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posted by martyb on Tuesday August 22 2017, @06:10PM   Printer-friendly
from the after-detonation-one-can-rest-in-pieces dept.

Over at the excellent 99% Invisible is an article on the often lethal Victorian era defences against grave robbers:

Sometimes known as "resurrectionists," corpse thieves would exhume and sell bodies to doctors, medical instructors and students for anatomical study.

In response, an arsenal of grave-protecting devices began to hit the market, including the "cemetery gun." Locked, loaded and located near the foot of a grave, this device was essentially a conventional firearm on a swiveling based[sic]. Triggered by tripwires, it would spin and shoot would-be robbers approaching under cover of darkness.

The article links to a similar piece on Atlas Obscura.

"Sleep well sweet angel, let no fears of ghouls disturb thy rest, for above thy shrouded form lies a torpedo, ready to make minced meat of anyone who attempts to convey you to the pickling vat," read an advertisement for the Howell torpedo.

As the article notes these devices were oddities, which were probably not commercially successful or widely used, however:

these inventions provide a peculiar window into the curiosity, horror, and unease anatomical practice inspired among 19th-century society.


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  • (Score: 2) by tonyPick on Wednesday August 23 2017, @05:23AM (2 children)

    by tonyPick (1237) on Wednesday August 23 2017, @05:23AM (#557848) Homepage Journal

    If it's more of this kind of stuff I can recommend going over to the 99% invisible site and working through the podcast backlog... They're short (usually in the 15-30 minute range) and cover pretty much "anything that's designed". I keep thinking about putting together some submissions based on the particularly interesting older episodes where they link to newer stories.

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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday August 23 2017, @11:39AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday August 23 2017, @11:39AM (#557925) Journal

    Yeah, listened to a few already.

    Good stuff!

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday August 23 2017, @02:13PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday August 23 2017, @02:13PM (#558008) Journal

    Listening to Dan and Dave: talk about a failure for Rebook, win for Nike, and how much humans can endure.

    And how an ad campaign can destroy itself: hype athletes by sticking cameras in their face 24/7, while being completely oblivious to the fact that they can't train properly while this happens.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---