Oddity Central |
- 4 Places Where Dying Is Not Allowed
- Alcatraz Hotel Offers Tourists Real Prison Experience
- Woman Lies Upside-Down for 75 Days to Save Her Unborn Babies
| 4 Places Where Dying Is Not Allowed Posted: 16 Mar 2012 04:04 AM PDT
When something as natural and inevitable as death is banned, it does seem a tad illogical. You would be surprised to know that there actually are quite a few places on Earth where death has been forbidden, and deemed illegal. In fact, it seems that this is actually an age-old practice; the earliest known instance of the prohibition of death was in the 5th century BC, when dying wasn't allowed on religious grounds at the Greek island of Delos. Each place has a reason of its own, varying from religious beliefs to environmental factors. We'll take a look at four places where death is forbidden in today's world: Itsukushima - Japan According to the Shinto belief, the Japanese island of Itsukushima is a sacred place, and the maintenance of its purity is of utmost concern. So in an attempt to keep up the sanctity of the island, the shrine's priests have worked pretty hard to make sure no deaths occur there. Since the year 1878, no deaths or births have been permitted near the shrine. Pregnant women nearing the date of delivery aren't allowed there, nor are the elderly or the terminally ill. The only battle that ever occurred on Itsukushima was the Battle of Miyajima in 1555, after which the victorious commander ordered the bodies to be removed to the mainland immediately. The entire island was cleansed of the blood that was spilled, blood-soaked soil was thrown away from the island, and even the buildings were scrubbed new. Well, isn't that cheating? Because no matter how much they cleaned it, the deaths clearly did happen. Still, nowadays dying is not allowed on Itsukushima. Photo by Bernard Gagnon Longyearbyen - Norway The Arctic town of Longyearbyen in the Svalbard Islands of Norway has a similar rule. Death is forbidden, and the town has only a small graveyard that stopped accepting new burials over 70 years ago. The reason – the bodies never decompose. It was discovered that the bodies buried in Longyearbyen were actually perfectly preserved by permafrost. Scientists even removed tissue from a man who died there and found intact traces of the influenza virus that he died from during the epidemic in 1917. People who are gravely ill or expected to die soon are dispatched by air or ship to a different part of Norway, where they would spend the last days of their lives. Photo by Bjorn Christian Torissen Falciano del Massico - Italy At Falciano del Massico, a small town in southern Italy, the story is kind of different. People aren't allowed to die, not because of the environment or religious beliefs, but simply because there isn't any space left for the dead to be buried. The mayor issued an order earlier this month that stated, "It is forbidden for residents to go beyond the boundaries of earthly life, to go into the afterlife." Ever since local boundaries were redrawn in 1964, Falciano del Massico has been in dispute with a neighboring town over rights to the old cemetery. The mayor has decided to now build a new cemetery, but until then, people have been ordered to hold off their deaths. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two from the Indonesian Toraja villagers, and have their dead walking about town.
Sarpourenx - France A decree prohibiting people from dying was again issued by the Mayor of Sarpourenx, a picturesque village in the southwest of France. The decision came after a French court refused planning permission to extend the town's existing graveyard. But Mayor Gerard Lalanne has actually taken it a bit further, he's not only banned death, but those who dare to die will be severely sanctioned. Although, it's not yet clear what the sanctions will be. After all, how could you punish the dead? A coffin with no lining? Or perhaps, one that's lined with nails. The mayor's decision has gotten the residents of Sarpourenx worried. "What will happen to me if I die," they ask. Well, don't we all want to know that now? Photo by France64160 4 Places Where Dying Is Not Allowed was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Alcatraz Hotel Offers Tourists Real Prison Experience Posted: 16 Mar 2012 03:32 AM PDT
If you've ever been curious about life in prison, but your record is too clean, now you have a chance to actually buy your way in. Not into a real prison, of course, but the Hotel Alcatraz in London. It's a four-room hotel that's been modeled on the lines of the (in)famous Alcatraz of San Francisco Bay, the one that closed down in 1963. The hotel is only open for a week to promote the new TV series of the same name. Bookings are available until Saturday, 17th of March. Once you're checked in at Hotel Alcatraz, you can forget about being treated like a premium guest. At best, you'll only be served the good food that prisoners in the 1950s were served, as prison officials believed that the best quality food would prevent violence amongst inmates. Everything else about the hotel is designed to give you a good understanding of the real deal. They've even roped in George Devincenzi, former USP Alcatraz Correction Officer, to oversee and authenticate the experience. So after check-in at exactly 18:30 hours, the prisoner-guests are handed uniforms and have their mugshots taken. They are then showed to their 5×9 foot cells, where they will be spending the night. The cells are sparsely furnished, with a sleeping cot and mattress (no sheets), prison-style toilet, sink and two shelves. The metal cups and serving trays have been specially sourced from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in San Francisco, to maintain authenticity. Guests will also be expected to carry out a number of tasks such as physical exercise, tailoring and model making. Sounds like the experience of a lifetime. If you don't plan on committing any real crimes, that is. Photo: LateRooms.com Just so we’re clear, this isn’t one of those prison-turned-hotel kind of joints. Guests here will be treated as real prisoners, and aren’t able to enjoy things like room service or fresh towels every day. Kind to think of it, it’s even worse than some real prisons, like Norway’s Halende. So if you’re looking for a genuine Alcatraz experience, hurry up and book your stay. Photo: LateRooms.com Photo: LateRooms.com Photo: LateRooms.com Alcatraz Hotel Offers Tourists Real Prison Experience was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Woman Lies Upside-Down for 75 Days to Save Her Unborn Babies Posted: 16 Mar 2012 03:18 AM PDT
Child labor is arguably one of the most painful experiences in the world, and women who endure a few days of it are considered heroes. Going by this, a woman who went through 75 days of labor has got to be nothing short of super-human. I guess it goes to show how just much pain a woman would be willing to withstand, to save her babies. 31-year-old Joanna Krzysztonek was pregnant with triplets when she went into labor at just 21 weeks. When the first baby came out prematurely, it was too weak to survive. In a bid to save the other two babies, doctors at the neo-natal clinic in Wroclaw, Poland, decided to act fast – they stopped the contractions with medications and got Joanna to lie down on a tilted bed at a 30 degree angle, to avoid them starting up again. The umbilical cord was tied up and placed back in the uterus. What followed for Joanna were probably the toughest two-and-a-half months of her life. She had to remain upside down 24×7 with no break whatsoever, not even to use the bathroom. She wasn't allowed to move one bit, and the hospital staff made sure she was bathed and fed everyday. "I had to be very disciplined as I was not allowed to move out of the bed for the whole 75 days," she says. "This was very uncomfortable, but the staff kept me going." Joanna Krzysztonek At the end of 75 long days, a world record for the longest a woman has been in labor, Joanna's efforts finally paid off. The doctors decided to deliver the babies through a Caesarean, and she gave birth to a baby girl, Iga, and a baby boy, Ignacy. The babies are doing well, but are still being kept in incubators. Joanna makes visits to her babies every single day, although when she first left the hospital bed, she had trouble with her balance. She is happy, nevertheless. "I am feeling so elated that words can't describe it. They are such good babies, they are really calm and sometimes they even have the gentlest little smile," she says.
via Daily Mail Woman Lies Upside-Down for 75 Days to Save Her Unborn Babies was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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