“What could be more appropriate or decorous than that the ashes of men of genius or enterprise should be placed in the form of a plaque in a part of the works to which they devoted their lives,” wrote Albert Vanderlaan in his patent document: “Method of perpetuating human remains and article made thereby,” US patent […]
Tag: Death
King Gustaf III’s coffee-kills-which-murderous-twin experiment
This publication alludes to one of the few documented experiments that involved coffee, a king, twins, and death: “Coffee drinking was compared with tea drinking in monozygotic twins in 18th century,” Lars Breimer, BMJ, vol. 312, June 15, 1996, p. 1539. The author, at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London, explains: “One […]
Ashes to ashes to fireworks: going out with a bang (new patent)
“It is an object of the present invention to provide a practical and affordable device to disperse cremated remains in a special and honorary manner.” – explains inventor Wallace N. Brown, of Maricopa, AZ, USA, in a newly issued patent, entitled : Aerial disposal and dispersal of cremated remains going out with a bang. The […]
Comparative death counts: Marijuana vs. water
There’s news about the literally grave danger that a feared drug might pose for someone somewhere some day. Details are in a new study. The study describes two persons who died from no obvious cause, and who—the doctors conclude — therefore must have died from the unknown amounts of marijuana that they are likely to […]
Marketing opportunity for Death Is Wrong?
Gennady Stolyarov II, author of the book Death Is Wrong, is missing a marketing opportunity. He has not even tried to consult with the most influential person who would agree with him on the letter of that sentiment, if not in the details. That influential person is Lal Bihari, founder and president of the Association […]
Ig Nobel Prize winner Harold Camping achieves his doom
Ig Nobel Prize winner Harold Camping is dead. Camping shared the 2011 Ig Nobel Prize for mathematics. That prize was awarded to Dorothy Martin of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1954), Pat Robertson of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1982), Elizabeth Clare Prophet of the USA (who […]
An old, not-quite-dead question about sushi and death
Eating dead live fish has long inspired some people to some speculation about some incidents. This is further speculation about one of those incidents: “Bad Sushi or Bad Merchant? The ‘Dead Fish Poisoning Incident’ of 1852,” Hiraku Shimoda [pictured here], Modern Asian Studies, vol. 35, no. 3, July 2001, pp 513-531. The author, then at […]
Skeletons Not For Halloween: Another Example
Our annual reminder that not all skeletons are suitable for use as Halloween costumes: “Penises as variable-volume hydrostatic skeletons,” Diane A. Kelly, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1101, 2007: 453-463. This year, a related reminder about joking on Halloween: “Joking in the face of death: A terror management approach to humor production,” Christopher R. […]
Personifications of Death and Death Anxiety Survey
A look back at yet another presumably surprising discovery: “Personifications of Death and Death Anxiety,” Richard Lonetto, Journal of Personality Assessment, vol. 46, no. 4, 1982. The author, at the University of Guelph, explains: “University students, graduate nursing students, and funeral service students completed Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) and a Death Personification Exercise (DPE). […]
Another startling study about coffee-drinkers
Many people who drink tremendous amounts of coffee also smoke heavily, and some of them, the men especially, kinda-sorta tend to die a little early, statistically speaking. Maybe they die from the coffee. Maybe they die from the smoking. Maybe they die from something other than the coffee or the smoking. Maybe they die from car […]