The Pocket Book of Death: An Unfortunate Look at the End of the Line
Morgan Reilly, Joanna Tempest
Language: English
Pages: 61
ISBN: 143510353X
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A laugh-out-loud miscellany of everything you ever wanted to know about death. From bizarre funeral practices and macabre urban myths to lucrative jobs in the death business. Accompanied by cartoons from the creators of the hit webcomic, ‘Cyanide & Happiness.’
There’s just something about the end that makes us want to run screaming back to the beginning…
Did you know that three American states still use the firing squad as a means of execution? Or that you can see Galileo’s preserved middle finger in Florence? How about the new trend of having your loved one’s ashes turned into a diamond? Loaded with funny and fascinating facts, The Pocket Book of Death is a jaw-dropping miscellany of macabre word origins, hysterical famous last words, bizarre death rituals, the last meals of death row inmates and more. This is a side of death you’ve never seen before.
Is your job killing you? Maybe it’s time to find the perfect career in the death business. Browse through the list to find the most lucrative jobs in the industry. A little paranoid perhaps? Then discover some of the deadliest jobs in the world or the tiniest animals that can kill you.
Accompanied by side-splitting cartoons from the creators of the hugely popular webcomic, ‘Cyanide & Happiness’, The Pocket Book of Death is so packed with info that it leaves no stone unturned…er, tombstone that is.
their homes and offer them food, flowers, incense, and … dancing? Yep, a highlight of Obon is folk dancing: the beat of the taiko drum, the circular dances, the crowds. After the dead have been properly ‘fed’, the living cast illuminated lanterns on the rivers to ‘release’ the souls of the dearly departed so they can return to wherever they were hanging out before the celebration. Cremation’s Hot History To Burn or Not to Burn? Cremation is most popular in Japan where approximately 99% of
effective population stabilizers. Did you ever wonder how many American service members actually died during the big wars? The US Department of Veterans Affairs gives us the lowdown. The American Revolution Total number killed in battle: 4,435 War of 1812 Total number killed in battle: 2,260 The Civil War Total number of Union servicemen killed in battle: 140,414 Total number of Confederate servicemen killed in battle: 74,524 The Spanish–American War Total number killed in battle:
whipped cream, a strawberry milkshake and a can of Franco-American spaghetti with meatballs. The Controversy: Grasso had actually requested Spaghetti-Os served at room temperature, not Franco-American spaghetti. Some of his last words were – ‘I did not get my Spaghetti-Os. I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this!’ The Crime: Grasso killed an 81-year-old Staten Islander during a robbery and also admitted to robbing and killing an 87-year-old woman in Tulsa in a separate incident. The
were in the actual ad too. This Job Is Killing Me! Ever think your job will be the death of you? Well, with an estimated two million people dying worldwide every year from fatal accidents at work or from illnesses brought on by hazardous working conditions, you might be right. The Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles annual results of the work fatalities for the US, and you might be surprised by some of the careers that consistently set the Reaper knocking a little earlier than expected …
afterlife including mummification instructions. If a lifetime of servitude wasn’t enough, several ancient cultures had their slaves killed when a powerful leader died. In Fiji, slaves and wives were often strangled when a male died. In Japan, dozens of slaves would kill themselves when a member of the nobility kicked it. In Africa, slaves, dogs and horses were killed when a king went kaput. And in ancient China, it wasn’t unknown for servants and retainers to be buried alive along with the