Kiss the Corpse and Then You Die The custom of kissing the corpse often led to death from infectious disease.
Posted by
Chris Woodyard
on
June 20, 2017
in Death , Ephemera , Folklore , Grim and Grewsome , medical oddities , Mourning Customs and History , News , Social History , Strange Deaths , Victorian
and tagged diphtheria , indirect poisoning , infectious disease , Kiss the Corpse and Then You Die , kissing the corpse , meningitis , perils of kissing the corpse , poisoning , smallpox , The Perils of Kissing the Corpse , Victorian funerals , Victorian mourning , Victorian mourning customs
The Devil in a Diving Suit -Scared to Death in Toledo The story of the unfortunate Mrs Joseph Smolinski of Toledo, Ohio, scared to death by–a Public Health Official?
Posted by
Chris Woodyard
on
September 20, 2014
in Death , Folklore , Grim and Grewsome , medical oddities , News , Scientific Oddities , Social History , Strange Deaths
and tagged ebola , Joseph Smolinski , plague doctor , public health officials , scared to death , smallpox , The Devil in a Diving Suit -Scared to Death in Toledo , Toledo
The Plague Shawl The history of disease is filled with cases of contagion spread by textiles. Was the 1878-79 Russian Plague caused by an infected shawl? Could a smallpox survive a year in the folds of a shawl, then kill?
Posted by
Chris Woodyard
on
January 10, 2013
in 18th century , Costume History , Grim and Grewsome , lethal clothing , medical oddities , News , Social History , Strange Deaths
and tagged medical history , plague , Russian shawl , smallpox , textile history , The Plague Shawl
