Death
Eterna-Crib
A Polystyrene casket for "still borns, fetals, and prematures" made by Filaform Co.I think it was sold from the 1960s until around the 1990s.
The ad below appeared in the trade journal American Funeral Director, but I'm not sure when. I found it reproduced in a Czech-language booklet, Funebracka Romance (Funeral Romance), by Radovan Kratky.
image source: eBay
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 28, 2025 -
Comments (1)
Category: Babies, Death
Hot Stuff
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 19, 2025 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Destruction, Firefighting, Arson, Wildfires, Infernos and Other Conflagrations, Cartoons, 1970s
Frigid Fluid Cosmetic Kit
Frigid Fluid is both the name of a company and of the product it primarily sells: embalming fluid.The company also recently came out with a line of "Frigid Cosmetics" (makeup for dead people). Its full kit will set you back $785, but the company promises that the cosmetics are "designed to accentuate the natural features and accurate color hues, tones and complexions of decedents."
This makes me curious about how funeral-home cosmetics differ from regular cosmetics for the living. Do funeral-home cosmetics perhaps contain substances that would be banned in cosmetics for the living?
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 14, 2025 -
Comments (3)
Category: Cosmetics, Death
Clarinet made from bones
When Signor Ubaldo Ubaldi, an Italian criminal, died in 1950, he left £12 in his will so that his bones could be polished and made into clarinet mouthpieces.At least, that was widely reported at the time. I have doubts about the veracity of the story, though I can't disprove it either. I can't find any report that Ubaldi's last wishes were carried out.
Sydney Sun - Oct 19, 1950
Adelaide News - Nov 1, 1950
click to enlarge
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 06, 2025 -
Comments (4)
Category: Death, Inheritance and Wills, Music, 1950s
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 22, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Eighteenth Century, Love & Romance
Equine Hitchhiker
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 20, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Accidents, Animals, Death, 1930s, Cars
Unlikely Reasons for Murder No. 20
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 12, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Death, 1940s, Facial Hair
Anyone At All: Safety in the Community
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 30, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Domestic, Health, PSA’s, 1950s
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
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |