...England grew crowded rather quickly. One of the biggest problems this caused was a lack of room in local cemeteries. Folks were running out of places to bury people. The solution? Dig the graves up and reuse them. And that is exactly what they did. The previous occupant of the 6-foot hole was removed for their casket and take to a bone house. Their original resting place was then taken over by a new occupant. When reopening the coffins, it was discovered that many of them had scratch marks on the inside indicating that the person had been buried alive. To help prevent this from happening further, a string was tied around the wrist of the corpse. The string went out of the coffin, up through the ground, and was connected to a small bell. Someone would have to remain on guard in the graveyard overnight to listen for the sound of the bell. Thus was born the graveyard shift. If a bell was heard, the person was “saved by the bell” and considered to be a “dead ringer.”
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 23:30:37 +0000
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