17th-century skulls were soaked in alcohol to create a tincture (a concentrated liquid herbal extract) called The King’s Drops. This was supposed to be good for gout, edema, and all fevers.
You can be legally dead in some states, but still living in others. New York and New Jersey allow families to reject the idea of “brain death” when it goes against religious beliefs.
Generally, the first visible sign of death is when the eyes cloud over when fluid and oxygen will stop flowing to the corneas, usually 10 minutes after death.
Embalming is not always required by law, mostly just in cases where bodies leave state borders.
There are roughly 300 bodies frozen in liquid nitrogen in America, with the hopes that science will be able to reanimate them one day. There have been a few movies about the dangers of this, but I say it’s probably going to be okay.
Hair and nails do not grow after death, but the body dries out and skin retracts, giving the illusion of growth.
“Mortician” is a term invented by the funeral industry because “undertaker” wasn’t customer-friendly. The name came from a call-out in Embalmer’s Monthly.
The acceptance of embalming can be credited to Abraham Lincoln’s journey between Washington, D.C. to Springfield, IL after his death.
Adipocere is is a byproduct of body fat decomposition, and causes the body to have a waxy/soapy look to it, often called grave wax.
Old slang terms for death included, “hop the twig”, “yield the crow a pudding”, “snuff one’s glim”, and “climb the six-foot ladder”.
You’re more likely to die at a dance party than you are while skydiving.
Ground-up mummies were often used as paint pigment and medicine between the 16th and 20th century.
Mount Everest has over 200 corpses of failed climbers. Retrieving their bodies is too dangerous to justify.
The burial depth of 6 feet comes from a 1665 plague outbreak in England to help stop the spread of the disease.
People would pay executioners to drink the blood of those recently executed, thinking it was a health tonic. Gross.
Pope Stephen VI had the corpse of Pope Formosus dug up and put on display to be questioned about his “crimes” in 897. These “crimes” were mostly about differing political views.
A cremated body will often produce between 3 and 9 pounds of remains. Bodies are burned at a temperature of up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scientists are studying the bacteria and fungi in corpses, known as the necrobiome, in hopes that it will be able to provide clues of time of death.
Rigor mortis only lasts 1 or 2 days. The chemical bonds that cause muscle fibers to become stiff will break down slowly depending on the temperature.
Despite rumors that it is illegal to die in Longyearbyen, Norway, it is perfectly legal to die. But the town has no nursing homes and only a small hospital, so elderly residents are required to move inland towards a larger city.
Human Composting could soon be legal in Washington state, the decomposed bodies do not smell and are suitable for gardening.
The 19th century had plans for “safety coffins”, where graves had bells, flags, and air tubes that would help those who were accidentally buried alive.
In the Victorian era, women would mourn their husbands for 2 and a half years, while husbands would mourn their wives for 3 months.
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