2016’s Most Memorable Death Articles and More
2016 will very likely be remembered as the year of the Dead Celebrity. Prince was certainly a tough death for Death Ref. And yet, a…
Death + Humor
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December 31, 2016 -
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July 27, 2014Day 27: On Sundays, the Death Reference Desk Kicks It Cemetery Style
Does the Death Reference Desk know how to party, or WHAT?!
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July 23, 2014Day 23: Death Ref John as a 19th Century Postmortem Photograph
Professor Bellows Photography Mall of America, Minneapolis, MN (USA) In summer 2006, Argentinian artist Ana Lois-Borzi and I collaborated on a postmortem photography project. Ana…
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July 8, 2014
Day 8: Hot Dog Eating Contests Can Kill You (in South Dakota)
South Dakota man dies after choking during hot-dog eating contest
Walter Eagle Tail, 47, died at a hospital on Thursday after attempts to save him at the scene failed, police said
Associated Press (July 8, 2014)I was writing a verbose and longish post about radical life extension today but then this story about a man dying during a hot dog eating contest popped up and, well, living to 500 can wait.
I’m inclined to say that this is a mid-year entry into the annual Darwin Awards but it sounds like the gentleman who died was a decent guy. He just had some bad luck.
Out of curiosity, I started poking around the internet to see what kind of safety warnings accompanied eating contests and, lo, I was not disappointed. This WebMD article, helpfully titled Competitive Eating: How Safe Is It?, covers all the bases. Then this Time article called Here’s What Competitive Eating Does to Your Body really goes in-depth on what these contests do to your innards and made me never want to eat food again.
And while this specific story is certainly tragic, it did remind me of the hot dog eating scene in the movie Meatballs.
South Dakota man dies after choking during hot-dog eating contest Walter Eagle Tail, 47, died at a hospital on Thursday after attempts to save him…
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July 4, 2014Day 4: Happy 4th of July — Don’t Shoot Your Eye Out!
Happy US Independence Day from Kim, Meg, and John at the Death Reference Desk! PSA– Don’t blow up parts of your body to impress people….
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May 4, 2014Coney Island Freakshow: The Normal, the Abnormal, and the Pathological on Display
The photo sums it up. Death Ref John’s Congress for Curious Peoples presentation on the Abnormal, the Normal, and the Pathological on Display.
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December 24, 2013Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Death Reference Desk Ho Ho Ho
Merry Christmas to all of our lovely Death Reference Desk Readers. And remember to keep those Christmas Trees from spontaneously combusting. Ho ho ho.
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August 25, 2013
Walter Potter’s Anthropomorphic Taxidermy and Dead Animals
On the Death and Burial of Cock Robin
Guest Post by John Troyer, Centre for Death and Society, Bath University (August 23, 2013)Death Ref’s good friend Joanna Ebenstein, who runs the Morbid Anatomy blog and benevolent empire in Brooklyn, NY, asked me if I would write a guest blog post for her new book on the 19th century British taxidermist Walter Potter. If you don’t know Walter Potter’s work, but like taxidermy, then you really must look him up. Joanna and Walter Potter expert Pat Morris have put together a new book called Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy.
Walter Potter is known (and a little infamous, in a late-Victorian kind of way) for his anthropomorphic taxidermy in which dead kittens (for example) have a tea party. There is significantly more to say about all of Potter’s taxidermy work, but I focused on a personal favourite The Death and Burial of Cock Robin.
The Death and Burial of Cock Robin by Walter Potter
Please check it out!
On the Death and Burial of Cock Robin Guest Post by John Troyer, Centre for Death and Society, Bath University (August 23, 2013) Death Ref’s…
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June 23, 2013
Dumb Ways to Die Wins Big at Cannes Festival of Creativity
In November 2012 we posted about Dumb Ways to Die, an Australian train company’s public safety campaign video. The video just won top awards at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. You can read more about the award from the Guardian: Cannes Lions: Dumb Ways to Die scoops top award.
If you missed it last time, definitely check it out!
In November 2012 we posted about Dumb Ways to Die, an Australian train company’s public safety campaign video. The video just won top awards at…
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March 31, 2013Happy Easter from the Death Reference Desk
Happy Easter to all from the Easter Bunny of Death. No holiday can escape the bony grasp of ye olde Death Reference Desk! Death Bunny’s…
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December 25, 2012Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Death Reference Desk
Merry Christmas to all of our lovely Death Reference Desk Readers. And remember to keep it Goth this holiday season. Ho ho ho.
