The silver hammer

I had one of those OMG! moments reading the paper today.

First, here are some lyrics from “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by the Beatles:

Bang bang Maxwell’s silver hammer came down upon his head
Bang bang Maxwell’s silver hammer made sure that he was dead

Then I read this:

According to legend, a Cardinal attending a dying Pope would strike the Pontiff three times on the forehead with a small silver hammer, looking for a response. There was to be no hammer when John Paul II died, just a one-word question repeated three times by a Cardinal: "Karol?" The Pope's failure to respond to his baptismal name then allowed that Cardinal, known as the camerlengo, to announce, "The Pope is dead."

I had no idea, although I’m not Catholic, so that’s my excuse. "The Silver Hammer" - sounds like Tom DeLay's nickname if he were a lounge singer. Heh.