Happy birthday to Vincent van Gogh, born on this day in 1853

DID VAN GOGH CUT OFF HIS OWN EAR?

We know, we know. How do we even begin to comprehend a world in which van Gogh that didn't cut off his own ear and deliver it to a lady named Rachel? Well, Hamburg-based historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans insist that Vincent van Gogh may have made the whole thing up to protect the real culprit, his friend Paul Gauguin, who could have chopped it off during an argument. (Gauguin liked to fence.) Evidence backing this claim includes a letter van Gogh wrote to Gauguin, which reads: "I will keep quiet about this and so will you."