(Roughly) Daily

From the good folks at Mental Floss, Part 5 in their series, “Be More Interesting”- “How to Break a Board with Your Hand”:

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As we visualize separation, we might send frightening birthday greetings to William Preston “Wild Bill” Longley; he was born on this date in 1851 (though some sources put the date 10 days earlier).  Considered one of the deadliest gunfighters in the Old West, Longley was renowned for his short temper– often followed by his equally-renown quick draw and fatal aim.  Longley traveled around the Southwest and South leaving a trail of bodies; he claimed to have killed 34, though evidence suggests that the total may be materially higher. An avowed racist, many of Longley’s victims were African-American or Hispanic.

Longley was finally captured in 1877 and sentenced to death in 1878.  In what seemed to some poetic justice, his execution by hanging was flawed: the rope slipped so that Longley’s knees hit the ground, denying him a quick and painless death.  The hangman had to retighten the rope; it was 11 minutes before Longley was finally pronounced dead.

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