Episode #919
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: Interference
Interview with Richard Wiseman
- https://hocuspocuscomic.squarespace.com/
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
The six foot standard for grave depth dates to 1665 when the Lord Mayor of London ordered all graves to be dug “at least six feet deep” as an anti-plague measure. https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the-origins-of-graves-and-burials-being-six-feet-under-36124/
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Item #2
Science
The term “mortician” was invented by the funeral industry in 1895, to replace “undertaker”, based on a contest in Embalmer’s Monthly. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_director
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Item #3
Fiction
Lincoln was the first public figure in the US to be embalmed, and is responsible for the popularity of this process, which is now mandated (with exceptions) in 48 states. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-lincolns-embrace-embalming-birthed-american-funeral-industry-180967038/
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
‘A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.’ - Daniel Kahneman