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Weekend


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December 10, 2004

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. Did the classic James Bond movie "Goldfinger" get it right when Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) died after being dipped in liquid 14-carat gold? Could skin suffocation really happen?

    A. This is largely urban legend, though Shirley Eaton's autobiography explains that the filmmakers believed their own script, for they left a patch of her abdomen unpainted, says Steven Connor in "The Book of Skin." "She died of skin suffocation," said Bond to his spymaster M. "It's been known to happen to cabaret dancers. It's all right so long as you leave a small bare patch at the base of the spine to allow the skin to breathe."


     
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