Bizarro: Van Gogh’s Valentine

For those of you who didn’t get it, here’s a little story about Vincent van Gogh’s ear:

Van Gogh felt an increasing fear that Gauguin was going to desert him, and what he described as a situation of "excessive tension" reached a crisis point on 23 December 1888, when Van Gogh stalked Gauguin with a razor and then cut off the lower part of his own left ear, which he wrapped in newspaper and gave to a prostitute named Rachel in the local brothel, asking her to "keep this object carefully." (Source)

Healthwise, Vincent was a basket case. Over the years, doctors came up with various mental and physical diagnoses including temporal lobe epilepsy, bipolar disorder, absinthe poisoning, lead poisoning, hypergraphia, and sunstroke (Source).

And on that note, Happy Valentin’s Day, everyone! Be sure to visit Dan Piraro’s website and blog for more Bizarro.

Update 2/14/08 – here’s another cute one, Dog and Cat’s Valentine: