Pope Goestheveezl was the shortest reigning pope in the history of the
Church, reigning for two hours and six minutes on 1 April 1866. The white
smoke had hardly faded into the blue of the Vatican skies before it dawned
on the assembled multitudes in St. Peter's Square that his name had hilarious
possibilities. The crowds fell about, helpless with laughter, singing
Half a pound of tuppenny rice
Half a pound of treacle
That's the way the chimney smokes
Pope Goestheveezl
The square was finally cleared by armed carabineri with tears of laughter
streaming down their faces. The event set a record for hilarious civic
functions, smashing the previous record set when Baron Hans Neizant
Bompzidaize was elected Landburgher of Koln in 1653.
-- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac"
Accidents cause History.
If Sigismund Unbuckle had taken a walk in 1426 and met Wat Tyle he
Peasant's Revolt would never have happened and the motor car would not
have been invented until 2026, which would have meant that all the oil
could have been used for lamps, thus saving the electric light bulb and
the whale, and nobody would have caught Moby Dick or Billy Budd....
