Janeiro when they made the gruesome discovery of two dead bodies.
The police were met with a bizarre scene. The two bodies were rested next to each other and partially covered in grass. They were both wearing formal suits under raincoats, and both were wearing lead eye-masks.
There was no sign of foul and no sign of a struggle. Next to the bodies, the police found an empty water bottle and a packet containing two wet towels. What was even stranger was a note with a set of cryptic instructions.
“16.30 be at specific location. 18.30 ingest capsule, after effect protect metals await signal mask.”
The two men were identified as Miguel Jose Viana and Manoel Pereira da Cruz and were from a town 7 miles from Rio de Janeiro. The last time they were seen alive was at a bar where they bought the water. A witness described Miguel as looking nervous as he kept checking his watch. It is believed they went straight to the spot where they died.
By the time the investigators did the autopsy it was too late to determine if they died from poisoning. To this day no cause of death has been established and the case remains unsolved.
A few theories have been made but the one I'm sure of is the involvement of a Cult. A friend of the two men came forward and said they were part of a group of scientific spiritualists. In this case, the men were attempting to contact aliens using psychedelic drugs and probably died of an overdose. The lead eye-masks they were wearing were to protect their eyes from the blinding light when they made contact.
This is corroborated by an esoteric diary entry found at the scene and lead eye-mask making instructions and literature about spirits found at the home of one of the men.
Comments
Post a Comment