Deathbed statements

Who did Joe DiMaggio evoke in his last words? 12 lines taken to the grave

Image: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Throughout history, hundreds of historical figures have left their mark on the world through their marvelous achievements. When their lives came to an end, their last words were often a reflection of their lives and ideals. From George Washington and Mark Twain to Frank Sinatra and Leonardo Da Vinci, in this article, we will reveal 12 final words of memorable personalities.

Image: The New York Public Library

After serving two terms as the United State's first president, George Washington retired to his Virginia plantation. In mid-December 1799, he developed a cold and a severe sore throat. Despite doctors' efforts to cure him, the end was imminent.

His long-time secretary, Tobias Lear, was at his side during his last days and documented all the events that transpired, including the former president's last words. According to his account, shortly before he took his last breath George Washington said "Tis well" —an old-fashioned way of saying "everything is okay."

Image: Signal Corps Archive from United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noir icon of perpetual elegance and rebellious charisma, Humphrey Bogart is an undisputed legend in cinema history. A Hollywood Golden Age star, Bogart is still remembered today for his scar on his upper lip, his everlasting cigarette, and his perfect portrayal of gangsters and detectives.

At the age of 57 Bogart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, for which he was hospitalized for several months. According to lore, the legendary star's last words were "I should never have switched from scotch to martinis." However, his wife Lauren Bacall confirmed that the last thing he actually said was "Goodbye Kid. Hurry back," before she left his bedside to get their children.

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As one of the greatest American writers of all time, Mark Twain is usually credited with all sorts of great quotes that he often didn't say. For that reason, there are different versions of what his last words were before he died in 1910 at the age of 74.

The most plausible theory can be found in an article published one day after his death. According to this chronicle, Samuel Langhorne Clemens' last words were not spoken aloud but written. The famous humorist and essayist reportedly wrote to his daughter Clara, who accompanied him on his bedside, "Give me my glasses."

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Joan Crawford, the Oscar winner for Mildred Pierce and one of the greatest stars of Hollywood's golden age, died in 1977 of a heart attack.

The actress, who had a complicated personality, was true to her nature until her last breath. She was so ill that her doctor felt it wasn’t worth taking her to the hospital. One of her nurses began to pray aloud in desperation. Losing her patience, Crawford snapped for the last time and said, "Damn it... Don't you dare ask God to help me."

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The year 2024 marked the 700th anniversary of the death of the man who better described remote lands. Marco Polo was a merchant who spent more than 20 years of his life traveling through the Orient and wrote about his adventures in a book that became a bestseller when the printing press wasn’t even invented.

Marco Polo was, and still is, a legend. When, on his deathbed, his wife and friends begged the brave explorer to confess if what he had told in the book was true, he barely whispered: "I have not told the half of what I saw and did."

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Julius Henry Marx, better known as Groucho Marx, is considered one of the most influential comedians of all time. The man with the bushy black mustache was one of the Marx Brothers. Together they made 13 films, including the classic Duck Soup. After a long and prominent career, Groucho passed away in Los Angeles in 1977 at the age of 86.

His brilliant one-liners are still remembered and replayed to this day, so it is not surprising that not one but several final words are attributed to him. A few close friends have suggested that his last line was "This is no way to live!", while most suggest that his last words were in fact dedicated to his wife: "Die, my dear? Why, that's the last thing I'll do!"

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Voltaire, the French writer, philosopher, historian, and lawyer, one of the major figures of the Enlightenment, died in 1778 at the age of 83. Different accounts of his deathbed make it impossible to determine exactly what his last days were like.

One of these stories, however, is consistent with his ideas about God and his well-known criticism of the Church. According to this version, when the priest asked him if he wanted to renounce Satan before he died, Voltaire replied, "This is no time to make new enemies."

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L. Frank Baum was a prolific American author. He wrote 55 novels, 82 short stories, and more than 200 poems. However, his most memorable work is his series of children's fantasy books The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

On May 5, 1919, Baum suffered a heart attack. He died the next day, shortly before his 63rd birthday. Disturbed by the imminence of death, he whispered to his wife: "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands," a clear reference to the Land of Oz.

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Augustus, the first Roman emperor, is often attributed with the phrase: "Behold, I found Rome of clay, and leave her to you of marble," alluding to the great infrastructural works carried out during his prosperous 40 years of rule.

However, according to other historical accounts, his last words were addressed to the friends who stayed with him on his deathbed: "Have I played the part well? Then applaud, as I exit."

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"Darling, you've gone through worse and you can beat this too. You have to fight," implored Barbara Marx, Frank Sinatra's fourth wife, to her beloved on his deathbed. "I'm losing," The Voice whispered through teary eyes.

Barbara recounted the last hours of the singer of such hits as My Way and New York, New York in her memoir Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank. Frank Sinatra, one of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, pronounced his last words in 1998 at the age of 82.

Image: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Despite being one of the most famous artists of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci was very hard on himself. All his life he challenged his own limits, evident in his paintings and sculptures as well as in his inventions, some of which were truly revolutionary.

Even after a lifetime of success, he wasn’t quite satisfied. When he suffered a stroke at the age of 67, he sent for a priest to receive the Holy Sacrament and, according to historians, his greatest regret was that he hadn’t achieved excellence with his work. In that sense, it is said that his last words were: "I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."

Image: National Museum of Health and Medicine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Yankee Clipper was one of the greatest baseball players of all time but he is also known for having been married to the iconic American actress Marilyn Monroe. Joe and Marilyn were together for less than three years. In 1955 the actress left him for American playwright Arthur Miller.

DiMaggio was devastated. He never married again, and never got over his one true love. His last words before he died in 1999 at the age of 84 were: "I'll finally get to see Marilyn."

Ever heard of them?

How, where, and why is Fierljeppen played? 10 unusual sports names, decoded

Image: Chino Rocha

As names go, "football," "handball, and "table tennis" are straightforward enough. But would you be able to explain how fierljeppen is played? Or what really goes on in a "toe wrestling" match? Some sports names were directly imported from their original nations, some others are combinations of traditional games that evolved when crossing frontiers. Let’s explore the meanings and backstories behind games like qianball, hantis, and eukonkanto, and find out which one you’d be interesting in watching –or playing!

Image: JillWellington

Here’s the concept: You spring and jump off the edge of a canal, grab onto a flexible pole sticking in the middle of it, climb as high as you can, and then propel yourself to the other side of the water. Of course, the wider the canal and the higher the pole, the harder the feat gets, right? The longest pole climbed in fierljeppen to record was over 72 ft tall.

This Dutch sport originated in Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. Its name comes from the combination of Frisian words fier (far) and ljeppen (leaping/jumping). It has been practiced for centuries, derived from the pole vault technique for crossing the abundant waterways in the Netherlands.

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Qianball might remind us of tennis or squash. Except in this sport, the ball is tethered to a weight with a rubber band. Players (two or four, typically) stand on the same side of the net and strike the ball taking turns. The amazing thing about Qianball is never having to jog far after a missed ball.

The sport derives from the Chinese Qianlongball. It originated as an indoor alternative to tennis, although nowadays it can also be played outdoors. It became popular after Denmark adopted it and started organizing tournaments to promote it.

Image: Teo Zac

Can you imagine playing tennis without rackets? That’s not very far from what hantis is. In this sport, named after the combination of "hand" and "table tennis," four standard tables are placed between the four players, who strike the ball with their bare hands. The goal, similarly to ping-pong, is to get the ball to bounce on and off the tables without the other team returning it.

The game originated in a classroom, and its creators have been promoting it ever since, developing the official rules and standard measurements for tables. Eventually, it caught on and was spread across U.S. schools through physical education programs and the help of the internet.

Image: Mary Taylor

This is an obstacle course where participants carry teammates over hurdles, water hazards, and sandy stretchers. The traditional version of it is a man carrying his own wife while competing, with techniques such as piggyback or fireman’s carry.

Eukonkanto really translates to "wife carrying" in Finnish. The sport originated in Finland inspired by 19th-century folklore. In it, a legend spoke of a bandit leader who allegedly made his recruits carry women to demonstrate their stamina. Modern rules of the game suggest that the person carried should weigh no less than 108 pounds.

Image: Chris Liverani

Bandy is a lot like hockey on ice, but it is played with a ball instead of a puck. Played on a large ice rink roughly the size of a soccer field, it still involves teams using curved sticks to hit the ball into the other team’s net.

The sport mixes the rules of ice hockey and soccer. It is debated whether the sport originated in Russia or England, but the name we use derives from the Middle English word bandy, which means "curved stick."

Image: Polina Tankilevitch

The name straightforwardly describes the action —wrestling with toes. Yes, the sport consists of two participants interlocking their toes. The goal is to pin the other person’s foot to the ground for three seconds. As you can imagine, this requires strength, balance, dexterity, and a willingness to be barefoot in public.

This was created by a group of friends who lamented that England didn’t have any championships in unconventional sports, or so goes the legend. Today they must be proud, because a World Toe Wrestling Championships is held annually, and has been for at least 50 years.

Image: Chris Geirman

We’ve all seen pogo sticks, those spring-loaded, bouncing toys for children. Xpogo takes child play to the extreme in competitions where participants achieve impressive heights in circuits or challenging terrains. It could be compared with parkour, skateboarding, or BMX.

The name is a shortening of "extreme pogo." Athletes do use specially designed pogo sticks for their high jumps, backflips, and such tricks. In fact, these modern devices allow jumps exceeding 10 feet. Tournaments are held internationally, such as the "Pogopalooza," the sport’s World Championship.

Image: Samuel Ryde

Picigin is a recreational game played in shallow water with a peeled tennis ball, known as the "balun," or alternatively, rubber balls. Players aim to keep the ball in the air using only their hands, performing dramatic dives and acrobatic moves to prevent it from touching the water.

Unlike competitive sports, picigin has no scoring system or strict rules. It just focuses on coordination, teamwork, and not losing the ball to the water currents. The term picigin is derived from Croatian. It originated in Split when local students adapted water polo to the shallow, sandy waters of Bačvice Beach.

Image: Leticia Pelissari

If you’ve ever seen someone walk or run on jumping stilts, you have surely fantasized about trying them on. Those spring-loaded stilts are usually worn by acrobats or entertainers, but the devices gave way to a new sport called "powerbocking."

The jumping stilts called "PowerSkips" were developed by Alexander Böck, a German engineer, and in his honor powerbocking was named. Not unlike xpogo, powerbocking involves running, jumping, and performing acrobatics to access heights and speeds that bare feet could never achieve. A milder variation also gained popularity as aerobic exercise, since the sticks reduce the impact on joints compared to traditional sports.

Image: Nathan Poncet

All in all, slalom isn’t a strange sport compared with eukonkanto or toe wrestling. But it might be difficult to pinpoint the meaning of its name. The term comes from the Norwegian words sla (meaning "slope") and låm (meaning "track").

Slalom is a type of skiing race, one of the key disciplines of alpine skiing. In it, skiers slide through a downhill course marked with alternating gates (pairs of poles), making tight turns and quick, precise maneuvers. The winner is the athlete who completes it in the shortest combined time.