Death is the greatest mystery of life.
It inspires a curiosity in us that is unparalleled. It is why many of the most important writers, scientists, philosophers, and poets have spent their lives studying the subject of death.
We share a passion for death and all things related to it.
You can see that there have been many amazing, random, and sometimes even crazy bits of information through all of our years spent researching.
We have compiled a list of 31 amazing facts about death and its subjects. This is your brain food for the day!
Also Read: Important Facts About Schizophrenia
Facts About Death
These are the details:
1. One million seconds equals 11 days. One billion seconds equals 33 years. The average human life span is 2.5 billion seconds.
2 Every day, approximately 150,000 people in the world die.
3 According to the Population Reference Bureau (CIA’s World Factbook), approximately 8 out of 1,000 people die each year.
4 The world’s current population is only 7% of all the anatomically modern humans who have ever existed (an estimated 108 billion).
5 Each minute, 300,000,000 cells die in our bodies.
6. more people die from taking selfies than shark attacks. That’s social media.
7. Natural death rates spike around Christmas, New Year’s Day, and the day after Christmas. Research suggests that the major reasons are the increased number of suicides and homicides in hospitals. However, suicides, as well as homicides, decrease in the holiday season.
8. Errors in doctor’s notes are responsible for over 7,000 deaths each year in the U.S.
9. Rather than seeing death as a failure, many ancient people, such as the Egyptians, believed death was just one of many passages in life.
10 Thomas Edison’s last words were, “It is very pretty over there.”
11. Metempsychosis is the belief that the soul will pass into another body after death.
12. Researchers at Southampton University found that awareness can last for as little as a few seconds after a patient’s death.
13. If you’re curious, a cubic inch of bone is approximately four-times as strong as concrete.
14 Three days after death, enzymes responsible for breaking down food start to consume that person’s body.
15. Paramahansa Yogananda was a spiritual teacher and guru. His body, which he died on March 7, 1952, at the age of 58, was “in a phenomenal condition of immutability.” This letter, signed by Harry T. Rowe (Mortuary Director, Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association), is reproduced in its entirety in this issue.
16 Mount Everest is home to over 200 bodies. Their bodies are so well preserved that they are used to mark trails like the one below.
17. Peter Pan from Sir J.M.’s novel with the same name declares that “To die will not be an easy adventure.”
18. In the early modern period, and until the middle of the 19th century, there was a widespread belief that the touch of a murderer could heal all sorts of diseases, from skin conditions to cancer and goiters. To get the “death stroke,” executed prisoners would often attend executions.
19. According to Cotard’s syndrome, living people consider themselves dead.
20. Some animals don’t even die. These include a jellyfish and a flatworm.
21. Near-death experiences seem to be caused by dopamine deprivation and dopamine.
22. Animals and Elephants mourn the loss of a member of their pack and perform elaborate memorial rituals to honor it.
23. In Victorian times, widows were expected to wear only black clothes for one year after the death of their spouse. They could only wear dark colors for the remainder of their lives after the anniversary. Additionally, mourners were prohibited from attending any social gathering for many months, and laughter was forbidden.
24. Some green burial methods skip embalming and use biodegradable, natural woven-willow caskets that decompose in the ground.
25. Among Dani People in Papua New Guinea, the death of a close relative meant that children and women who were related to the deceased had their fingers cut. This was done to keep spirits away and is now prohibited.
26. Hidden high above mountainsides and in hard-to-reach places. People from Sagada, Philippines, believed that a coffin placed closer to the sky would bring the deceased closer to heaven.
27. The Philippines has the Tinguian Funeral, where people dress the dead in the finest clothes and then sit them down in a chair to smoke. The dead can smoke for many weeks there.
28. Madagascar has Famadihana. Here, “people find their dead every 5-7 years to care for them.” They wrap the dead in tissue paper, perfume them and dance with them to share stories.
29. They then allow dogs and birds to eat the corpse, leaving behind only the outline, which represents the spirit.
30. The old Melanesians from Papua New Guinea and Wari people in Brazil used to eat dead bodies to eliminate the mystery and fear that surrounded the idea of death. This is also what the Yanomami people do.
31. A well-attended funeral is a matter of concern in Taiwan. Some families hire strippers to host dances and prepare elaborate meals to attract people. It’s a celebration of life!
These are just a few of the amazing, bizarre and surprising facts today. We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
