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The memorial cairn at Kaluakauka.
trees

The Mysterious Death of the Namesake of the Douglas Fir

Was David Douglas trampled by a wild bull, or lured into a trap?
Eric Grundhauser May 18, 2017
islands

Found: A Giant Decomposing Sea Creature

It’s probably a whale?
Sarah Laskow May 12, 2017
Parents of deceased children place colorful "bibs" on Jizo statues to show their gratitude for his protection in the afterlife.
Kyoto, Japan

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.
Oak Hill, West Virginia

Hank Williams Death Monument

A humble plaque marks the site where the country music legend was found dead in his Cadillac.
When a pigeon hit this plate-glass window, he left a ghost behind.
animals

Gorgeous, Gruesome Reminders to Bird-Proof Your Windows

When doves and pigeons collide with glass, they leave haunting images behind.
Cara Giaimo May 3, 2017
One of Syndaver Labs' second-generation synthetic cadavers floats around on display.
medicine

A Visit to the Synthetic Cadaver Factory

Florida's SynDaver Labs makes extraordinarily advanced anatomical models.
Eric Grundhauser May 2, 2017
The bright green Astroturf that surrounds the graves of Hank Williams and his wife Audrey.
Montgomery, Alabama

Hank Williams's Gravesite

The country music legend's grave is surrounded by Astroturf because fans kept plucking out the grass.
zoos

The World's Favorite Wombat Has Died

RIP, Patrick.
Cara Giaimo April 19, 2017
The flameless cremation station at AquaGreen Dispositions.
death

Will 'Flameless Cremation' Catch On?

Bio-cremation techniques make burning the dead look old-fashioned. So what's stopping people from choosing it?
Eric Grundhauser April 13, 2017
Otsuchi, Japan

Wind Telephone

A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.
The Garden of Death
Tampere, Finland

Tampere Cathedral Frescoes

The church's remarkable frescoes incorporate Finnish artist Hugh Simberg's trademark themes of death and the supernatural.
The David Bowie Mural at Tunstall Road in Brixton, just after its subject's death.
music

Decoding London's Spontaneous David Bowie Shrines

More than a year after the rock star's death, "it would appear that Bowie is a source of spiritual sustenance."
Cara Giaimo April 6, 2017
Patented coffin torpedoes, for all your grave-defending needs!
victorian

Victorian 'Coffin Torpedoes' Blasted Would-Be Body Snatchers

Grave robbing got more hazardous in the 1880s.
Lucy Tiven April 3, 2017
The Drigung Tibetan monastery, home to one of the last sky burial sites still in use.
ancient

What Remains of Asia's Traditional Sky Burial Sites

Five dramatic places dedicated to returning corpses to nature.
Kavya Ram Mohan March 31, 2017
Aldgate Pump.
London, England

Aldgate Pump

This pump on the bad side of Victorian London betrayed a horrifying revelation about the water supply.
Crematorium assistant Divya Raju and a furnace operator pose in front of an active furnace.
death

India's Foremost Female Crematorium Manager Is Breaking a Lot of Taboos

Praveena Solomon has befriended skeptical gravediggers and faced down claims she will become possessed.
Gayathri Vaidyanathan March 30, 2017
The massive ring like structure now has a telecom tower on top of it.
Nukus, Uzbekistan

Chilpik Tower of Silence

The ruins of an ancient Zoroastrian Tower of Silence believed to be the earliest example of the traditional funerary practice.
The monastery overlooks the Shorong valley.
Lhasa, Tibet

Drigung Monastery

This Tibetan monastery has survived multiple attacks and is also a sky burial site.