DEATH

5 Vintage Appliances That Could've Killed You

Jere Keys, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 2.0

7 Famous Death Masks That Had Lives of Their Own

Once a common type of memorial, death masks have been used in science, art, and beyond.

Claudio Martino and Takeaway via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Italy’s “Coffee Pot King” Was Laid to Rest in the Iconic Invention

Renato Bialetti made the Moka pot a fixture in kitchens around the world.

This Might Be the World’s Most Cheerful Cemetery

Romania's Merry Cemetery takes a different approach to dealing with death.

9 Dos and Don'ts of Funeral Etiquette

Don't be afraid to laugh—or wear a color other than black.

Show & Tell: An 18th-Century Cemetery Gun

Grave-robbers, beware!

An 1862 engraving showing a skeleton gentleman at a ball asking a skeleton lady to dance, meant to represent the effect of arsenic dyes and pigments in clothing and accessories.

7 Ways Victorian Fashion Could Kill You

Whether it's poisonous dyes, pestilential fabrics, or flammable skirts, here are some reasons to be glad you're not getting dressed in 1837.

12 Strange Funerals and Funeral Traditions

Funerals don't necessarily have to be somber events. These memorials and traditions are heavy on quirk.

The Science of Life and Death in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Professor Sharon Ruston surveys the scientific background to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, considering contemporary investigations into resuscitation, galvanism, and the possibility of states between life and death.

Getty Images // Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Why a Maryland Cemetery Initially Rejected F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Corpse

The famed writer died 75 years ago today, but at the time of his death, the Catholic church that housed his family's burial plots wouldn't allow Fitzgerald to be buried there.

The Same Microbes Help Bodies Decompose No Matter Where They're Buried

And they could help determine time of death. Paging CSI.

7 of the World’s Most Fascinating and Beautiful Catacombs

Here are seven of the most picturesque and historically fascinating catacombs open for visits around the world.

The Mysterious Death of the Somerton Man

No one knows who the man in the suit on the beach was—or how he died.

Friedrich Karl Wunder, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Karl Marx's Grave Costs $6 To Visit

Despite being extremely critical of private property, Marx purchased a plot in the privately-owned Highgate Cemetery.

Franz Reichelt is now remembered as the "flying tailor."

6 Inventors Killed by Their Own Inventions

From the man who died because of a failed parachute suit to the daredevil who perished in a stunt gone wrong, sometimes brilliance comes with a price.

Scientists Identify the Chemical That Makes Death Smell Scary

A compound produced by decaying tissue makes people more alert to threats.

The Bizarre Lead Mask Deaths of 1966

In 1966, a young man came across a pair of dead bodies lying side-by-side. But what they were wearing took the discovery from tragic to truly bizarre.

The Quest to Discover the World's Books Bound in Human Skin

The Mütter Museum recently discovered it owns the nation's largest collection of books bound in human leather—and now a research team is trying to track down the rest of the world’s examples.

The Mysterious Deaths of 9 Soviet Hikers in 1959

In February 1959, a group of students went on a camping expedition in the Ural mountains. They never returned.

Midnightdreary via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 3.0

The Search for Baltimore’s Next Poe Toaster

As in the local tradition, not the kitchen appliance.

George Grantham Bain collection, Library of Congress via Wikipedia // Public Domain

Queen Marie of Romania's Heart Will Find a New Home

In November, it will be moved from museum storage to the castle where she died in 1938.

Photo courtesy of G. Cole, C. Rando, L. Sibun, and T. Waldron; UCL Institute of Archaeology

Archaeologists Discover 7-lb. Calcified Uterus in British Cemetery

"I've never seen anything quite like that before, nor have my colleagues, and we were very excited."

Sucking out a viper's venom won't save your life.

10 Misconceptions About Things That Can Kill You

From quicksand to free-falling elevators, these situations call for clear thinking.

Ljuba brank via WikimediaCommons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Why Does Haydn's Tomb Contain Two Skulls?

Grave robbers made off with the composer's skull in 1809. So how did two different heads end up back where he's buried?

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