2008 Passages

We lost some amazing people in 2008 -- Arthur C. Clarke, George Carlin... Cracked has a list of 15 people who passed away in 2008 that you might not have heard of:

Where Aren't They Now?: 15 Overlooked Deaths of 2008
How many greats have we lost this year? Heath Ledger. Bernie Mac. George Carlin. Charlton Heston. Arthur C Clarke. Michael Crichton. Jenny, the world�s oldest Gorilla. When these luminaries pass, the media stops and heaps on praise.

But then there are the unsung deaths, the people whose passing went largely unnoticed, but deserved better.

And starting the list at #15

January 7: The Greatest Competitive Eater of All Time

Who:
Edward Abraham �Bozo� Miller, Gastronomical Champion of competitive eating

How:
"Natural causes"

The Legacy:
This is a man who weighed 300 pounds, ate up to 25,000 calories per day, once ate 1000 packets of potato chips (flavor unspecified) and one time drank a lion under the table. Yet he lived until the age of 89 and married a former Princess of the Pasadena Rose Bowl (basically, a beauty queen). He was what all of America aspires to be.

Some Classic American Characters in this list. They will be missed.