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First published by Barnes & Noble 2008 by arrangement with HarperCollinsPublishers
Copyright © 2008 Morgan Reilly and Joanna Tempest
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Source ISBN 9780007332366
Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2014 ISBN: 9780007524716
Version: 2014-10-02
Contents
Something Fishy Going On: Celebrity Deaths
Killer Animals with a Napoleonic Complex
Last Words to Laugh by & Amusing Epitaphs
What is it about death and dying that holds so many of us captivated? Researchers and psychologists can hand us dozens of explanations – fear of the unknown, the universality of death, compassion, empathy, sympathy, or maybe it’s just plain old morbid fascination.
It’s certainly prevalent in our modern art. After all, famed British artist Damien Hirst is one of the highest-paid living artists. His Natural History series which features dead animals preserved in formaldehyde (and occasionally sliced and diced) have sold for millions of dollars a piece.
And besides becoming an art exhibit, death has also become a massive tourist attraction. One of Moscow’s hottest tourist spots is the preserved body of Lenin in Red Square. Mao Zedong’s preserved corpse can be seen in Beijing. And let’s not forget Italy. You can get a glimpse of Galileo’s middle finger at the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence. We kid you not.
Or maybe we are fascinated by that raw freedom in death. With no more people left to impress, it’s like a sudden release from all those social and cultural barriers. In 2002, a man in Germany named Karl-Friedrich Lentze sent a letter to officials requesting permission to be buried with his blow-up sex doll, as stipulated in his will. German officials performed a thorough investigation of the inflatable companion and deemed the components of said doll would not harm the environment, so Mr Lentze was given the go-ahead to spend eternity in the arms of his libidinous latex lover. And why not? He certainly wouldn’t be around to hear the gasps of shock or the family criticisms.
While writing The Pocket Book of Death, we tried to include a combination of real facts as well as the bizarre and funny practices and traditions that had us laughing out loud during our research. It’s a miscellany of death facts that is a combination of reality and hilarity, and we hope you find it as enlightening as we did. Please bear in my mind that any costs or numbers (such as life expectancies, number of deaths, etc.) obviously fluctuate with time. Most of the ones represented in the book are the most recent we could find on a subject. We included a list of recommended websites at the back of the book which could help should you need the most recent figures.
You know, maybe the fascination with death is something as simple as certainty. The only thing we’re guaranteed in life is death. Even Damien Hirst knows that. The original 14-foot tiger shark in his piece, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living had to be replaced because it began to decay and change shape within its formaldehyde bath. And let’s be honest, the only reason that a blow-up sex doll can be used as a coffin companion is because it, too, won’t last for ever.