Good morning, Whitewater.
Midweek in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of eighty-four. Sunrise is 5:15 and sunset 8:32, for 15h 16m 54s of daytime. The moon is waning crescent with 40.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1692, Bridget Bishop becomes thew first person executed during the Salem witch trials:
Bishop was accused of bewitching five young women, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard, on the date of her examination by the authorities, 19 April 1692.
A record was given of her trial by Cotton Mather in “The Wonders of the Invisible World.” In his book, Mather recorded that several people testified against Bishop, stating that the shape of Bishop would pinch, choke or bite them. The shape also threatened to drown one victim if she did not write her name in a certain book. During the trial, anytime Bishop would look upon one of those supposed to be tortured by her, they would be immediately struck down and only her touch would revive them. More allegations were made during the trial including that of a woman saying that the apparition of Bishop tore her coat, upon further examination her coat was found to be torn in the exact spot. Mather mentions that the truth of these many accusations carried too much suspicion, however.
William Stacy, a middle aged man in Salem Town, testified that Bishop had previously made statements to him that other people in the town considered her to be a witch. He confronted her with the allegation that she was using witchcraft to torment him, which she denied. Another local man, Samuel Shattuck, accused Bishop of bewitching his child and also of striking his son with a spade. He also testified that Bishop asked him to dye lace, which apparently was too small to be used on anything but a poppet (doll used in spell-casting). John and William Bly, father and son, testified about finding poppets in Bishop’s house and also about their pig that appeared to be bewitched, or poisoned, after a dispute with Bishop. Other victims of Bishop, as recorded by Mather, include Deliverance Hobbs, John Cook, Samuel Gray, Richard Coman, and John Louder.[citation needed]
During her sentencing, a jury of women found a third nipple upon Bishop (a sure sign of witchcraft) but upon a second examination the nipple was not found. In the end Mather states that the biggest thing that condemned Bishop was the gross amount of lying she committed in court. According to Mather, “there was little occasion to prove the witchcraft, it being evident and notorious to all beholders.” Bishop was sentenced to death and hanged.
Here’s Puzzability‘s Wednesday game:
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This Week’s Game — June 8-12
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Disappearing Acts
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They’re all trick questions this week. For each day, we started with the name of a magic or mentalist act as it would be billed. We removed all the letters that appear more than once, leaving just the singly occurring letters. Each day’s clue gives the unique letters in order (with any spaces removed), along with the word lengths of the act’s name in parentheses.
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Example:
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AYOUDN (5,7)
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Answer:
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Harry Houdini
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What to Submit:
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Submit the name (as “Harry Houdini” in the example) for your answer.
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Wednesday, June 10
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