My son came in from school saying that his teacher read them this and says that it is true.
2006-10-19 09:28:29 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
Yeah, I think it's true, and I just found out why a wake is called a wake............ the family would have the body for a few days before burial just in case the dead person would 'wake' up..... I never knew that before.
2006-10-19 09:33:49 · answer #1 · answered by Squirrley Temple 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your son is right! Before the days of embalming and advanced technology in the field of health care, it was possible to mistake someone for dead. Without the means to properly detect a faint heartbeat/pulse, some unfortunate people were assumed dead and buried alive. Scratch marks on the inside of exhumed caskets testify to the dark horror these victims experienced as they desperately tried to claw their way out before their dwindling source of oxygen was depleted. In some primitive cultures, a hollow pole with a rope or chord was rigged from the casket leading to a flag or a bell at the graveside. If a person was buried alive, he could pull the rope and signal someone. It was the caretaker's job to watch over the grave for a few days in case the device was activated. After about a week, the person was presumed really dead and the device was removed.
2006-10-19 09:32:36 · answer #2 · answered by roxy 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It think that I read the same thing. The reason was, before modern autopseys, people were sometimes buried alive. The person working at the cemetary would hear the bell and dig the person up. I think this was duing the time of some plauge and people were mistaken to be dead but they were acutally sick or in a coma. Good luck!
2006-10-19 09:39:49 · answer #3 · answered by monetmonroe 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Before bodies was embalmed. A few people was buried alive, so they put the bells in the caskets.
2006-10-19 11:15:27 · answer #4 · answered by Daddy Big Dawg 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's true
Some people did have bells put in because they were afraid of being buried alive.
2006-10-19 09:31:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. They put the bell outside the casket, connected to a string left on the corpse's hand. Medical examiners sometimes declared a person dead when in fact they were not (for example, the person was in a coma).
2006-10-19 12:34:31 · answer #6 · answered by Raqui 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This was pretty rare but it did happen. More than a hundred years ago most regions passed laws that required bodies to be embalmed. This has the advantage that it prevents infections because the embalming fluid kills any germs, and second, once you are embalmed, if you were in a coma before, now you are definitely dead! So that eliminated the problem of anyone waking up in a coffin.
2006-10-19 13:54:49 · answer #7 · answered by matt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.. from what I know, I also know - a bit different but same subject, in the time of Jesus, they would put you in a tomb if they thought you died, right, well once a day for 3 days they would walk over to the tomb, and call out your name, if after the 3rd day and you got no answer you were declared officially dead.
2006-10-19 09:33:25 · answer #8 · answered by ? 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. One of my teachers in high school swore she wanted a coffin like that just in case. Fortunately nowadays we have technology that'll confirm whether one is dead or alive.
2006-10-19 09:36:35 · answer #9 · answered by christigmc 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes they did. in the 1850's
2006-10-19 09:31:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋