We live in a world that is too often full of negativity. Between school, work, college applications, long rehearsals, and other teenagery things, it has become more difficult for me to stay positive. But do not fear, dear reader, for I have survived this kind of burnout before by finding random bits of joy throughout my day. In an attempt to impart my wisdom on you, I will share them with you in this blog.

1. The musical “Annie”:
I recently saw this show at Playhouse Square and I truly forgot how much of a banger it is. I mean, seriously, “Tomorrow”, “Maybe”, “NYC, “Little Girls”, AND “Easy Street”??!! That is an insane lineup right there. I have had these songs stuck in my head all week and it has brought me so much joy.

2. Almond Butter:
I hate to say it, but I’ve begun to completely avoid peanut butter over the past six months due to my complete infatuation with almond butter. There’s something about this spread that makes me so happy; it’s the perfect amount of nuttiness and not too sweet, which is more than I can say about peanut butter. My favorite breakfast this month has been dates with almond butter on them. Don’t hate it until you try it; I promise you, it will change your life.

3. NYX Highlighter Stick:
By far one of my favorite makeup purchases! I picked this baby up last week at CVS in the shade Coconut Cake for only $8 and it is now a staple in my makeup routine. This little stick is my new BFF. It makes my inner eyes and my life a bit brighter, and I am so thankful for it.

4. Patti Smith:
This woman makes me view life in a different light. I recently finished her book “M Train” and am now working my way through “Just Kids”. Patti views the world through an artistic and sentimental lens and reading her books helps me to appreciate the world a bit more.

5.Late Work Credit:
This is literally the only thing holding my grades together. God bless the inventor of this concept.

The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong. The first person to venture into space was Yuri Gagarin. But the first animal to ever breach the atmosphere and leave our planet behind wasn’t even a person at all!

Laika (Лайка) was a dog who lived in the Soviet Union during the 1950s. She was about three years old when she was taken off the streets of Moscow to be trained as the first astrodog. She was chosen based on the assumption that she had already survived cold and starvation during her time as a stray and that her hardiness would thus serve her well in the first dog space flight. Laika was reported as being calm and quiet; when she was first brought onto the mission she weighed only eleven pounds. 

The researchers fell in love with her, giving her nicknames like ‘little curly’ (Kudryavka/Кудрявка), ‘little lemon’ (Limonchik/Лимончик), and ‘little bug’ (Zhuchka/Жучка). Laika’s takeoff was scheduled to align with the forty-year anniversary of the October Revolution, barely a month after the launch of Sputnik I, as a symbol of Soviet technological superiority. The scientific goal of her mission was to judge the viability of human survival in space, as well as to measure radiation from the sun and other cosmic sources. To prepare Laika for the first crewed (does it count as crewed if the crew is a dog?) spaceflight in history, she was trained in what could easily be considered needlessly cruel conditions. Laika (and backup dogs Mushka and Albina, who did not accompany her into space) were kept in increasingly smaller cages to get them acclimated to the cramped interior of the Sputnik spacecraft. These conditions caused stress and restlessness in the dogs, but medication had no effect on them and scientists determined the only solution was to keep them in the small cages for so long that they become comfortable in them—even for periods of up to twenty days at a time. Laika and friends were also made to spend time in centrifuges and noise machines that simulated the physical takeoff and noise of a launching spaceship, and were trained to eat space gel that was the only source of nutrients sent with them beyond our planet of wet and dry food. 

Before the momentous day of Laika’s takeoff on November 3, 1957, a scientist working with her took her home so that she could play with his children and just be a dog, free from the pressures of the Soviet Union’s plans for space travel. A few days prior to her launch, Laika was given a kiss on the nose by a solemn technician and sealed into the spacecraft capsule, never to leave. She was kept under constant watch until the launch, which went off without a hitch. Laika successfully made it to space, beating out all of humankind to become the first Earth animal in space. The spacecraft she was sent up in had no method of safely returning to Earth, as that technology did not exist at the time. The scientists knew her trip would be one-way. A camera in the cabin of Sputnik II allowed the scientists to keep an eye on Laika until her death, inevitably caused by overheating. 

Laika’s story is a sad one full of exploitation and a strange sort of rags-to-riches story for a little stray from the big city. Since her historic voyage, Laika has entered pop culture as a martyr, christened by the internet as “patron saint of one-way trips.” 

Why does running get so much hate as a sport? People who make fun of runners don’t understand the benefits of being one. So here are 8 reasons why I think everyone should take a chance on running: 

1. Accessible to all able-bodied– all that is needed is a pair of running shoes…or not. Ask Zola Budd.
2. Runners high– endorphins: your body’s natural Red Bull. 
3. Last to die in a horror movie– we will always outrun the killer.
4. Can do it anywhere, anytime– whether it’s 2am or 2pm you can go on a run. It doesn’t require much…maybe just a headlamp.
5. The running wave– the running community is like a secret society. Anytime someone passes you while running there will be a slight wave and/or nod initiating you into the sacred cult. 
6. Wear cute outfits– even though my face may be contorted in pain, I know my bright pink shorts are stylish.
7. Snot Rockets– running is the only sport where it is acceptable to press your finger on one nostril to make a “Snot Rocket” to clear your airways. 
8. And there are just a few health benefits:  improved heart health, effective weight management, increased lung capacity, increased bone density, improved immune system, increased energy levels, strong muscles, and you simply live longer. 

I encourage all of you to give running a shot. It will be hard and exhausting but with time you will view pain as weakness leaving your body.

This year, I attempted to D.I.Y. my shirt for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Naturally, I waited until the day of to do so.

Approximately six hours before I had to leave, I went to Michael’s craft store and bought green fabric paint, green glitter, and a foam paintbrush. After Michaels, I headed over to Target to buy a plain black t-shirt. A little less than an hour and $15 later, I was ready to go.

My plan was to put two three-leaf clovers on the front of the shirt, so I printed and cut out a picture to trace. Once I mapped out the clovers and traced them, I got to painting. 

There was a learning curve and the first clover was a little questionable, but overall I was happy with how it turned out. I gave the shirt three hours to dry and hoped that would be enough because either way, I was going to wear it out.

The shirt looked good enough when I left my house, but unfortunately, the same can not be said less than twenty-four hours later. 

Anyway, if you are planning on making a shirt with fabric paint and glitter, I recommend waiting at least 24 hours before wearing it. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, though!

Confidence is a confusing concept. How can one be so comfortable with who one is but balance cognitive dissonance in the background? To what extent can we label someone confident without knowing how they truly feel?

We often tend to look at someone at first glance and judge their confidence level based on how they act. This is without knowing who they are, their interests, or their hobbies. I often find myself looking up to people I don’t know for their confidence. This is a strange concept to me because we all know that things are never as perfect as they seem, but for some reason, it gives us a model of what we’d like to be like.

After spending a lot of time balancing the concept of confidence, I’ve noticed that it’s not linear and that we cannot judge ourselves for being “less confident” on certain days or compare ourselves to other people because they seem like they have their lives figured out. Confidence is meant for us to explore and define for ourselves, and I think we could all be a little nicer to ourselves on this journey. We all interact with the world differently, and it’s essential to focus on ourselves!!!

I Literally love watching people. Like, not in a creepy way. I just find it so astounding that in a world of 8 billion, each person has a unique story. It is so FASCINATING.

Sometimes, when I spot a truly captivating individual, I write it down in my notes app on my phone. However, I never put the date down, or where I saw them. So, the list isn’t very long or descriptive, but it is one of my favorite things.

Here is a preview:

The Woman with the Yellow Hat: It was the middle of winter, with most of the ground covered in snow, and she looked like she had just walked out of Aruba. She wore one of those cartoons, old-fashioned tan trenchcoats, and of course, A HUGE, BRIGHT yellow sun hat. It flopped over her eyes. I wonder if it protected her from the snow.

The Man with the Orchid: This one might be my favorite. I was walking down the street, and he rushed past me, but from a glance, I was immediately intrigued. He sported a big, nasty black eye. In his hands was a potted orchid, drooping over sad and dead. Was he the recipient of the pathetic flower, or was he in a hurry to apologize? Wherever he is, I hope he got where he needed to be on time.

The Girl with the Suitcase: On a spring afternoon, I was glaring wistfully out the window when I was supposed to be studying when a peculiar girl walked past my house. She strutted, unordinaryily, but dragged behind her a massive roller suitcase. It was one of those industrial silver ones. Where did she come from, where is she going? Who needs a suitcase in the middle of suburban Ohio?

The Man with Running Shoes: This one is puzzling because I don’t remember when or where I wrote it down. But I just remember looking at him and being perplexed. A man was sitting at a table alone, fully decked out in Running Gear. I’m talking middle school cross-country, highlighter shorty-shorts with matching Nike pullovers, and Hokas. And he was sipping on a full pint of beer. At 11:46 in the morning. Did he need a refreshment after his hard run, or was he prepping for his marathon training?

The Pair in the Art Museum: Last year, I was at the art museum, and I saw a painting that I absolutely adored. I sat on the plush museum chair and  reflected on the art style, the meaning, and all that. I eventually got up, because I was on a school trip and had an assignment due. But before leaving, I wanted to get a picture of it, and instead stumbled on to these two men, sitting identically as I had earlier, looking at the same painting. They were sitting in comfortable silence, and I wondered how long they had been there. What is their interpretation of the painting? Do they see the same meaning I do?

There are tons of others on the list, but these are my favorites. I love making up stories about the different people I see. To me, they may be random, but they have whole lives that I will never see. Kinda freaky, but I love it!

I have a ton favorite albums – many of which are very random when it comes to genres. I don’t particularly have a favorite genre of music so my favorite albums are a variety of music types. With that being said, these are my top five albums! (in no particular order)

Number 1

Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey

This album is beautiful and tragic, it’s dark and melancholy, but it also includes beautiful ballads. Every chorus and melody are uniquely different. This album demonstrates Lana’s increased confidence and maturity in her voice. Ultraviolence wraps love, desire, violence, and sadness into one album. The title track – which quotes the Crystals’ controversial “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)” describes, with an ethereal chilliness, clinging to an abusive relationship. On “Old Money,” she vows, “If you call for me/You know I’ll run to you.” Del Rey has declared feminism “not an interesting concept” but toys with sexual power on “Fucked My Way Up to the Top.” My favorite track on this album has to be “Pretty when you cry.” I interpret this song as being about a girl in a very complicated relationship or an on-and-off mess: she is too in love with him to move on to someone new so she waits for him to come back to her but he never does, so she thinks she must be pretty when she cries if he keeps doing these things to hurt her.

Number 2

Grace by Jeff Buckley

Buckley had only one album to his name when he died, but my word, what an album it was. Grace hit shelves in 1994, arguably alternative rock’s single greatest year; its contemporaries included Soundgarden’s Superunknown, Beck’s Mellow Gold, Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral, Hole’s Live Through This, Green Day’s Dookie, and Weezer’s (first) self-titled album, to name just a few. Yet, it sounded so fundamentally unlike those other albums that it might as well have come from another era. Grace is a pretty album—it’s very nimble and melodic—but Buckley’s voice highlights the album. His voice is an instrument that has been described as “angelic” and “ethereal.” My favorite track on this album has to be “Forget Her.” The song is tragically beautiful. I think that this song is about trying to forget someone you love because they’re no good for you.

Number 3

Saturday Night Wrist by Deftones

This album is heady, atmospheric, willfully too-difficult-for-radio wash of sound that, save for a handful of tracks, stretches out and explores Deftones’ creative limits more than ever before. It is definitely an acquired taste, but if you’re into heavy and alternative music in any way, you simply must give this album a listen. My favorite track on the album is “Beware.” This song is criminally underrated. Deftones lead singer, Chino Moreno told Kerrang! that this song is “a warning against the temptation of women, drugs, alcohol or any other vice. It’s quite dark.”

Number 4

GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia set expectations high for this album because of her first album “SOUR,” but GUTS is an instant classic. Rodrigo is a songwriter of rather astonishing purity—even in her most stylized lyrics, she never wanders far from the unformed gut-kick of a feeling. Though her lyrics may make her seem weak, her self doubt is a powerful force. Throughout this album, she kiln-fires her anxieties into lyrics that cut deep. The song “pretty isn’t pretty” is about the existential struggle of self-love, particularly under an unrelenting public eye. Several other songs are about being on the wrong side of a manipulative relationship. Two tracks in particular, “logical” and “the grudge,” tackle the topic via self-serious angst. But Rodrigo has more spark when she’s playfully ambivalent about how, or if, to break free. My favorite song on this album is probably “ballad of a homeschooled girl” because it captures the essence of outsider awkwardness.

Number 5

Around the Fur by Deftones

Around the Fur is alternative metal at its best: brutal, raw, unforgiving, and unafraid to bare its soul and display its intelligence. This is Deftones’ heaviest album with major distortion and screams everywhere while their most popular album—White Pony—was a more melodic and darker serving. The two albums are totally different so you can’t see many similarities between them. Around the Fur have two less-than-heavy tracks while White Pony consisted solely of those types of songs. Around the Fur is a nu-metal album and is probably the album that got them put into the same group as Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach. They are hard rock now but nu-metal was their style back then and out of all those bands, Deftones does it best. This album’s opening track is one of their most popular songs: “My Own Summer (Shove It).”  Chino’s (lead singer of the band) vocals in the song add so much to the song; whether it’d be his “I sound like I’m slowly dying” vocals or his very loud scream, the vocals makes the song (alongside catchiness of the whole song). My favorite track on this album has to be Dai the Flu. I like this song because I think the message is that you can love someone no matter what, or that nothing should get in between a relationship. I also like the song because of the amazing guitar tracking in the back.

These are my favorite albums!

“The Shadow” by Andy Warhol

Weltanschauung is a four-syllable German word borrowed into English at some point in the 20th century. Its meaning, roughly sketched, is a cohesive, complex, predictive, and explanative (subconscious) basis for viewing the world—a lens, in short. It’s a wonderful word, albeit invariably pretentious. 

Typically, the unadapted use of Weltanschauung in English is credited to William James in 1868. But, although William James is the King of American Psychology, that was in a letter. And this claim comes from Oxford English Dictionary, who’s hiding their citation behind a $30 paywall. Nevertheless, that letter must have been both private and unpublished, since there are no published letters from William James from 1868 that utilize the word Weltanschauung.

If a letter is private and unpublished (as well as from an author that already frequently used non-English phrases to spice up their writing), does it really count as the first integrated use of the phrase in English? It seems to me like that’s really just one instance of conversational and personal usage. If that kind of use counts, I could just as well postulate that my great-great-great-grandfather had actually used the word in daily conversation back in 1840. Does that count?

Let’s take this from another angle. The origin of the word Weltanschauung in its original language, German, lies in the works of Immanuel Kant. Specifically, the first use by Kant of the word was in his Critique of Judgment (COJ), written in 1790. So, let’s look for Weltanschauung in the first English translations of the COJ. 

FH Hedge translated parts of the COJ in 1848. But he did not use the word Weltanschauung. 

JH Bernard translated the COJ in its entirety in 1892. But he did not use the word Weltanschauung. 

James Creed Meredith translated the COJ in its entirety in 1911. Do you see a pattern? No “Weltanschauung.”

I’m getting tired of digging through old archives to find early Kant translations. Let’s go back to James for a second. In popular articles from 1904 and 1905 (later compiled in Essays in Radical Empiricism), James uses the word Weltanschauung prominently. So, we can infer that the recorded use of Weltanschauung in English can be dated to James in the very-early 1900s at the earliest.

But let’s refocus (again). The beginning of the use of a word in English articles does not mark the beginning of its use as a word in English. Again, James was a big fan of using untranslated phrases from other languages in his essays—Weltanschauung was no exception. He intended it to be understood by readers as a word from another language more appropriate to the description of his concept than any existing English word, not as an English word itself. Why else would he have italicized it? So then, when did people start thinking of Weltanschauung as an English word in-of-itself?

Here’s my sketch of a plausible hypothesis: it’s Freud’s fault. Post-World War Two America saw a massive influx of attention on psychoanalysis. Freud’s works are littered with the word Weltanschauung, especially the popular lecture A Philosophy of Life. And, here’s the nail in the coffin: Freud doesn’t just use the word Weltanschauung as an offhand sub-in for worldview. He analyzes the content and implications of the concept of a Weltanschauung. Its use very clearly indicates that, preserved in translation, Freud intends it as a neologism for his readers. 

What do trends of use for the word Weltanschauung show? A massive spike peaking in the 1940s. It’s clear: Americans started to read Freud and then adopted his unique vocabulary. Only then did the word Weltanschauung really come into the American vernacular. Believe it or not, a lot of words were adopted into English this way (i.e. picked up from Freud). 

So that’s my theory. It all goes back to Freud. Always. Every. Single. Time.

Life is a funny thing. A lot of times, things happen that are notable, but not big enough to turn into a full story. It is very sad how a lot of these moments get lost to memory, so for this blog I wanted to share some of those moments from my life. I hope you enjoy them!

Shaker Cowboy

One day I was walking home from school and I came across somebody with a leaf blower doing yard work. This guy, in Shaker Heights, Ohio was wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigar. I was a little pissed off before this, but how can you stay mad after meeting that guy? Truly an awesome experience.

Blindness?

A while back, maybe a year or two ago, I was chilling and cutting my nails when something happened that I don’t even know what to call. My eyes went crazy for a second, up was down and there were 2 black lines in my vision. I feel insane thinking about it because it hadn’t happened before and it hasn’t happened since. It is still horrifying to think that this could happen again.

Roof Spider

One day in middle school, I was sitting on my roof and crying—that was until I saw a black and yellow jumping spider. This little guy was on my gutter and before he jumped to the main part of the roof he looked left and right like he was crossing the street. I thought this dude was so cool that I stopped crying and simply observed him walk around my roof. I was so enraptured that I forgot I was sad. I have only seen that type of spider once more but still to this day that is my homie. If you ever see a black and yellow jumping spider: do not harm it, that is my friend.

Cave Noise

I was up in bed one morning when I was still in elementary school, just trying to sleep. Something in the house clearly didn’t want me to sleep though, as I hear what I can only describe as a Minecraft cave noise. I had the very normal reaction of being scared and hiding under my bed sheets. After I thought it was safe, I gunned it straight to my parents’ beds. I have never heard that sound again and I have no clue how nobody else heard it.

Receiver 

Sometimes, I will tune into the sound of electricity. It doesn’t happen often, but when I hear it, I stop what I am doing and try to figure out what the noise is. One day I was working at my table when, for some reason, I put my turned off phone to my ear like I was making a call. I actually heard something. It sounded like my phone was searching for something. I think I was hearing a Bluetooth or WiFi receiver. Sometimes, I try to hear it again. But I have never heard it again.

Toilet Intruder

This is another story from elementary Rafa. One day, before I was going to take a bath, I noticed a very large red-brown ant dead next to a hole. I thought it was weird and moved on with my day. Later on, on what I think was a different day, I saw another red-brown ant in the exact same position and I stayed looking for a little longer. This was a mistake. I saw a massive wasp drag the ant under the toilet. I screamed and ran. The funny thing is that I have no clue if I was having an insanity moment. It wasn’t a dream but there have never been wasps by my house and the ant didn’t look like any I had ever seen. Later when we remodeled that bathroom we found a carpenter ant nest but they don’t look like what I remembered. We never found the wasp.

Sun & Rain

I can’t remember much from preschool. I only have images, scents, and moments left in my mind. This is one of the more notable moments I remember. One day it was raining rather hard while it was early in the afternoon and the sun was still out. Everything outside was a bit yellow-orange and inside was just yellow. The pavement must have been very hot because the ground was steaming. For a while I stood by the window, watching the rain hit the pavement and turn into steam.

On October 7th, 1849, in Washington College Hospital in Baltimore, Edgar Allan Poe uttered his final words: “Lord, help my poor soul.” 

Or, at least, that’s how the typical story goes. Many are skeptical about the circumstances of Poe’s death; while I don’t personally care about the truth all that much, I think the conspiracy theories are kind of interesting!

The famed writer authored around seventy short stories, nearly fifty poems, and is credited with the creation of the detective fiction genre, decades before Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. As strange as his death was, it seems only fitting that the “father of mystery” should have died under suspicious circumstances.

Let’s review the facts of the case, and then we can get to the possible explanations.

In July of 1849, four months before his death, Poe traveled to Richmond, Virginia in the hopes of getting his work published in a magazine there. There is no account of this journey, but upon his arrival he said that he had contracted cholera and had experienced hallucinations while on the road. On his final day in Richmond, Poe met with Dr. John F. Carter, a local physician. This interaction is most likely irrelevant to Poe’s death, but a strange occurrence during their meeting is cited in multiple arguments as evidence for how Poe really died, so bear with me. Accounts of Poe’s travels during this time always listed him as using a walking stick, one that he never went anywhere without. Accounts cite Carter as having a similar cane, but with a sword hidden inside, which Poe swapped with his walking stick when he left Carter’s home. Poe may have been planning to return the cane and retrieve his own, but he did not return to Carter’s residence. 

On September 27th, in the very early morning, Poe left Richmond for New York City to start a new job as an editor – Carter’s cane-sword still in his possession. He never arrived, instead turning up a week later in a tavern (that day being used as a voting location) in Baltimore on October 3rd. He was discovered delirious, dirty, and wearing someone’s else’s clothing—uncharacteristically complete with dingy shoes and a straw hat. A letter was sent to his friend Joseph Snodgrass, who came to visit him. Poe still held onto Carter’s cane, but his trunk and other belongings were missing. John Joseph Moran cared for Poe at Washington College Hospital as his attending physician, but he was kept in a wing of the hospital for those recovering from intoxication in a room with bars on its windows. Poe is not believed to have been drunk at the time, but his condition was disturbing enough that he was denied any visitors and kept in his cell-like hospital room. 

As Poe died over the following days, the details get a lot fuzzier. The only person confirmed to have even seen Poe in the days leading up to his death was Moran, so most of the evidence from this short period comes from him directly. To complicate the matter, Moran was famously unreliable, listing three different dates on three separate occasions when Poe was admitted to the hospital: October 3rd, October 6th, and October 7th at “10 o’clock in the afternoon.” When even is that? It has been suggested that Moran was senile, which isn’t super nice, but his accounts are certainly lacking. Moran reported that in his last hours Poe yelled the name “Reynolds,” or possibly “Herring.” Neither a Reynolds nor a Herring close to Poe has been identified for sure, and the lack of similarity between these names certainly suggests (to me, at least) that Moran wasn’t entirely there. Moran also attributed multiple long and theatrical monologues regarding his coming death to the dying Poe, but in his delirious state it seems unlikely that Poe would actually have been able to speak in this way, and that these final words were possibly fabricated by Moran himself. In one of the only reports from Moran that I actually believe, Moran reported telling Poe that some of his friends were coming to visit him in the hospital. Poe replied that “the best thing his friend could do would be to blow out his brains with a pistol.” That sounds more like our guy. Poor Poe.

When Poe did die on October 7th, the matter didn’t get any less complex. To this day, no one has been able to unearth Poe’s death certificate or any of the medical records from his stay in Washington College Hospital, leading many to suspect there was never any documentation regarding his death in the first place. 

As convoluted as the story is, those are the facts. Now, let’s put them together! How did Poe really die?

There are a few theories posited by Poe’s many biographers. One such writer, Jeffrey Meyers, believes that Poe died of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), but this natural explanation doesn’t really do it for me. It fails to account for Poe’s bewildered condition, misplaced possessions, and the stranger’s clothing he was wearing. Some claim he was the target of a murderous conspiracy (but who doesn’t like Poe?), others believe it was suicide (his writings from the time revealed no more depression than usual), and still others believe the famous Gothic writer and father of modern mystery had a case of rabies (WHAT?!). Snodgrass, Poe’s aforementioned friend, was a member of the temperance movement and attributed his death to alcoholism, though Poe had recently sworn off drinking and joined the Sons of Temperance, which was essentially what we’d call an Alcoholics Anonymous group. 

The most pervasive and by far the strangest theory is that Poe died from… voting fraud. At the time, and specifically in Baltimore, a strange form of voting fraud called cooping was quite common. Cooping involved a group of armed people kidnapping an innocent voter off the street, forcing them to drink alcohol, beating them, and dressing them up in multiple outfits, then sending them out to vote multiple times for the “right” party, changing their clothing each time to fool poll workers. The cooping theory suggests that Poe died from the effects of being “cooped” as part of a mass election fraud campaign throughout Baltimore. This theory is obviously insane, but it actually might make sense! Why else would Poe have been wearing someone else’s clothing or been found confused at an active polling location in Baltimore, the cooping capital of the world?

I personally ascribe to the cooping theory, but something doesn’t quite add up. Testimony from cooping victim J. Justus Ritzman states that cooping victims like himself were often robbed and severely injured, Ritzman himself being held captive and drugged for days before being sent out to vote. Poe did not display marks of serious physical injury, and was still in possession of Dr. Carter’s cane-sword when he was taken to the hospital. Opponents of the cooping theory assert that Poe could’ve defended himself against his kidnappers with this sword, or that his continual possession of it proves he was never robbed and cooped at all.

Whatever the truth of Poe’s death, it’s clear there is no easy answer. In fact, it’s just like he said in his short story The Angel of the Odd: “The avenues to death are numerous and strange.” It seems Poe was more right than he knew.