In 1884, a crew stranded on a boat on the high seas ate the cabin boy, Richard Parker, to survive. (R v Dudley and Stephens case)
In 1838, Edgar Allan Poe's first and only novel was published (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket). In the novel, a group of whaling sailors are stranded on a boat. To prevent them from dying of hunger and thirst, one of the crew offers to draw lots. The crew agrees. The one who draws the short straw is also the one who offered it. But the irony is not there. The real irony is the name of this fictional character in the novel: Richard Parker.
And no, you didn't misread the dates!
<https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1cuiwyo/whats_a_fun_fact_that_no_one_asked_for/l4jha0c/>
In 1838, Edgar Allan Poe's first and only novel was published (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket). In the novel, a group of whaling sailors are stranded on a boat. To prevent them from dying of hunger and thirst, one of the crew offers to draw lots. The crew agrees. The one who draws the short straw is also the one who offered it. But the irony is not there. The real irony is the name of this fictional character in the novel: Richard Parker.
And no, you didn't misread the dates!
<https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1cuiwyo/whats_a_fun_fact_that_no_one_asked_for/l4jha0c/>
sincerely,