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A Hungarian countess (1560-1614) known for her beauty and her cold-blooded sadism. In 1611, she was accused of the torture and murder of over 600 young women, most of them the adolescent daughters of Slovak peasants; as long as her victims were not her fellow Hungarians, she could do as she pleased.
It was when she had exhausted the local population of peasant girls and began preying on the daughters of lesser nobles and the gentry that the authorities intervened.
According to legends added over 110 years after her death, she was said to have bathed and even drank the blood of her victims to gain their youth, beauty, and vitality.
It was when she had exhausted the local population of peasant girls and began preying on the daughters of lesser nobles and the gentry that the authorities intervened.
According to legends added over 110 years after her death, she was said to have bathed and even drank the blood of her victims to gain their youth, beauty, and vitality.
In a case that is over 400 years old, fact and legend are difficult to separate, but Elizabeth Bathory was clearly among them most prolific serial killers of history.
An intelligent, accomplished woman, she belonged to a powerful, wealthy family and was educated beyond even her male peers. She could speak, read and write in Hungarian, German, Latin, and Greek while most of the nobles around her could barely read or write.
She and her husband had three sons and three daughters and she doted on them all... when she wasn't torturing pretty maidens behind their backs, especially the buxom ones because they supposedly lasted longer.
Very likely a psychopath, she allegedly bedded many men and women throughout her adult life (and gave birth to an illegitimate daughter through a peasant boy some months before she married). Never once did she show remorse or accept responsibility for her crimes.
An intelligent, accomplished woman, she belonged to a powerful, wealthy family and was educated beyond even her male peers. She could speak, read and write in Hungarian, German, Latin, and Greek while most of the nobles around her could barely read or write.
She and her husband had three sons and three daughters and she doted on them all... when she wasn't torturing pretty maidens behind their backs, especially the buxom ones because they supposedly lasted longer.
Very likely a psychopath, she allegedly bedded many men and women throughout her adult life (and gave birth to an illegitimate daughter through a peasant boy some months before she married). Never once did she show remorse or accept responsibility for her crimes.
by Lorelili March 9, 2010
Get the Elizabeth Bathory mug.(1907-1915) A ship contemporary with the Titanic. One of the biggest and fastest ocean liners of her time, this four-funneled luxury liner was carrying a secret cargo of military supplies for the British in WWI; Germany, blockaded by the British, newly-equipped with U-boats (which Churchill ordered rammed on site), and aware of this smuggling on the part of the British, warned that any British or American ship thought to be carrying war supplies would be liable to attack, regardless of the safety of passengers or crew. The 1259 passengers and 701 crew who boarded the Lusitania on May 1, 1915, paid little attention, largely unaware of the contraband bullets and shrapnel that the ship carried.
On May 7, as lunchtime ended within sight of Ireland's south coast, the Lusitania was hit by a torpedo from a German u-boat, followed by a much bigger secondary explosion (likely a steam-pipe explosion). Listing sharply toward the wound in her starboard side, she sank in only 18 minutes, taking 1195 men, women, and children with her.
123 of the 159 Americans on board were killed, plus 94 of the 129 children on board (including 35 of 39 infants), indirectly goading the United States to enter the war on Britain's side.
On May 7, as lunchtime ended within sight of Ireland's south coast, the Lusitania was hit by a torpedo from a German u-boat, followed by a much bigger secondary explosion (likely a steam-pipe explosion). Listing sharply toward the wound in her starboard side, she sank in only 18 minutes, taking 1195 men, women, and children with her.
123 of the 159 Americans on board were killed, plus 94 of the 129 children on board (including 35 of 39 infants), indirectly goading the United States to enter the war on Britain's side.
The passengers of the Lusitania naively refused to believe that a submarine would attack a passenger ship, let alone one as fast as the Lusitania.
May 7, just 11.5 miles from the Irish coast, a torpedo rocked the ship. Listing sharply to starboard and continuing at full speed for two miles, she had lost control. Panic ensued as she plunged under the surface, head-first.
Power was soon lost, trapping many below-decks and a number in the first-class elevators.
The starboard lifeboats swung away from the ship, while the port boats swung inward; although the ship had 48 lifeboats, only six starboard boats would be safely lowered while many others tipped or were lowered on top of each other. The port boats had to slide down the hull, splintering as they snagged on rivets, while one broke loose and careened down the boat deck, crushing passengers who were not already injured on the sloping decks. The maimed littered the deck and a sea that was choked with floating debris.
While parents tried to find their children in the frenzy, children squealed for their parents. Many put on their life-jackets upside-down and backwards in the panic.
In less than twenty minutes, the Lusitania was gone, taking the trapped to the bottom and leaving several hundred more at the surface to die of hypothermia.
The Lusitania casualties were tiny compared to the soldiers who died daily at the front, but they got an immediate reaction; not even civilians were safe.
May 7, just 11.5 miles from the Irish coast, a torpedo rocked the ship. Listing sharply to starboard and continuing at full speed for two miles, she had lost control. Panic ensued as she plunged under the surface, head-first.
Power was soon lost, trapping many below-decks and a number in the first-class elevators.
The starboard lifeboats swung away from the ship, while the port boats swung inward; although the ship had 48 lifeboats, only six starboard boats would be safely lowered while many others tipped or were lowered on top of each other. The port boats had to slide down the hull, splintering as they snagged on rivets, while one broke loose and careened down the boat deck, crushing passengers who were not already injured on the sloping decks. The maimed littered the deck and a sea that was choked with floating debris.
While parents tried to find their children in the frenzy, children squealed for their parents. Many put on their life-jackets upside-down and backwards in the panic.
In less than twenty minutes, the Lusitania was gone, taking the trapped to the bottom and leaving several hundred more at the surface to die of hypothermia.
The Lusitania casualties were tiny compared to the soldiers who died daily at the front, but they got an immediate reaction; not even civilians were safe.
by Lorelili January 12, 2014
Get the Lusitania mug.An old-fashioned English way of saying "blonde". As flax possesses golden fibers, this term was inevitably used for a person with fair hair.
Her flaxen tresses falling from her kerchief, the farm girl ventured through the snow to the barn to milk the cows.
by Lorelili September 4, 2006
Get the flaxen mug.Very thin, bony human legs, so named for their resemblance to the thin, scrawny little legs of a chicken.
Chicken legs? Have you tried jogging?
Distraught Ex:(Pointing to legs) "You would give up these beauties for these matchsticks?!" (pointing to new flame's legs)
Distraught Ex:(Pointing to legs) "You would give up these beauties for these matchsticks?!" (pointing to new flame's legs)
by Lorelili March 13, 2006
Get the chicken legs mug.A complicated plot or scheme, often secret, intended for a purpose by some form of deception; a conspiracy.
The intrigue was heavy in the court as the various politicians and aristocrats plotted to kill the king and his two sons, leaving the throne empty.
by Lorelili January 18, 2011
Get the intrigue mug.A style of theater/drama in which the characters sing all or most of their lines.
The story is usually simpler than that of movie plots, since it takes longer to sing than to speak. The stories, perhaps melodramatic to our modern eyes, are as varied as movies; from lighthearted, romantic prances ("The Marriage of Figaro", "The Elixer of Love"); heartbreaking romantic tragedies ("La Boheme". "Madame Butterfly", "Aïda"); and some almost x-rated shockers ("Elektra"(much like the Mendez brothers case), "Salome"). Operas are often quite true to life and often deal with some of the most difficult choices that a person can make; matters of life and death, in other words. ...Of course, the plot is much more dramatic than in reality.
Opera relies on voice types (unlike movies, which rely on appearance):
Soprano: highest female voice; plays the heroine, the sweetheart, the victim woman.
Mezzo-soprano: medium female voice; plays the villainess, seductresses.
Contralto: lowest female voice; very rare, usually limited to maids, mothers, grandmothers, and witches.
Tenor: highest male voice: plays the hero, the lover, the doomed hero. Usually romances the soprano.
Baritone: medium male voice; plays the villain, evil prison wardens, and other mean ones.
Bass: lowest male voice; plays priests, kings, fathers, and the Devil.
Opera houses are theaters designed especially for opera... and don't be surprised to find a (rather sexy) tuxedo-clad ghost wandering the dark recesses of the opera house, living his life away on a lake beneath the theater.
The story is usually simpler than that of movie plots, since it takes longer to sing than to speak. The stories, perhaps melodramatic to our modern eyes, are as varied as movies; from lighthearted, romantic prances ("The Marriage of Figaro", "The Elixer of Love"); heartbreaking romantic tragedies ("La Boheme". "Madame Butterfly", "Aïda"); and some almost x-rated shockers ("Elektra"(much like the Mendez brothers case), "Salome"). Operas are often quite true to life and often deal with some of the most difficult choices that a person can make; matters of life and death, in other words. ...Of course, the plot is much more dramatic than in reality.
Opera relies on voice types (unlike movies, which rely on appearance):
Soprano: highest female voice; plays the heroine, the sweetheart, the victim woman.
Mezzo-soprano: medium female voice; plays the villainess, seductresses.
Contralto: lowest female voice; very rare, usually limited to maids, mothers, grandmothers, and witches.
Tenor: highest male voice: plays the hero, the lover, the doomed hero. Usually romances the soprano.
Baritone: medium male voice; plays the villain, evil prison wardens, and other mean ones.
Bass: lowest male voice; plays priests, kings, fathers, and the Devil.
Opera houses are theaters designed especially for opera... and don't be surprised to find a (rather sexy) tuxedo-clad ghost wandering the dark recesses of the opera house, living his life away on a lake beneath the theater.
Opera is a grim world; there's competition all over for parts... and not to mention some rather unusual situations: tantrums and refusals to do something that the director wants to be staged.
What's the difference between a soprano and a terrorist?
-You can negotiate with a terrorist.;)
"He's here! The Phantom of the Opera!"
What's the difference between a soprano and a terrorist?
-You can negotiate with a terrorist.;)
"He's here! The Phantom of the Opera!"
by Lorelili June 4, 2005
Get the opera mug."You son of a whore, how could you go behind my back?! How could you betray me like that?!"
Usually used as an alternate for "son of a bitch", although "son of a whore" would be the literal translation of many foreign equivalents:
Spanish: hijo de puta
French: fils de pute
Italian: figlio di puttana
Portuguese: filho da puta
Irish: mac striapaí
Scottish Gaelic: mac strìopaich, mac na galla
Breton: mab c'hast
German: Hurensohn, Dirnensohn
Polish: sukinsyn
Hungarian: kurvafi
Persian: matar jendeh
Usually used as an alternate for "son of a bitch", although "son of a whore" would be the literal translation of many foreign equivalents:
Spanish: hijo de puta
French: fils de pute
Italian: figlio di puttana
Portuguese: filho da puta
Irish: mac striapaí
Scottish Gaelic: mac strìopaich, mac na galla
Breton: mab c'hast
German: Hurensohn, Dirnensohn
Polish: sukinsyn
Hungarian: kurvafi
Persian: matar jendeh
by Lorelili August 17, 2009
Get the son of a whore mug.