Plastic Gravestones

Back in the 1980s, Edgar Dakin hoped to revolutionize the funeral industry by introducing cheap, plastic gravestones. Though he acknowledged that he was opposed by powerful interest groups:


I'm not familiar enough with the funeral industry to know if plastic gravestones are available today. Googling 'plastic gravestones' only brings up the kind that you put in your front yard for Halloween.

London Independent - Jan 9, 1988

Dakin was granted a patent (GB2210080) in 1989 by the British patent office for his plastic gravestone.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 18, 2024 - Comments (9)
Category: Death, Patents, 1980s

A Double Barrel Blast

Side 2 is particularly relevant to today's AI debate.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 03, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Technology, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1960s

Wrong Corpse, Wrong Decapitation

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 02, 2024 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Law, Identity Mistakes, Thefts and Mix-ups, Bodies, Corpses, Remnant Parts

Death by Gas-Lift Bed

Helen Davey recently died when her "Ottoman-styled gas-lift bed" collapsed on her neck and asphyxiated her.

I didn't know what a "gas-lift bed" was, so I googled it and found the video below. I agree with the coroner that the design of these beds seems dangerous.

We've previously posted about dangerous beds with the case of the man who was trapped for five days in a folding bed.

More info: cnn.com

Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 15, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, Furniture

Killer Tree

Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 03, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Death, Highways, Roads, Streets and Traffic, Nature, Synchronicity and Coincidence, 1960s

Death by Manhole Cover

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 26, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Death, Explosives, Luck, Good and Bad, Urban Life, 1930s

Letters From a Living Dead Man

Check out the result of Elsa Barker's "automatic writing" and learn all about the afterlife.

Elsa Barker's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 08, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, 1910s

Recurrent Sudden Death

One of the stranger medical problems a person could suffer from is "recurrent sudden death." In fact, one might think it impossible to suffer from such a problem. However, the term appears fairly often in medical literature. A few examples:

Atlas of Heart Diseases - Arrhythmias : electrophysiologic principles, 1996

New England Journal of Medicine - June 3, 1982

I think, though I'm not entirely sure, that "sudden death" is being used as a synonym for "cardiac arrest." Doctors are aware that the term "recurrent sudden death" sounds absurd. Stedman's Medical Dictionary (2006) advises them not to use it:



And yet the term continues to appear.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 15, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Death, Medicine

Real Life Lassie

Visit page here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 14, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, Dogs, 1930s, Courage, Bravery, Heroism and Valor

Man leaves thousands to a stranger, $1 to his wife

When Fred Eggerman died on March 24, 1960, his will left his estate worth approximately $12,000 (about $120,000 in today's money) to the first male child born in Paterson General Hospital on July 2, 1946. He had no idea who that child had been. To his wife he left one dollar.

The lucky beneficiary turned out to be high-school student Robert De Boer.

Eggerman's wife filed suit to overturn the will, together with Eggerman's father and brother. They eventually reached a settlement, but it only got them a mere $850. De Boer kept the rest.

Newsday - Apr 22, 1961

New York Daily News - Apr 20, 1961

Based on those details it definitely sounds like Eggerman must a) have been a bit eccentric, and b) have hated his wife. That's how many news articles presented the case. But the article below went into some background details which help to explain what Eggerman did.

For a start, he and his wife had been separated for years and had already worked out a property settlement. So there was no particular reason to leave her more.

As for leaving everything to an unknown child:

Passaic Herald-News - Feb 8, 1962

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 12, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Inheritance and Wills, Lawsuits, 1960s