This Day In History

Jun 8 1998
The President of Nigeria, general Sani Abacha, dies of apparent heart failure during a Viagra-driven romp with three Indian prostitutes. Abacha is quickly buried the following day without an autopsy or even a state funeral, fueling speculation that the general may have been poisoned by political rivals. Abacha stole more than $4 billion during his five years as dictator, and his widow Maryam is captured shortly thereafter attempting to flee the country with 30 suitcases full of American currency.

Jun 8 1999
The government of Colombia announces that it will include the estimated value of its illegal drug crops, exceeding half a billion dollars, when calculating its Gross National Product.

Autopsy: Cocaine a Factor in Billy Mays' Death

(CNN) -- An autopsy report issued Friday by Hillsborough County, Florida, cites cocaine as a contributing factor in the death of TV pitchman Billy Mays, who died in June at age 50.

"Mays died from a lethal arrhythmia of the heart caused by hypertensive and arteriosclerotic heart disease," the county said in a statement attributed to Dr. Leszek Chrostowski, the associate medical examiner who conducted the autopsy.

"He further concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and therefore contributed to his death," it added.

The fact that toxicology tests detected only breakdown products of cocaine, not the drug itself, led Chrostowski to conclude that Mays had used cocaine "in the few days prior to death but not immediately prior to death."

Cocaine is a stimulant that can raise blood pressure and thicken the wall of the left ventricle of the heart, one of the organ's four main pumping chambers.

The autopsy also found low concentrations of ethyl alcohol "consistent with social consumption of a few beverages" as well as the narcotic drugs hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol. Mays had prescriptions for the drugs -- which were found in therapeutic or subtherapeutic concentrations -- to ease hip pain.

In addition, the tests found evidence of two tranquilizers -- alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) -- which are commonly prescribed for a variety of ailments, including anxiety and insomnia. Both drugs were determined to be in therapeutic or subtherapeutic concentrations.

Mays was found dead at his home near Tampa on June 28.

Mays, with his booming voice, was famous for fronting products such as OxiClean and Orange Glo in TV commercials.

R.I.P. John Hughes

A sad, sad day.


Today it was reported that one of my alltime favorite directors, John Hughes, died of a heart attack in NYC. He was only 59.



"John Hughes, director of culturally significant films such as "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," died suddenly today of a heart attack while taking a morning walk during a trip to Manhattan. He was 59.


John Wilden Hughes, Jr., born on Feb. 18, 1950 in Michigan, began as an advertising copywriter in Chicago.


In the last decade, he stepped back from the legacy he created to enjoy time with his family, maintain a functioning farm in northern Illinois and support independent arts. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Nancy, two sons, John and James, and four grandchildren."

I am in shock..

And the same day as Lucille Ball's death.

A sad, sad day.







R.I.P., you are both forever in my heart.