Deathternity talks about all things death related. There are 1 million+ owned graves in cemeteries in America that people will not use. Cemeteries do not buy graves back. I would encourage people to begin thinking about either selling or buying these graves at a deep discount to what your cemetery charges. Or you can donate unused graves for a tax deduction. If I can help you with this please contact me here, email me at deathternity@gmail.com, or call me at 215-341-8745. My fees vary.
SHADOWS FROM THE WALLS OF DEATH, printed in 1874 and measuring about 22 by 30 inches, is a noteworthy book for two reasons: its rarity, and the fact that, if you touch it, it might kill you. It contains just under a hundred wallpaper samples, each of which is saturated with potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.
The book is the work of Dr. Robert M. Kedzie, a Union surgeon during the American Civil War and later professor of chemistry at Michigan State Agricultural college (now MSU). When he came to serve on the state’s Board of Health in the 1870s, he set out to raise awareness about the dangers of arsenic-pigmented wallpaper. Though a lethal toxin, arsenic can be mixed with copper and made into beautiful paints and pigments, most commonly Scheele’s Green or Paris Green. This was no fringe phenomenon: near the end of the 19th century, the American Medical Association estimated that as much as 65 percent of all wallpaper in the United States contained arsenic.
The Victorians knew that arsenic was poisonous when eaten, of course—it had gained a reputation as an “inheritance powder” that could be used, for example, to bump off elderly aunts with large fortunes—but most saw little risk in plastering their homes with the stuff. Kedzie argued (correctly, we now know) that arsenical wallpapers shed microscopic dust particles that can be inhaled or ingested. In the preface to Shadows, he warns that arsenic can kill not only by “sudden and violent destruction of life” but by slow, chronic poisoning, a mysterious and lingering illness that might baffle sufferer and physician alike. He wrote of women taking ill and withdrawing into their wallpapered bedrooms to recover, not knowing that all the while they were inhaling “an air loaded with the breath of death.”
As part of his campaign to raise awareness about poison papers, Kedzie produced 100 copies of Shadows and sent them out to public libraries across Michigan. Each one is a slim volume, containing few words—just a title page, a short preface, and a note from the Board of Health explaining the purpose of the book and advising librarians not to let children handle it. The macabre title page reproduces a quote from the Biblical book of Leviticus: “And behold if the plague be in the walls of the house, with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, then the priest…shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place.” The remaining pages, 86 in full, consist of wallpaper samples taken from common merchants.
Of the original 100 copies, only four remain. Most libraries, concerned about poisoning their patrons, destroyed their volumes. Two of the surviving books remain in Michigan—one at MSU and the other at the University of Michigan. MSU’s copy rests on an unassuming shelf in the library’s Special Collections division, housed in an appropriately green box. Each page is individually encapsulated in plastic so that researchers and the curious can handle it without fear.
The book was only sealed up in 1998. Before that, says Andrew Lundeen, a staff member at MSU’s Turfgrass Information Center who consults with the library’s Special Collections division, “those wanting to look at the book had to wear special gloves. There were restrictions on how long you could have it out, and you had to be very careful—don’t lick your fingers and turn the page.”
A copy of the book held by Michigan State University; each page is encapsulated in plastic. ANDREW LUNDEEN
The other two copies of Shadows have made their way to the Harvard University Medical School and the National Library of Medicine, which has digitized the entire volume and made it freely available online. That was no simple task: Dr. Stephen Greenberg, head of the rare books and early manuscripts section of the NLM’s History of Medicine division, says workers had to suit up in protective gear before handling the book.
“It was scanned under laboratory conditions, under a fume hood,” Dr. Greenberg says, referring to the large ventilation chambers used in chemistry labs to suck up hazardous gases. “Picture guys wearing masks and hoods.” The NLM is currently working to encapsulate its volume as MSU has done; previously, it was kept isolated in a sealed container.
The colors of the wallpaper samples have faded somewhat in the century and a half since Dr. Kedzie bound them together, but their hues and patterns remain beguiling. Lundeen says no digital image can do it justice: “It’s worth seeing in person. The light plays off of it beautifully.”
“But,” he adds, “it’s like a poison dart frog. The most beautiful things can be the most dangerous
You may already know about hygge and lagom—two popular lifestyle trends coined and popularized by the Scandinavians, but have you heard of döstädning?
Döstädning, which means "death cleaning" in English, is a new method of downsizing and organizing from the Swedish author and artist Margareta Magnusson. The approach is designed as an easy way for folks over 50 to purge their homes and organize their possessions in hopes that their children won't be overburdened by their belongings once they pass away, according to The Chronicle. Sure, it sounds morbid, but it's actually a pretty smart idea.
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Death cleaning isn't about getting rid of all your stuff, but rather streamlining your life so you're only holding onto what makes you happy. "Death cleaning is not about dusting or mopping up," Magnusson told The Chronicle. "It is about a permanent form of organization that makes your everyday life run more smoothly."
1. It's not just for people over 50.Magnusson says every person should begin death cleaning after 50, but the idea can work for all ages—truly, the approach is helpful for anyone who wants to simplify and organize their life.
2. It should be a slow and ongoing process. This cleaning technique can't be started and finished in a day, week, or month. It's going to take time and should be seen as a lifestyle change—not a period of intense purging.
3. As you sort your home, you should think about your will, memorial service, and the inheritance you'll leave behind, too. The experience should be comprehensive and practical, helping you to be prepared for the end of your life, allowing you—not others—to make the big decisions.
4. You should vocalize your intentions. Tell your friends and family about your plans, so they can hold you accountable. In the book, Magnusson stresses that this is a very important step, according to Tree Hugger.
5. Gift your unwanted items. When you drop by a friend's house, skip the flowers or food, and bring them a few books you no longer want. Or, gift your grandchild with a treasured item you want him or her to have. Begin the process of giving away your items to people who could use them or may want them.
6. Start with your closet. It's less emotionally taxing to get through, according to Magnusson. Begin there and perhaps you'll feel motivated to tackle the attic.
7. It's very therapeutic. Death cleaning isn't about dying. It's about looking back on your life and only keeping what's important. Through the process, you'll take stock of your many blessings, relive fond memories, and be able to archive your greatest treasures, according to Funeral Zone. It's actually a pretty neat way to write your own narrative.
8. You should reward yourself, but not with more stuff. "Don't forget yourself," Magnusson writes. After you finish organizing an area or part of your life, treat yourself to a movie, manicure, or delicious meal–not a trip to your favorite store
In what may be the most 2018 thing ever, Belgian media artist Dries Deporteer has released an iPhone app called Die With Me, wherein Apple users with less than 5% battery can meet up to say their last words on their way to “online peace.”
This is outstanding, long-awaited news for fans of funerals, dearly departures, fond goodbyes and heartfelt so-longs, as the app provides a perfect web community for those seeking comfort in the face of online death. And if initial reviews are to be taken sincere, the app could very well be on its way to vast, fleeting popularity.
Reddit user tikes yikes mikes has never used the app, but was just as willing to drop a 5-star rating on the product as he is blowing hella guwop in the App Store:
Whereas ChristopherBamBam was not quite as thrilled with the depressively mortal chat room:
Unplug your phone now and hop on this fast-rising trend before it’s too late. The app is currently available for purchase with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch (so you can finally go ahead and die to Thunder by Imagine Dragons) and is also available in French (should you prefer to expire in French
The line from Cicero was that “to philosophize is to learn how to die.” It’s important and it’s true. This is what philosophers, particularly the ancient ones, thought about most. Seneca, for his part, talked endlessly about the shortness of life and the inevitability of death. He studied Socrates and held the man’s brave end up as a model. He talked about dozens of others who had been put to death by tyrants across Roman and Greek history. He knew how fragile life was himself, having been exiled, having lost a son, and working for such a capricious emperor. Tota vita discendum est mori, he said, all of life is a preparation for death.
Needless to say, Seneca was as prepared for death as just about anyone. Yet when the time came and Nero’s soldiers were at the door, all those plans failed—almost comically so, had it not been so sad and serious. It wasn’t his fault. They forced him to slit his wrists but his veins were too hard to find. When he tried to take poison, it didn’t work. Ultimately, he ended up suffocating in the hot steam of the bath. It was an all day affair and according to some writers, not exactly a dignified one.
"When juxtaposed with the death of Socrates, Seneca’s death looks like a failed version of the philosophical end. This Roman philosopher cannot manage to die easily, even after a long life devoted to preparing for it.”
The point is that nothing goes as we expect. Not even the thing you’ve thought about your whole life. Not even the one thing the philosophy had prepared you for. There is humility in this. The best laid plans...
Remember that today. Big and small. It’s not going to go how you expect.
Bizarro Comic Strip for January 08, 2018: Bizarro is a surreal comic panel where eyeballs hover, dynamite sizzles, upside-down birds soar and a slice of pie hides in every corner. Bizarro is the means by which cartoonist Dan Piraro unleashes his uniquely eccentric view of the world.
