Can you solve this one?

Forensic Trivia

By Linda Maria Frank

Apparent Dangers of Drinking and Driving At 3:00 AM.
On Nov. 10, Marguerite Lange, her silver 2010Mercedes Sports Coupe, a half-filled bottle of vodka and a plastic bag of white powder landed in a ditch located at the bottom of a steep hill bordering Rte. 17 in upstate New York. The car had apparently gone out of control and went off the highway, rolling several times before landing upside down in the ditch. The police were able to recreate the accident from skid marks on the road and various impressions and disturbances observed in the area.
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Meet the Cohens

Forensic Trivia

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE COHENS
By Linda Maria Frank

Everything is relative. And some of us are finding out that we have more relatives in our lives than we thought. In this article, I would like to point out that everything is relatives. Take, for instance, the story of the Cohens, or Kohanim as they are known in the Jewish faith. The Kohanim are males who can trace their lineage back to the first Cohen, who was anointed by Aaron, the brother of Moses, dating back 3,300 years. The line is patrilineal, which means it is passes from father to son through the Y chromosome.…

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CODIS

Forensic Trivia

CODIS, the combined DNA index system, is a data bank consisting of the DNA from violent offenders. When a violent crime like rape, murder or assault is committed, and evidence from the scene, like blood, skin cells or semen is available, a DNA profile from that evidence is produced. …

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Why Fire Island and Why The Madonna Ghost

Forensic Trivia

By Linda Maria Frank
One of the first questions anyone asks me about the book is why I chose the title, The Madonna Ghost. Some readers think that it is a reference to the singer, Madonna. It is not. The original meaning of the word, Madonna, is an Italian formal form of address for a woman, meaning literally, my lady. It has come to refer to the Mother of Christ in the Christian religion as illustrated by many works of art. So, a Madonna figure is a mother figure, most commonly a mother with child.
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Explosives

Forensic Trivia

AND THEN, IT WENT KABOOM!
By Linda Maria Frank

Every high school chemistry student, studying the incredible nature of nitrogen bonds, has heard the story of Alfred Nobel and his creation of dynamite. As the Industrial Revolution chugged along, the need for faster and more powerful methods of construction became increasingly important.

The two know explosives at the time were black power (gun powder), a relatively low grade explosive, and nitroglycerine, powerful, unstable, and deadly dangerous to use. The key ingredient in these two is the nitrogen bonds in the chemical ingredients. When the bonds between nitrogen atoms and the atoms of other elements are broken, tremendous energy is released.
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