“[…] a need exists for a new and unique cemetery theme that may allow the deceased some options when considering where and how to be buried.“ This need may be met by a newly issued US patent, granted to inventor David Montgomery, of California. His invention suggests that replica theme-parks (e.g. baseball stadium, golf course, […]
Tag: dead
Lester’s Latest: “A scale to measure the desire to be dead”
Professor David Lester, one of the most prolific producers (more than 2500 publications so far!) of academic publications, is still reliably cranking out nuggets. This is one of his latest: “A scale to measure the desire to be dead,” David Lester, Omega, 2013;67(3):323-7. Professor Lester explains: “The aim of the present research was to develop […]
Dead reckoning as to whether cats (or dogs) have exactly nine lives
How long does a cat last, statistically speaking? This study cast a cold eye on that question: “Epidemiological studies on the expectation of life for cats computed from animal cemetery records,” H. Hayashidani, Y. Omi, M. Ogawa, and K. Fukutomi, Nihon juigaku zasshi, The Japanese journal of veterinary science, vol. 51, no. 5, 1989, pp. […]
A detective on the twisted trail of a famous dead duck or ducks
Carly Carioli made himself into a detective/ornithologist to track down the strange tale of what happened to the dead duck and its confreres years after the famous incident that is known to science and history as the first reported case of homesexual necrophilia in the mallard duck. Carioli writes, on Boston.com: Happy dead duck day: […]
A reminder: Dead Duck Day is June 5
Kees Moeliker reminds us that Dead Duck Day is coming: Wednesday June 5th it is Dead Duck Day again. At exactly 17:55h we will honor the mallard duck that became known to science as the first (documented) ‘victim’ of homosexual necrophilia in that species. Please join for this short open-air ceremony next to the new wing of the Natural History […]
The ubiquity of dead mules in Southern literature
Jerry Leath Mills [pictured here] reigns as the unchallenged authority on the subject of dead mules in 20th-century American southern literature. Professor Mills established his reputation – almost instantly – in 1996, with the publication of a long essay called “Equine Gothic: The Dead Mule as Generic Signifier in Southern Literature of the Twentieth Century”. […]
Dead Duck Day – June 5
Tomorrow, June 5, is Dead Duck Day. On June 5, 1995, a mallard duck slammed into the window of the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam, the first big step on its journey into history. Kees Moeliker, the museum’s curator, subsequently published the first scientifically recorded description of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck (click here […]
Legal Lesson: A limitation on dead people
Investigator William J. Maloney unearthed a neglected January 4, 2002 report about a legal lesson: DEAD PEOPLE CAN’T ADOPT, JUDGE RULES IN LOCAL CASE by Melissa E. Holsman staff writer STUART – Ruling that dead people can’t adopt, a Martin County judge on Thursday overturned the adoption of a Jensen Beach woman by her 89-year-old […]