Crypts, Coffins and Corpses

Description

Crypts, Coffins and Corpses is an episode of Histories Mysteries, a television series on the History Channel. This is a fun show that talks about things that happened in history, such as facts and stories that are not known about such subjects as battles, famous people, and other historical events. This episode of histories mysteries was a little bit different, in that it dealt with the subject of how different cultures deal with death and dying, and specifically, the bodies of people who have died. It was a very morbid show, to be honest. Fortunately, there were no close-ups of decaying bodies — although we did see a body under a sheet that was being prepared for burial via embalming. Also, we saw lots of bones and skeletons. The show discussed how different cultures have different rituals concerning dead bodies and burials, and funerals. Briefly, it talks about the ancient Greeks and Romans and also touches upon burial rites in India, Africa and other places. But mostly it focuses on the history of burials and embalming in the United States. I learned that the practice of emboldening began during the Civil War, when corpses on the battlefield, which were to be shipped home, had to be preserved. I also learned that during Victorian times parents had photographs taken of their babies and children who had died and that this was a very common practice. This seems gruesome today, but it was normal during the time period. I learned that the way cultures deal with bodies is very subjective — what seems normal in one culture seems disgusting or disturbing in another.
The show is not for the faint of heart — as you can tell from the subject matter. I learned a lot, and I was really fascinated with everything. It was a very interesting show on an unusual subject. Like most episodes of histories mysteries I enjoyed it a lot.

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