Arthur Upfield was writing a novel in which a killer comes up with the perfect murder scenario. In short, the killer puts the corpse of his victim inside a dead cow’s gut, and burns both of them at the same time. He removes any metal fragments, such as jewellery, belt buckles and teeth, dissolving them in acid, then smashes up the bony ash and scatters it to the winds.

Unable to think of a way for his fictional detective to actually solve such an ingenious scheme, he starts asking friends and acquaintances for ideas. Word gets about town, and a fellow named Snowy Rowles decides that he’ll put it to the test. He murdered three people, the first two of whom were killed exactly as written, and no one suspected him. The third is where he got sloppy, and he forgot to remove and dissolve the metal fragments, and the victim’s distinctive ring was found.

Snowy maintained his innocence, but was hanged.