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23 Out-There Facts About Death, Burial and Whatever Comes After

June 29, 2024

Fire my body into the vacuum of space, but make sure I’m 100 percent zonked out first, please.

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23

POP ME LIKE A BALLOON Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the politician and writer (of It was a dark and stormy night infamy) requested his heart be punctured upon his death, just in case. CRACKED COM — Source

22

INVISIBLE INK In the 18th century, doctors began to scrawl a message in silver nitrate on a pane of glass, which would then be left over the person's face. As gasses from decomposition escaped their mouth, the message I AM DEAD would become visible. CRACKED COM — Source

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SECURITY COFFINS Sufferers of taphophobia (being falsely pronounced dead) came up with some innovative coffin designs. LIFE PRESERVING COFPIN Coffee IN DOUBTPUL CASES OF ACTUAL DEATH. By Christian Heary Eisenbrandt of Beltimore City and County State fillaryland. F16.1. 333- FIG.2. ATION 35 TETOT A FIG.3. There are patents for coffins with escape hatches, radios, chemical toilets and snacks, Rube Goldberg-esque alarm systems, and poison gas release systems CRACKED COM — Source

20

THE COFFIN WINDOW Timothy Clark Smith, buried in Vermont in 1893, had this window installed in his grave so loved ones could scan his face for signs of life. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

INFLICT ACUTE PAIN Burning a person's fingers to the point of blistering, shoving a splinter into a toenail, and our old cure-all, the tobacco smoke enema, were all employed to test for true death. CRACKED COM — Source

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DON'T CALL ME, I'LL CALL YOU Earl Allen was buried in Texas in 1929 with a phone in his hand. His instructions were to wait three days for him to call; if he didn't, it was safe to assume he was dead, and they could disconnect the phone. CRACKED COM — Source

17

LET ME ROT George Washington's final wish was a 3-day grace period to let his body start visibly decomposing SO they could be sure he was dead. CRACKED COM I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the Vault in less than three days after I am dead. — Source

16

PIN ME DOWN When Harold West died, he requested a steel stake be shoved through his heart. This was in 1972. Не was specifically afraid of coming back as a vampire, but we're gonna count it. CRACKED COM — Source

15

CUT ME OPEN To prevent being misdiagnosed as dead, Hans Christian Andersen kept a sign next to his bed that said I only appear to be dead. CRACKED COM When he finally was dying, for a bit of extra assurance, he requested his friends slit his veins open after he stopped breathing. — Source

14

BURN ME Alfred Nobel wanted doctors to cut him open, double check their work, and then burn him. NAT MDCCC XXXIII OB· MDCCC ALFR XCVI NOBEL It is my express wish that following my death my veins shall be opened, and when this has been done and competent Doctors have confirmed clear signs of death, my remains shall be cremated in a so-called crematorium. CRACKED COM — Source

13

I'LL PAY YOU NOT TO BURY ME Now known as the Manchester Mummy, Hannah Beswick left her entire estate to her doctor, so long as he never buried her and checked on her every day. Не eventually embalmed her, and she was put on display at The Museum of the Manchester Natural History Society. CRACKED COM — Source

12

CRACKED.COM 73% of adult Americans believe in heaven Only 62% believe in hell. (The survey did not immediately offer a definition for either.) — Source

11

CRACKED.COM Ancient Egyptians believed the heart would be weighed by the gods cemilla NVB The heart was considered the center of emotions, knowledge, and memories. The deceased's heart was believed to be weighed on a scale against the feather of the goddess Maat, who embodied goodness. If it weighed more, it was consumed by the crocodile-headed goddess Ammit. — Source

10

CRACKED.COM Neanderthals buried their dead Burial isn't unique to our species. Researchers confirm that 41,000 years ago a two-year-old Neanderthal child was intentionally buried. — Source

9

CRACKED.COM In Ancient Mexico, dogs were sacrificed to help guide their deceased owner's soul to the underworld. The hairless xoloitzcuintli, aka its the Mexican from two Aztec words: dog, Xolotl, gets the name god pps of lightning and death, and itzcuintli, dog. — Source

8

CRACKED.COM In Korea, figurines were buried with people to help them in the afterlife. From the 4th to 20th century, carved and brightly painted wooden acrobats, dragons, and clowns would be placed on funeral biers to guide, protect, and entertain the dead. — Source

7

CRACKED.COM In 17th and 18th century Poland, deceased nobles had coffin portraits. D. S. C. Realistic paintings of the deceased were put on coffins during funerals but removed before the burial. — Source

6

GRACKED.COM Mesopotamians believed the dead lived under the earth, drinking from muddy puddles and eating dust In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of the dead who made sure no living soul found out about the gloomy underworld. — Source

5

CRACKED.COM Early Christians believed this world would become a restored Eden First-century Christians believed that this world would be transformed into heaven, where humans would be liberated from death and sin, within their lifetimes. — Source

4

CRACKED.COM Ancient Roman aristocrats had impersonators at their funerals The funerary mime would wear a mask with the likeness of the deceased and copy (sometimes even mock) their mannerisms. Roman funerals were both somber and theatrical. — Source

3

CRACKED.COM In Ancient Greece, it was believed that if you cut the feet off the corpse, it couldn't rise to haunt you. Greek tragedies discuss the method of cutting off of the feet, hands, ears, nose, and other extremities and tying the removed body parts together under the armpits of a murder victim to prevent the undead from taking vengeance. — Source

2

GRAGKED.COM Embalmers would secretly cut out the hearts of commoners' mummies so the elite didn't have to share the afterlife with them DENO Ancient Egyptians believed the heart was the key to the afterlife, but researchers have discovered that by the time anyone could afford to mummify themselves, an overwhelming amount of mummies were missing the vital organ. — Source

1

CRACKED.COM The first emperor of China had a terracotta army buried with him To protect him in the afterlife, Qin Shi Huang was buried with over 8,000 unique, life-size sculptures of warriors. — Source

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