Underground: Paris Catacombs

               

                 Paris, France is a place of romance, culture, history and art. People from all over the world travel to Paris to experience the fine cuisine, amazing architecture and exciting night life. This is all above ground. Underground is a whole other world of Paris. It is a world surrounded by death and art. Under the busy streets of Paris, are the Catacombs.

                In the 1700’s Paris was already a major city. Thousands of people lived and worked in Paris. Due the popularity of living there,  a major problem developed  that the City had to address. Where were they going to bury the dead?

              The City had placed an ordinance during that time that there could no longer be any burials within the city limits. The bodies already buried in the City cemeteries were contaminating the city water supply. With the ordinance put in place, the cemeteries on the outskirts of the city were quickly filling up. Something had to be done.

                It was finally decided in 1786 that the Quarries beneath the city where they had been collecting Limestone would be the new location to take the remains of the departed. In order to clean up the water supply the city began moving the remains from the City cemeteries to this new location. This process alone lasted until 1788 because they would only move the remains in the cover of night under the supervision of clergy men.

                For thirty years people continued to take the bones of their loved ones down the underground tunnels to the Catacombs under the city. It is reported that there are over six million people resting in the Catacombs. In true French artistry, it was simply not enough to create a mass grave for their loved ones. Here is an example of the care they took in displaying their families’ remains:

  
 

                During World War II the French resistance took advantage of their knowledge of the tunnels in the Catacombs and used them to get from one end of the City to the other without being detected by the Germans who had taken over the City. The Germans however did find a section of the Catacombs and used it as a bunker for a time.

                Since the 1800’s people have held a fascination with the Catacombs, going through the many entrances around Paris and exploring the dark underground tunnels.  Over the many years that people have been exploring down there, graffiti artists have left their mark along the walls, giving us a running art exhibit through the ages. To this day there are still people who go down there to contribute to the art.

 

                Although large portions are closed off to the public for safety reasons, sections of the Catacombs are currently open for tours.  It can take as long as an hour and half to walk through the Tourist section of the Catacombs.

 

Resources:

www.Ezinarticles.com

www.Wikipedia.com

www.Parislogue.com

 

Joseph Merrick: Medical Mystery

    

              

               Throughout History there have been many people made famous because of their physical abnormalities. In our world today there are several documentaries following the day in the life of someone who has large tumors on their face, or missing half of their body since birth. During the age before television, people would see these medical mysteries in side shows, medical exhibits and museums.  These people with unfortunate afflictions would be given nicknames like the Lobster boy, the Mule faced woman and Tom Thumb. None was made more famous than Joseph Merrick, or as many would call him, The Elephant Man.

                Joseph Merrick was born on August 5^th, 1862 in Leicester, Leicestershire. He was a perfectly healthy baby at birth. It was not until around the age of three that his parents noticed something strange was happening to him. His skin was becoming thick in certain parts of his body. His was developing hard lumps on his right arm and shoulder. His Skull seemed to be getting thicker and more pronounced, especially around his forehead. No one could explain why this was happening.

                As Joseph continued to grow, so did the thick and lumpy growths on his body. The weight of these growths cause problems with balance. When Joseph was around the age of six, he fell down and injured his hip. The injury fell into infection which left permanent damage. Joseph would be lame for the rest of his life.

                When Joseph was ten years old his mother developed pneumonia and died. Left with raising the boy on his own, Joseph’s father decided to remarry to share the burden. Joseph’s new stepmother was not as kind and attentive as his own mother had been, so Joseph was left feeling unloved. When he was thirteen, Joseph quit school and tried to run away from home only to be brought back by his father several times.

                By the time Joseph was thirteen he was having trouble talking due to the masses of skin and bone surrounding his head and face. He was a shock to be seen in public and was ridiculed and shunned by most. This did not stop Joseph’s father from demanding that he get a job to support himself. From the time Joseph was thirteen until he was seventeen, he work a few odd jobs, including door to door salesman, which proved to be a failure due to his condition. When Joseph was Seventeen he finally left home and went to work at the Leicester Union Workhouse.

                In 1884 Joseph met Sam Torr, a showman who was interested in touring with Joseph, exhibiting him as a freak of nature. Joseph agreed to the offer after being unemployed for a while and in desperate need of money. They began touring around London before settling down at a penny shop on Whitechapel Road in London. On his information pamphlet for the show, they nicknamed him the Elephant man because his skin looked very similar to Elephant skin. His family had also explained in the past that when his mother was pregnant he had been knocked down by an Elephant at a circus. At the time maternal impression was a very popular belief.

          

                Across the street from the penny store was the London Hospital. Dr. Frederick Treves was a surgeon there and became fascinated with Joseph Merrick. He made arrangements with Sam Torr to have Joseph come to the hospital where he could be examined and photographed.  Dr. Treves examined Joseph on three different occasions. He assumed because of Joseph’s lack of communication that he was mentally impaired as well as physically deformed.   He wrote a brief paper on the subject and sent Joseph back to the exhibit.

 

 

                Joseph continued to tour Europe until he was abandoned in Brussels a few years later. He made his way back to London. With no money and nowhere to go, Joseph was left to wander the streets of London where crowds would surround him nonstop. Eventually he was found by police. Since Joseph could not communicate well enough to be understood, the police searched him and found a card with Dr. Treves’ information on it. They took him to London hospital where he was admitted with pneumonia.

                Dr. Treves’ convinced the hospital to allow Joseph to stay as a permanent resident of the hospital. He reached out to people in high society to assist in donations for Joseph’s care. Joseph was placed in a two room suite in the basement with a small courtyard. Dr. Treves continued to care for him while Joseph remained in the hospital. He discovered that Joseph, although unable to speak well, was rather intelligent.  It was only his physical deformity that prevented Joseph from communicating intelligibly.

                Over time, Joseph made friends with some of his benefactors, meeting several of the high society who would visit him regularly. They would bring him books and other gifts, hoping to give him a taste of normalcy. Joseph was particularly fond of the women who would come and visit. He would return their kindness with homemade gifts.

                On April 11^th, 1890, Joseph Merrick was discovered dead while in his bed. It was determined that his death was caused from Accidental Asphyxia caused from lying down flat while sleeping. It was Dr. Treves’ opinion that Joseph had attempted to sleep lying down like everyone else did and due to the weight of his head, he had broken his neck. Before then, Joseph had always slept sitting up.

                His case is still a mystery to this day. There have been several studies in his case however there has never been anyone with the same condition as Joseph. Some researchers believe that Joseph Merrick suffered from two rare conditions, one being Neurofibromatosis type 1 And Proteus syndrome.  DNA tests from samples of Joseph Merrick’s hair and bone tissue have come up inconclusive, leaving him with no official diagnosis. 

Beauty Is Pain; Insane Regimes in History

           

 

               Since the beginning of civilization people have been fixated on beauty. For centuries we have been coming up with new ways to be beautiful. Chemically, our brains are trying to find someone with all the qualifications need to produce the perfect offspring. Psychologically we are desperate for approval and even adoration from those around us. We put our bodies through torcher trying to achieve perfection, youth and beauty, however this is nothing new. History tells us that people will go to any lengths for the sake of beauty, sometimes putting our very lives on the line for the sake of a flawless physique. Let’s take a stroll down the drug store aisle of beauty regimes in the past.

 

           In Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Greece, it was considered a sign of good health and beauty to have color in the lips. Naturally most people already have a natural pigmentation the lips, but our ancient ancestors want to make sure everyone noticed it. In Mesopotamia, women to crush semi-precious stones into a powder and then place the dust on their lips to give them a shimmery look. Ancient Greek women wanted a more colorful look so they would crush up red beetles and use that as a colorant. There were some cultures that also used fish scales for that extra shimmer.

 

         It was important to look youthful and blemish free in Ancient Rome. Woman went to great lengths to appear wrinkle and freckle free. They believed using swan fat and Donkey milk on their skin would diminish wrinkles and blemishes. They also believed in bloodletting was the answer to pale delicate skin.

 

        To go along with their pale skin, Ancient Romans found black hair to be the most attractive color. In order to obtain flowing black locks when they weren’t born that way was to use the leeches in their bloodletting and crush them into a paste. The paste was then applied to the hair and left for a day to set in the color. It must have smelled awful.

 

        Ancient Romans were not the only ones obsessed with Pale, flawless skin. In the 16^th Century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I,  being pale and delicate was extremely important. If it looked like one hardly ever saw the sun it was a sign that one did not toil in the fields all day. Queen Elizabeth was particularly obsessed with her skin and added white lead based paint to her beauty regime. Unfortunate she had to continue this habit her whole life because the makeup itself caused permanant scars on her face disfiguring her. Other women adopted the regime to emulate their Queen. The lead based makeup caused hair loss, blindness, insanity and even death.  We will do anything in the name of beauty.

 

       Queen Elizabeth, always the trend setter had another dangerous beauty tip she performed regularly. The Queen would use Deadly Nightshade drops in her eyes every day to make her pupils appear larger and her eyes brighter.  It is impressive that the Queen wasn’t blind from the poison.

 

            The Restoration period was time for both men and women to torcher themselves. This was an age of opulence, romance and ridiculously large powdered wigs.  When powdered wigs became popular and everyone had to wear them, it was not uncommon to share them. Since people did not find bathing very safe due to the water supply being polluted they managed to share more than just wigs. Lice became an epidemic, people breeding the vermin under an incubator of fake hair. Lice were not the only problem however. The powder used on the wigs to make them appear whiter was lead based. Inhaling the lead based powder caused the same irritating issues makeup did in the 16^th Century; blindness, insanity and death.

 

            Although the Victorian period was known for its pure standards of living, fashion was just as important then as it has in any other time in history. The most famous fashion wear at the time for women was the corset. Made to give the appearance of a small waist the corset was bound and laced up around the middle of a woman’s frame. The tighter the better was a motto for this era and mothers instilled in their daughters that “if you can breathe it’s not tight enough”. This caused several philological issues for women. For one the lungs could no longer expand to get enough air. It was common during that time for a woman to suffer from fainting spells because of lack of oxygen. Smelling salts and fainting rooms became very popular at this time. Corsets also managed to crush other major organs and move them entirely in the body. This made the liver and the digestive tract weak, causing women severe health issues as they got older.

 

          We will always be a society that will do anything for the sake of beauty. As one beauty regime fads into history, another one with take its place.  

Hoaxes in History

 

 

    Lying is not a not a new art form. Throughout History people have been making wild accusations, telling tales and trying to pass them off as true. Sometimes, people believe these stories for years, causing inaccuracies in History. Other claims are so far-fetched that one can hardly believe that anyone was gullible to buy it at all. Most people have heard crazy stories about the Loch ness Monster, Big Foot and Alien abductions and although most people roll their eyes at the mere mention of these things, others wonder and possibly believe that these stories are true. Here are a few examples of Historical hoaxes that have bent our timeline:

Mary Toft:

 

          Mary Toft was a young married woman in Godaling, Surry in 1726 who was pregnant. One day she claimed to have seen a rabbit which crossed her path and startled her. Soon after she began to experience abdominal pains and went into premature labor. She sent message to the local Surgeon to come as quickly as he could because she believed that she had just passed the remnants of what looked like a rabbit.

          The surgeon rushed to the scared woman's aid and lifted the bed sheets to find bloody pieces of rabbit in the be with her. He was astonished to whiteness her continuing to pass rabbit parts as she miscarried.

          In the following weeks Mary claimed to have given birth to several rabbits, one right after another. Everyone was talking about this Macabre and unbelievable story. More Doctors came to see Mary give birth and although most did not witness the birth itself, they all confirmed that they had seen the mangled pieces of rabbits.

         Eventually word spread to King George I who was more than a little skeptical of this outrageous claim. He sent his own personal Surgeon to investigate the claims and bring the woman to him. Mary continued to state that she had in fact given birth to rabbits, until she was brought to the Castle to testify in front of the King. Once she was there she quickly changed her story, realizing that the jig was up.

         Mary Toft confessed that she had in fact miscarried weeks before and was devastated by it. She had found a dead rabbit and convinced her husband to put it inside of her and fabricate a story that she miscarried a rabbit after seeing one. Because of the attention she had received initially, Mary continued to fake miscarriages of rabbits. Her and her husband and hoped to make money off of the claims.

         Mary was immediately arrested and several of the Doctors who had been involved in the claims had their reputations ruined.  Mary Toft was eventually released and continued a quiet existence without rabbits.

         Feegee Mermaid:

         It seems that there are many people who are desperate for Mermaids to be real. This notion did not escape PT Barnum of the PT Barnum Circus back in 1842 when he created an exhibit called the Feegee Mermaid.

         This strange creature that toured the country for several years was claimed to be the only remaining proof in the world that Mermaids really existed. It was a small skeletal figure with the top half looking vaguely humanoid and the bottom half clearly fish-like. After a tour around the Country it became a fixture in PT Barnum's museum of curiosities in New York. After a fire broke out in the museum, the mermaid was lost however its mystery and the story continued to live on for several years.

        It was finally revealed after some time that the Feegee Mermaid was in fact a Gaff. It was created by an artist for PT Barnum out of a fish, the torso of a bay orangutan and the head of a small monkey. Gaffs were a very popular item at the time, especially in the traveling Circus' as a curiosity to be seen for a small fee. Since then many Feegee Mermaids have appeared in Side shows around the world and is considered one of the most creative Gaffs to be made.

 

          Cottingley Fairies:

 

         Children have always been fascinated with Fairy Tales. Some are even creative enough to create ones of their own. There are a few children that even convince grown-ups that they are true. That was the case with Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths.

        In 1917 the two girls decided to borrow a camera from Elsie's father without asking. They took the camera into the woods and took five pictures, after they were done they returned the camera where they found it and spoke to no one about the pictures they took. Mr. Wright eventually had the film developed and found five odd photographs of the girls posing in the pictures with tiny fairies. The father did not believe the photos to be real and reprimanded the girls, telling them they were no longer allowed to play with his camera. After seeing in the pictures of the girls with the fairies, Elsie's mother was convinced that they were authentic.

       The mother showed the pictures around and eventually they landed in the hands of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes. He decided to write an article about the photos, claiming that they were authentic and had the article published in a popular magazine.

       For decades the pictures made several publications. There was a large debate over the authenticity of the photos; however the girls never said one way or the other.  Finally in 1981 both girls stated publically that four out of the five photos has been faked. They both insisted that the fifth photo was in fact real.

      War of the Worlds:

      Most people have at least heard of H.G. Wells' famous novel War of the Worlds. This novel paints a picture of Aliens invading Planet Earth. It was a wonderfully written book on its own, however made more famous by an unintentional hoax.

     On Halloween Eve in 1938, an unknown radio producer in New York Orson Welles (no relation to H.G. Wells), produced a radio adaptation of the War of the Worlds. Although Orson Welles did state a disclaimer at the beginning of the show that the story was in fact fictional, most people missed it. As the radio show described a horrific scene to carnage and mayhem in the city streets and Aliens began to invade, there were calls of panic from people listening to the police station. People began to run into the afraid that an invasion was really happening. Although the claims of widespread panic are exaggerated in the story telling of that night, there was enough to cause emergency workers busy on Halloween.

     After the show, Orson Welles rocketed to fame. His adaption of The War of the Worlds has been rebroadcasted for decades.

 

               Operation "Mincemeat"

          Sometimes Hoaxes are used to fool the right people for the purposes to distraction. Operation Mincemeat was a perfect example of this.

          During World War II the British were trying to figure out how to invade Sicily with the Germans taking base there. In a stroke of creative genius, they took the body of a man who had recently died of pneumonia, dressed him up in a Royal Navy Uniform and handcuffed a briefcase to his wrist with "top secret" papers that revealed a plan for the British to invade Greece. They planted the body in Italy and waited.

         The Italian Military discovered the body and turned the top secret papers over to the Germans. After discovering the British plans to invade Greece they pulled their troops from Sicily and headed to Greece. This gave the British army the opportunity they needed to invade Sicily and take over the land with little fight from the Germans.

 

 

              Most Hoaxes don't last long throughout history, many reveling holes in the stories or a guilty conscious coming clean; however there have been hoaxes that have lasted decades, even centuries. Some unexplained phenomenon or outrageous claims still have people torn between believing in the stories or crying fraud. Like the man at the curtain who claims to have the only remains of a real Mermaid, "is it real? Only you can decide."

 

Resources:

www.ourcouriousworld.com

www.Listverse.com

www.wikapedia.com

www.bizzarebytes.com

 

 

Ida Wood: Woman Cloaked in Mystery

               

               There have been stories over the years about recluses dying under the veil of poverty, only to have it discovered that the old soiled mattress they slept on for years were stuffed with thousands of dollars. It was more prevalent after the Great Depression that people no longer trusted banks or the stock market to protect their investments, so money was stuffed in old coffee cans, mattresses and cereal boxes. Some people lived poor to throw off anyone who might believe that they had money. It would only be discovered after their deaths that they were really well off.

                No one was better at the deception of being poor than the famous Ida Wood. A socialite in the late 1800's, Ida Wood had remained a recluse in the Herald Square Hotel with her sister Mary E. Mayfield for twenty-four years. It was not until March 5th, 1931 that Ida Wood called out for help because her sister Mary had fallen ill. This began a journey for lawyers to unravel the mystery of Ida Wood following her sisters death. It was a mystery of squalor, money and false identity.

                Ida Wood was a young ambitious socialite in the 1850's when she met Benjamin Wood,  publisher for the New York Daily News and brother of the Mayor of New York. Mr. Wood as already married to his second wife at the time, however this did it stop Ida from pursuing him. They became lovers and ten years later they were married after his wife passed away. They became a power couple in major social circles. Ida claimed that she was from a prominate family from New Orleans and had aristocratic blood. Benjamin Wood was a charismatic man of high social standing in the State of New York. Because of their popularity, the Woods were invited to the more elite events. Ida was able to dance with the Prince of Wales and met Abraham Lincoln during his presidency.

            All was not rainbows and sunshine for the couple however. Benjamin had a serious gambling problem. Ida, a very business minded and creative woman made a deal with her husband that she would not complain about his issues with gambling in exchange he would give her half of his winnings and pay her whenever he lost. Eventually all of his property and businesses were signed over to Ida. When Benjamin died, he technically did not have a penny to his name; Ida had it all.

            After the run on the banks in 1907 Ida became paranoid and moved her, her sister Mary and Ida's daughter to the Herald Square Hotel. She never left the tiny two room Suite for twenty-four years. Slowly the hotel suite fell into squalor. Trash and dust accumulated over the years. The hotel maids were only able to collect the soiled bedding a few times over the years and no one was allowed in the suite.

           By the time Ida was forced from her room, she was in her 90's. It was obvious that she had become senile and was in poor health. She tried to convince her caretakers and lawyers that she was in fact poor. As the room was cleared of trash it was clear that she was anything but poor. They found expensive jewelry, rare Irish Lace and un cashed bonds hidden in cracker boxes, and littering the floor. They even discovered $500,000 dollars in $10,000 dollar bills pinned to the inside of her nightgown she was wearing.

           Things became more complicated when people claiming to be family members began to write the courts, demanding to take her home so they could care for her. The judge overseeing her case began to investigate her claimed linage in order to figure out who was truly related to Ida. What he discovered was even more reeling than her currant situation.

          The judge discovered that Ida Wood, who claimed to have the Surname of Mayfield and who also claimed to have an aristocratic background was not who she had claimed to be. Ida was born, Ellen Walsh and was the daughter of poor Irish Immigrants. She had run away from home as a teenager and went to New York with one ambition in mind; to raise her social status through deception. She changed her name and created a completely fabricated past for herself. She listened to social gossip and read social columns in the paper in order to familiarize herself with prominate socialites. She continued to run across the same name time and again in her research; Benjamin Wood. She knew that she would not be able to cross paths with this man so she chose to write him a letter proposing an affair with the understanding that he was already married. Benjamin agreed to the affair and for ten years they met in secret. Even though he never knew the extent of her lies he did assist in the web of deception, claiming her youngest sister as their child before they were married in 1867.

        When Ida Wood died on March 12th 1932, most of the mystery had been unraveled. Most of her life had been built on a foundation of lies, which continued to mount up to her death. She was a very creative con artist, fulfilling her dream of a socialite and business woman. In the end she did everything she could to hide who she really was and the fortune she had accumulated. One does not have to condone her action, but one does have to admire her cunning.



Resource:

www.Nomadchic.com

www.Smithonian.com

Strange History: Animal Edition

          

            For thousands of years man has had a relationship animals. Ancient civilizations domesticated wolves, eventually creating the dog although they were not the only animal to be domesticated at that time. Large wild felines were slowly introduced to domestication as well, creating that moody and demanding pet known as the house cat. Over the years many other animals have crossed the paths of the human race as loving pets, heroes and even murderers. Here in the United States we have even created bizarre laws still sitting in the dusty corners of law libraries.


Ancient Egypt:

          The Ancient Egyptians were very well known for their love of their pets. When a beloved pet died the Egyptians would have them mummified and saved in jars so they could be buried with their owners when they passed away. Unfortunately if the pet owner died first, the pet met an untimely death so the pet owner would not have to spend one moment in the after life without their pet.

         The most popular pet among the Ancient Egyptians was the cat. Cats were considered spiritual and even links to the after life. Most families in Ancient Egypt kept a cat in their home. When the family cat died, it was an extremely devastating experience. It was common place for the family members to shave their eyebrows to show everyone they were grieving over the loss of mittens.








Tsavo Lions:

         In 1898 Kenya became the setting of the ultimate horror story. A railroad was being built across the Savannah with hundreds of men toiling in the hot sun day in and day out. In March of 1898 two men went missing and a search party was issued out to find them. Rumors began to swirl that the men had been dragged away by something evil and killed.
         Eventually the men were found, torn apart. After a more lengthy search, more bodies had been discovered. It was evident that these men had been attached by a wild animal. The brutality of the injuries were consistent with a lion attach. The men on the railroad decided to hunt the lion, desperate to end the carnage. Before the hunt ended several more attacks happened and the death toll climbed. When the two  Lions responsible were found and killed. The man in charge of the hunt saved the skulls and the pelts of both animals.
        Even though the Lions were both male, neither one had a mane and were thinner than a typical male lion. They named the killer Lions the Tsavo Lions after the River that ran alongside the railroad, Tsavo translated into "the place of slaughter" by a local tribe.
         It was claimed in 1898 that the Lions had claimed the lives of one hundred thirty-five men. Many years later the skull and the bone marrow of both lions were tested and it was discovered that  the Lions had consumed thirty-five men between the two of them.


Animals at Wartime:

          It is not a secret that animals were recruited into military service. Horses, camels and Donkeys have been a major part of war time tradition, carrying brave soldiers into battle. Dogs have also been common in war, used as guards, and sent in to small holes to look for bombs and mines. In world war II pigeons were sent across enemy lines as Curriers, carrying encrypted messages tied to their legs.

         Horses dogs and pigeons were not the only animals recruited to military service. Cats have been employed as spies, Rats and bats have been turned into bombs. Even Dolphins and Sean Lions have been used as sentries, and for object recovery.


Animals and the law:

        It is a novelty to some to look up odd or strange laws. laws regarding animals have graced the law books for years. Here are a few examples:

        In the state of Alaska, it is technically illegal to look at a moose from an Airplane
       
        In the state of Virgina it is illegal for a chicken to lay eggs before 8am and have to stop laying eggs after 4 pm

       In North Carolina it is against the law for a rabbit to race down a road

      

       This is all a reminder that we share our strange history with our animal friends. Next time that you look into the loving eyes of your pet, know that you share more than a mutual love for cuddling. You also share a strange history.


Resources:

www.Strangefacts.com

www.listverse.com

www.weirdhistory.com

www.flavorwire.com

Blessed are the Dead: Momento Mori

       

         The Victorian period was a time of beauty, culture and a bold line between the classes. To have status was the equivalent to being a celebrity  by today's standards. During  Victorian times it was important to be seen as affluent as possible, even in the poorest of classes.

         Photography was just beginning to blossom during this time. It was considered very fashionable to have photographs gracing the walls of a Victorian home. Due to the fact that photography was highly expensive at the time, most families could not afford such a frivolous purchase for the basic family portrait. This is why Memento Mori became so  popular.

          Memento Mori was a photograph that was taken after someone had died to remember  them. Sometimes these photos were taken with a loved one resting in their coffin while others were taken to imitate life with the dead posed as though they were sleeping, sitting or even standing. Sometimes other family members would be included in the photo to give the family one last opportunity to have a family portrait taken before the funeral.

           Most photos taken during this time in history were Memento Mori photos. Sometimes only small details that most people would overlook are the only evidence that someone in the photo was in fact deceased. If standing, there may be a hint of a stand, not unlike a doll stand behind the body of the dead. Sometimes the eyes seem to be looking in the distance, void of focus, or in situations where the eyes were too sunken or dried out, false eyes where simply painted on closed lids. Hands were also an indication. In most Memento Mori photos the hands were posed with a prop like a bouquet of flowers or a book to distract someone from noticing how ridged and lifeless the hands appeared. Unfortunately because the hands could not grip the object it looked very unnatural.

         Death was so commonplace during this period of time, due to disease and poor hygiene that these photographs were not as macabre as they would seem today. It was an endearing way to remember family members and most families had these photos in their home or in lockets they could carry with them. Without these photos Historians would not have been able to paint such a vivid picture of the life and times of Victorians.

 

Reference:
   WWW.Huffpost.com
   WWW.Listverse.com