Friday, March 31, 2006

Word (Im)Perfect

The Witch's Stone in Dornoch, Scotland, marks the place where Janet Horne was burned at the stake in 1722 because she mispronounced one word in the Gaelic version of the Lord's Prayer.
Thanks to MX for that - and for this one: The gate posts of Margamin, Wales, stood for centuries because of a prophecy that the Mansell family would disappear if they did. In 1744 Lord Thomas Mansell pulled down the pillars. Within the year the entire family was wiped out.
That reminds me of my cousin Robert, who determined that he and his wife should ever only have one child (which they did). The reason - a session with a ouija board left him with the very real and unshakeable belief that if he had more than one child, he would die shortly afterwards.

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