A
rumour goes that she was crushed to death while attempting
beastiality with a horse.
Kinky.
While I personally don't believe this to be true, it makes a good story regardless. It makes an even better story when it is brought up in your sophomore AP European History class.
(First period. 73% of the class is passed out on their desks due to school-enforced sleep deprivation and/or boredom)
Teacher: ...until in 1796 when Catherine the Great died...
(The entire class wakes up suddenly as if someone had pumped amphetamines into the ventilation system; we had been waiting for this moment the entire year...)
Classmate #1: Uhh...Ms. Garber, why'd she die? She was only...what? 67?
(Smirks permeate the room.)
Teacher: Health problems, I suppose...
Classmate #2: Well, I would think that if you were the leader of a country, you'd have the best doctors around...
Classmates in the back of the room: Yeah, yeah. How'd she die? How'd she die?
Teacher: *sigh* (Knowing where this is going...) She just died. People die all the time. People die every day. Someone in the world probably just died this minute. There was nothing special about her death.
Classmate #1: But this is recorded history...I mean, don't you think there would be a record of it? Historians study this stuff all the time...I think they would've found something...
(Everyone begins giggling...)
Teacher: She just died of natural causes, allright. Can we drop this now?
Voice from the back of the room: Fuckin a horse, sure ain't natural...
(Everyone completely loses it. All semblence of order is gone. The teacher gives an evil glare to the class..)
Teacher: (Quite flustered...) Grr...Alright, moving on. Her son Peter became tsar after she died...
(The riotous laughter continues...)
Man am I glad I woke up for that little dialogue. It was by far the most interesting day out of that entire class. Phew.