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Humans have had a long history with trying to declare people dead and getting it wrong. Occasionally a dead body would be exhumed from the ground only to disco

by bb88 2y ago

Humans have had a long history with trying to declare people dead and getting it wrong. Occasionally a dead body would be exhumed from the ground only to discover scratch marks on the lid of the coffin. This led to inventions like safety coffins which allowed people to live until help could arrive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_coffin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_coffin Today, we don't need it inventions like that anymore, largely because the embalming process ensures the recently deceased are in fact deceased.

duskwuff 2y ago
"Despite the fear of burial while still alive, there are no documented cases of anybody being saved by a safety coffin." The safety coffin and other similar devices from the early 19th century are best understood as an odd, transient cultural phenomenon, not a response to a real need.
- orangeartist 2y ago
  [dead]
- rightbyte 2y ago
  That doesn't say much though. If being burried alive was rare and having a being-burried-alive-safety-bell was rare. A combination would have been rare rare. I guess rodents could leave scratch marks that would look like nails, too.
jillesvangurp 2y ago
Embalming is largely a cultural thing. It's very rare in Europe for people to get embalmed. At least in the places I've lived. Also, the chemicals involved are a bit nasty and there's actually a trend for people to have their remains disposed off in a more sustainable way. E.g. composting is popular lately. My aunt was buried in a nature cemetery a few months ago. Very beautiful place.
- hilux 2y ago
  Funny. Just a few minutes ago a youtube snippet of Law & Order taught me the alleged "first rule of composting": No meat! I guess I should unlearn that.
- tompagenet2 2y ago
  I had to look it up (although I realise now that's what all the chemicals shown on Six Feet Under were about). Sadly as I get older I've been to many funerals here in the UK. Not one of them had an open display of the dead body. All but one of them was a cremation. Is embalming a very US thing or is it common elsewhere?
  - docdeek 2y ago
    N= 1 but I’ve attended funerals in Australia and Europe and never once encountered the open casket/embalmed body that seems so common on US TV and in movies.
    - messe 2y ago
      In Ireland it's normal to have the dead in an open casket in their house prior to the funeral for a few days. We rarely take more than 3-4 days between the death and burial though.
    - magnetowasright 2y ago
      I'm Australian and have been to exactly 1 open casket. Soap box while I'm here: bodies do NOT need to be embalmed to have a viewing or open casket. If a funeral home is saying it's 'policy' to embalm for a viewing it is 99.9% of the time an internal/company policy and NOT a matter of law. Bodies kept cool without embalming are not stinky, discoloured, or dangerous, or any of the other reasons a funeral home will try to push for embalming. Yes there are exceptions, but they are few and they should all be explained to you in detail and you still have a choice! Prep methods for viewing (to keep eyes and mouth closed) can be done without embalming. You can take the body to a different funeral home at any point, so if you do end up at one refusing a viewing unless they're embalmed you really can go elsewhere. You also don't need a funeral home to have a viewing; you can do it at home as was custom (for ...millenia, I assume) until recently.
rapidaneurism 2y ago
A sky burial achieves the same purpose. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial At least if the dead person starts thrushing around while you cut them up they stop soon afterwards.
- jamestimmins 2y ago
  Oof I can understand this from a purely logical standpoint, but those photos are deeply unsettling.
Duwensatzaj 2y ago
As an alternative solution, someone offered a coffin with a large spike on it.
- throwup238 2y ago
  Dwight Schrute’s family had the best solution: on the day of the funeral, they’d just shoot the corpse in the casket three times with a shotgun at point blank range. They also got married while standing in their graves. The weddings were a bleak affair, but the funerals were surprisingly romantic.

by bb88 2y ago

duskwuff 2y ago

"Despite the fear of burial while still alive, there are no documented cases of anybody being saved by a safety coffin." The safety coffin and other similar devices from the early 19th century are best understood as an odd, transient cultural phenomenon, not a response to a real need.

orangeartist 2y ago
[dead]
rightbyte 2y ago
That doesn't say much though. If being burried alive was rare and having a being-burried-alive-safety-bell was rare. A combination would have been rare rare. I guess rodents could leave scratch marks that would look like nails, too.

jillesvangurp 2y ago

Embalming is largely a cultural thing. It's very rare in Europe for people to get embalmed. At least in the places I've lived. Also, the chemicals involved are a bit nasty and there's actually a trend for people to have their remains disposed off in a more sustainable way. E.g. composting is popular lately. My aunt was buried in a nature cemetery a few months ago. Very beautiful place.

hilux 2y ago
Funny. Just a few minutes ago a youtube snippet of Law & Order taught me the alleged "first rule of composting": No meat! I guess I should unlearn that.
tompagenet2 2y ago
I had to look it up (although I realise now that's what all the chemicals shown on Six Feet Under were about). Sadly as I get older I've been to many funerals here in the UK. Not one of them had an open display of the dead body. All but one of them was a cremation. Is embalming a very US thing or is it common elsewhere?
- docdeek 2y ago
  N= 1 but I’ve attended funerals in Australia and Europe and never once encountered the open casket/embalmed body that seems so common on US TV and in movies.
  - messe 2y ago
    In Ireland it's normal to have the dead in an open casket in their house prior to the funeral for a few days. We rarely take more than 3-4 days between the death and burial though.
  - magnetowasright 2y ago
    I'm Australian and have been to exactly 1 open casket. Soap box while I'm here: bodies do NOT need to be embalmed to have a viewing or open casket. If a funeral home is saying it's 'policy' to embalm for a viewing it is 99.9% of the time an internal/company policy and NOT a matter of law. Bodies kept cool without embalming are not stinky, discoloured, or dangerous, or any of the other reasons a funeral home will try to push for embalming. Yes there are exceptions, but they are few and they should all be explained to you in detail and you still have a choice! Prep methods for viewing (to keep eyes and mouth closed) can be done without embalming. You can take the body to a different funeral home at any point, so if you do end up at one refusing a viewing unless they're embalmed you really can go elsewhere. You also don't need a funeral home to have a viewing; you can do it at home as was custom (for ...millenia, I assume) until recently.

rapidaneurism 2y ago

A sky burial achieves the same purpose. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial At least if the dead person starts thrushing around while you cut them up they stop soon afterwards.

jamestimmins 2y ago
Oof I can understand this from a purely logical standpoint, but those photos are deeply unsettling.

Duwensatzaj 2y ago

As an alternative solution, someone offered a coffin with a large spike on it.

throwup238 2y ago
Dwight Schrute’s family had the best solution: on the day of the funeral, they’d just shoot the corpse in the casket three times with a shotgun at point blank range. They also got married while standing in their graves. The weddings were a bleak affair, but the funerals were surprisingly romantic.