Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431-1476) better known as Vlad the Impaler was a Transylvania-born ruler of Wallachia.  He is said to be the inspiration of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.  In case his epithet didn’t give it away, Vlad the Impaler was a vicious, messed up dude.  He is well known for his sadistic methods of execution and torture, which include boiling, skinning, forced cannibalism, roasting, and his personal favorite, impaling. 

I once knew a kid named Brad the Inhaler.  He was from Pennsylvania.  He had asthma and he wasn’t very sadistic.  Just pretty geeky and bad at sports.  He didn’t inspire any novels.

The slang phrase “going postal,” as in getting uncontrollably furious and violent, derives from tragic incidents involving United States Postal Service workers. Between 1986 and 1997, more than 40 people were murdered by spree killers in over 20 acts of workplace violence.  You know what hasn’t murdered 40 people?  E-mail.