"Jim cleaned it up and recorded it but had a dentist's appointment that afternoon (for a filling) [...]" Sometimes Wikipedia really tries to relay all of the most important information.
I enjoyed
"The precise mechanism by which the Heslington brain was preserved is unclear, however; in a bid to shed light on this question, researchers buried a number of pigs' heads in and around the campus to see what happened to them[needs update].[7]"
...and am looking forward to an update in which we learn the name and then age of the undergraduates that dug them up and what pranks they played with them.
The writing style is surprisingly enjoyable in several history-related articles. I really appreciate the effort some contributors seem to put into not only the research but also the actual writing. I've definitely found myself reading a big article top-to-bottom like it's a magazine article.
Ritual murder = we kill because it's our custom; e.g. captured warriors could get killed to celebrate victory.
Human sacrifice (a form of ritual murder) = we make an offering and we expect certain rewards. E.g. we sacrifice 100 citizens because we believe we need to meet a quota and otherwise the sun won't go up.
I'm pretty sure in a Venn diagram the "ritual killing" circle would include human sacrifices.
Ritual killings have elements not related to the act of killing, serial ritual killings demonstrate a repeated pattern of ritual .. it's killing with obsessive complusive and|or psycho sexual flourishes.
I would guess that a sacrifice is made to please some Other with powers mere mortals don't possess, like a deity or a spirit, and a ritual would be a more general term for a spiritual tradition without necessarily pleading to a higher power. But what do I know.
...and am looking forward to an update in which we learn the name and then age of the undergraduates that dug them up and what pranks they played with them.