#Embalming

2025-05-06

Scientists discover 18th-century Austrian mummy was embalmed through the rectum
Scientists have figured out how the body of an 18th-century Austrian vicar has remained so well-preserved for nearly 300 years — and it’s unlike anything they’ve seen before.
#science #history #mummy #embalming #Austria #Radio
cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/austr

Scientists discover 18th-century Austrian mummy was embalmed through the rectum
Scientists have figured out how the body of an 18th-century Austrian vicar has remained so well-preserved for nearly 300 years — and it’s unlike anything they’ve seen before.
#science #history #mummy #embalming #Austria #Radio
cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/austr

Scientists discover 18th-century Austrian mummy was embalmed through the rectum
Scientists have figured out how the body of an 18th-century Austrian vicar has remained so well-preserved for nearly 300 years — and it’s unlike anything they’ve seen before.
#science #history #mummy #embalming #Austria #Radio
cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/austr

2025-04-30

One of the weirdest things in my YouTube feed now is that it seems to be full of embalmers talking about the pope's embalm.
😬

#Embalming #Pope #YouTube

2024-10-03

3 Oct 1579: Sir William Drury d. at #Waterford #otd

He was not buried till March 1580 #embalming

His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-07-13

#WordyWednesday: Bleb

(used in a mortuary context)

A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #Embalmer #DeadBody #MortuaryScience #Bleb #Blister #Gross #Ew #Stinky #Vocabulary #WordOfTheDay

A purple damask frame around a black background. Text reads, “Wordy Wednesday: Bleb
(used in a mortuary context)
A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.”
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-06-28

#WordyWednesday: Ptomaine 💨🤢🤮

Pronounced: toe-MAIN.

The unholy gang of nitrogenous stink compounds responsible for the indescribable stench of decomposing bodies. Found in decaying vegetable and animal matter and formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria.

Includes cadaverine and putrescine (the smell of putrefying flesh or rotting fish), indole (smells like mothballs), and skatole (smells like poop).

Other chemical compounds produce smells akin to rotting cabbage, nasty garlic, and rotten eggs. Ptomaine was originally thought to cause food poisoning but has been disproven.

Raise your hand if you've had this smell cling to your nose hairs after a long day at work! Semi-related, death workers deserve a raise.

#HisAndHearsePress #Ptomaine #Decomposition #Cadaverine #Putrescine #Indole #Skatole #Putrefaction #Funeral #MortuaryScience #DeathCare #Embalming #Vocabulary #Stinky #Decomp

A purple damask frame around a black background with a green tinted cloud wafting across the center. There's a fly in the corner. Text reads, "Wordy Wednesday: Ptomaine. The unholy gang of nitrogenous stink compounds responsible for the indescribable stench of decomposing bodies. Found in decaying vegetable and animal matter and formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria. Includes cadaverine and putrescine (the smell of putrefying flesh or rotting fish), indole (smells like mothballs), and skatole (smells like poop). Other chemical compounds produce smells akin to rotting cabbage, nasty garlic, and rotten eggs. Ptomaine was originally thought to cause food poisoning but has been disproven. Pronounced toe-MAIN."
The Shrine of Hidden KnowledgeWhisperingDragon
2023-06-03

Embalming Facilities Discovered at Famous Egyptian Site.
Archaeologists have revealed yet more about Saqqara, the sweeping Ancient Egyptian burial complex.

World History Encyclopediawhencyclopedia@mstdn.social
2023-05-01

Herodotus’ section of his Histories on burial in ancient Egypt (Book II. worldhistory.org/article/89/he #History #Burial #EgyptianBurial #Embalming

damian entwistleukdamo@mastodon.org.uk
2023-04-21

Today's Flickr photo with the most hits: this Fayoum mummy portrait of a young Roman who died in the 2nd CE.

#fayoum #MummyPortrait #mummy #death #embalming #remembrance #coffin #FayoumOasis #roman #youth #portrait #encaustic #painting #egypt

Portrait of a young Roman created using encaustic painting techniques. He engages the viewer directly, looking calm and composed. He sports a head of dark, curly hair, and a sparse if equally curly beard, and moustache.
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-04-16

National Titanic Remembrance Day 🚢🪦

It’s been 111 years since the Titanic sunk on April 15, 1912. Of the approximately 2240 passengers and crew on board, over 1500 died that day.

The White Star Line chartered four ships to help retrieve bodies of victims: the Mackay-Bennett, CS Minia, CGS Montmagny, and SS Algerine. They only managed to recover about 330 bodies, about 23% of the number who died.

The recovery ships were loaded with undertakers, embalming supplies, coffins, ice, canvas bags, and iron bars. First Class victims were embalmed and stored in coffins. Second and Third Class victims were embalmed (while they still had supplies), then wrapped in canvas. Crew members were put on ice. Some victims were misidentified as being from a higher class: in moments of desperation, they pillaged the abandoned First Class cabins for warm clothing.

Bodies that were unidentifiable, either from disfigurement or decomposition, were buried at sea in canvas shrouds weighted with iron bars. Others were buried at sea simply due to the shortage of embalming chemicals, as there were rules against bringing unembalmed bodies ashore (the rule was temporarily waived shortly after). Clergy conducted brief services for these unfortunates before casting them back into the water. Most were lower class or crew members, as the First Class were given preferential treatment. It was justified since they were “wealthy men with large estates to be settled.”

Of the 330 or so bodies recovered, 119 were buried at sea. The rest were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The VIP bodies went to the local undertaker’s parlor. Everyone else went to the temporary morgue at the Mayflower Curling Rink. Bodies were embalmed in a screened area (a woman embalmed the deceased women and children), then placed on platforms for identification. One undertaker collapsed in shock as he discovered the body of his own uncle among the dead.

59 bodies were claimed by their families. 150 were buried in three Halifax cemeteries, including 42 who remain unidentified.

#HisAndHearsePress #Titanic #NationalTitanicRemembranceDay #Funeral #History #Embalming #DisasterManagement #MortuaryScience

A purple damask frame around a blue ocean and sky background. A sepia photo on top shows two men in uniforms attending to a dead body on the deck of a ship. Text reads, “National Titanic Remembrance Day. Of the 2240 passengers and crew aboard, over 1500 died. Four ships were chartered to retrieve bodies.
Only about 330 were recovered.
First Class bodies were embalmed on deck and placed in coffins. Lower classes and crew were put on ice or sewn into shrouds. Some were weighted and returned to sea.
Bodies were stored, embalmed, dressed, and identified at a temporary ice rink morgue in Nova Scotia.
59 were claimed by families, and 150 (42 unidentified) were buried in Halifax cemeteries.”
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-03-30

#WordyWednesday: Gravity Embalming

An old-timey method of embalming that predates electricity but can still be used in a pinch today.

A large glass jar is suspended over the body with a hose leading to a large artery. Embalming fluid flows into the body at a very slow and steady rate.

Raising the height of the jar increases the pressure (approximately 0.43 pounds of pressure per foot of height above the injection site).

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #MortuaryScience #MortuarySchool #Embalmer #Undertaker #Mortician #FuneralDirector #Gravity

A black background with a purple damask frame. A glass receptacle dangles from the top with a hose extending from a hole in the bottom, ending in a coil at the bottom. Text reads, “Wordy Wednesday: Gravity Embalming. An old-timey method of embalming that predates electricity but can still be used in a pinch today. A large glass jar is suspended over the body with a hose leading to a large artery. Embalming fluid flows into the body at a very slow and steady rate. Raising the height of the jar increases the pressure (approximately 0.43 pounds of pressure per foot of height above the injection site).
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-03-17

#FuneralFactFriday: Bodies Can Turn GREEN 🍀

Yes, it’s true, and not just on St. Patrick’s Day. It happens when a person with jaundice is embalmed using high index formaldehyde fluids.

Jaundice is a yellow discoloration found in both living and dead people. It's caused by a buildup of bile pigments in the skin, eyes, bodily fluids, and tissue, often resulting from problems with the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. A person with liver failure, cirrhosis, or hepatitis is often yellow tinged.

During embalming, formaldehyde can change the yellow bilirubin into green biliverdin. It can range from mild to moderate to extreme. Special embalming fluids (like glutaraldehyde) exist to help mitigate the color issues, but the primary concern is preservation. Color correction is secondary. If the color can’t be addressed with proper fluids and internal dyes, we can use cosmetics and colored lighting to help mask the green.

Fun fact: old school embalmers perpetuated a belief that we could flush jaundiced bodies with milk before injecting embalming fluid. That’s just preposterous. Don’t do that!

#HisAndHearsePress #StPatricksDay #Green #StPaddysDay #StPattysDay #WearGreen #Jaundice #Embalming #MortuaryScience #MortuarySchool #Formaldehyde #Glutaraldehyde #Funeral

A purple damask frame around a black background. Text reads, “funeral fact Friday: bodies can turn green. Jaundice is a yellow discoloration in living and dead people. It's caused by a buildup of bile pigments in the skin, eyes, bodily fluids, and tissue, often resulting from problems with the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. During embalming, formaldehyde can change the yellow bilirubin into green biliverdin. It can range from mild to extreme. Special embalming fluids exist to help mitigate the color issues, but the primary concern is preservation. Color correction is secondary.” There’s a green silhouette of a dead body with overlaid text reading, “flushing a jaundiced body with milk is an old wives’ tale!”
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-02-24
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-02-16

Forget all that informative and educational funeral stuff I post… who wants to see more pics of this dumpling of a cat?!? 🐈‍⬛

Follow me on my book writing journey that is getting sidetracked by ***Kitten Watch 2023***

(And yes, that is a meat blanket. A blanket that looks like a side of beef 🥩)

#HisAndHearsePress #Funeral #Embalming #AmWriting #Cat #KittenWatch #IShouldBeWriting #AdoptDontShop #SpayAndNeuter #MortuaryScience #Catstodon #CatsOfMastodon #Caturday #CaturdayEveryday #EveryDayIsCaturday

A very young and very pregnant tabby cat laying on her back and looking at the camera. Her tummy is huge and round compared to her dainty features. She’s laying half on a person’s blue Jean clad legs and half on a red blanket.
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-02-16

#WordyWednesday: Viscerock

Not all embalming chemicals are liquid! Formaldehyde and other accessory chemicals come in powders and gels too.

My favorite is a product with the awesome name "Viscerock," which dries, firms, and preserves tissue (especially in autopsied cases).

It's also the name of my future death metal band 🤘🏻

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #MortuaryScience #MortuarySchool #Embalmer #Formaldehyde #FormaldehydeFree #Viscerock #DodgeChemicalCompany #ThanksThatsMyBandNameNow

A black background with a purple damask frame. A white plastic bucket container is in the lower right corner. Text reads, “Wordy Wednesday: Viscerock. Not all embalming chemicals are liquid! Formaldehyde and other accessory chemicals come in powders and gels too. My favorite is a product with the awesome name "Viscerock," which dries, firms, and preserves tissue  (especially in autopsied cases).
It's also the name of my future death metal band!”
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-02-14

February 14 isn't just Valentine's Day. It's also National Donor Day, which is an observance dedicated to spreading awareness and education about organ, eye and tissue donation.

I advocate for organ and tissue donation whenever I can, despite the extra work it causes for embalmers. It's worth it. A single donor has the potential to save or improve *75* lives!

The absence of an organ in your grave means the presence of life in another person. Learn more about how it works, plus dispel myths and misconceptions here: louisepachella.com/blog/season

USA readers, register as a donor here: donatelife.net/

#HisAndHearsePress #DonateLife #ShareTheLove #NationalDonorDay #OrganDonation #TissueDonation #ValentinesDay #Embalming #Funeral #DeathPositive

A purple damask frame around a gray background. In the center is a watercolor interpretation of a human heart inside a ribcage on top of a purple heart. Text reads, "February 14, National Donor Day."
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-02-08
His & Hearse PressHisAndHearsePress@c.im
2023-02-05

It's #NationalShowerWithAFriendDay! 🛁

If showering with a friend is impractical in the confines of your bathroom (or you just don't want to see your friend naked), consider using an emergency drench shower!

These safety gadgets are found in embalming rooms to quickly rinse off formaldehyde or other dangerous chemicals that have splashed onto the embalmer's skin.

Don't stay in too long though - drench showers are plumbed into cold or tepid water only.

#HisAndHearsePress #Shower #ShowerTime #DrenchShower #OSHA #Safety #Eyewash #Formaldehyde #Embalming #HazMat

A black background with a purple damask frame and a purple toned image of an emergency quick drench shower station. Text reads, "National Shower With A Friend Day. If showering with a friend is impractical in the confines of your bathroom (or you just don't want to see your friend naked), consider using an emergency drench shower! These safety gadgets are found in embalming rooms to quickly rinse off formaldehyde or other dangerous chemicals that have splashed onto the embalmer's skin."
2023-02-01

Surprising mummy ingredients found at ancient Egyptian workshop - The Washington Post
archive.ph/Aovk4

#History #Archeology #Embalming #Mummy #Egypt

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