Exploding Heads and Breathing Fire

Ok, perhaps I'm fixated (and juvenile) but I can't get enough of this stuff. This is another article relating to the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculanean in 79A.D. It's talking about the History Channel's new documentary on the distaster (which I'll have to see because it sounds awesomely outrageous). Some highpoints:

"The first surge caught residents of Herculaneum on the beach, where they were hoping for rescue from the sea. "The people on the beach died of thermal shock. At such high temperatures, their skin vaporized and their bones were incinerated. Their brains boiled, then exploded. Even today, their skulls are still stained from the red cerebral matter that poured out. Like glass that shatters under boiling water, their bones snapped in half and their teeth disintegrated."

Now, I remember reading about the distaster as a child, but they never described it like that...Actually, having been to Pompeii, I feel a little weird knowing that my friends and I were all having a merry ol' time there, without any conception about the reality of the horror...

Anyway, read the article and see the documentary. Even though it premiered yesterday, I think we all know that since it's on the History Channel, they'll replay about 6,462 more times...this week alone.