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Why bells used to be attached to 19th century coffins [1]

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Date: 2024-06-22  

Coffins were sometimes found with unsettling scratch marks lining the inside. By the 19th century, a more scientific approach to such problems led to the realization that those declared dead were sometimes just still alive. And ingenious engineering solutions were devised: the safety coffins.

Bells were installed above ground outside of coffins. A thin rope, attached to the bell, would be run underground and through a hole into the coffin. This way, the dead could ring the bell in case they suddenly woke up. Bell or not, what a rude awakening that had to be!

Previously:

• Video emerges of woman found alive in coffin

• Woman found alive in coffin during own wake definitely dead this time

• 74-year-old 'dead' woman found alive in funeral home

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/22/why-bells-used-to-be-attached-to-19th-century-coffins.html

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