http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png http://jezebel.com/tag/death http://jezebel.com/tag/death

Child abuse is a dark and depressing reality in American life, but until now, it's never been clear just how widespread a problem it was. A new study, led by Dr. John Leventhal of Yale University, offers the first comprehensive estimate of serious injuries caused by child abuse in the U.S., and the results are pretty horrifying. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882911&view=rss&microfeed=true

The remains of a 95-year-old woman named Anne Bunch were found in a Florida storage unit nearly 17 years after she died in 1994. Her daughter, Bobbie Barnett Hancock, — described as a "hoarder" by her ex-husband — kept her mother's remains in storage until she could no longer afford the unit and had to sell it and its then-unknown grisly contents at auction. Of course, it's not so bizarrely simple as a case of extreme hoarding — according to her daughter, Bunch, who died of three heart attacks and a paralyzing stroke, couldn't afford to be buried as-planned in Alabama because in America even dying takes a little extra capital. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880299&view=rss&microfeed=true

College kids do a lot of dumb shit—as anyone who has ever been one can tell you—but a new study suggests co-eds these days are doing something particularly stupid: playing the Choking Game. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877814&view=rss&microfeed=true

This week, our pal Caitlin gets some help from Mary Roach, author of Stiff, as she talks about space burials. We also learn the best way to cremate someone who is obese, and whether or not it's cool to ask a funeral director for a lock of hair from a deceased loved one. Pour yourself a cup of tea and get comfortable: It's episode five of Ask A Mortician! More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5876874&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you're worried about what will happen after you die you may want to make out a will, but that takes effort and is actually important. Instead, why not concentrate on posting a final message on your Facebook wall? The app If I Die allows you to leave a sweet farewell for loved ones or heap guilt on your enemies in a post that will be seen by everyone you know — unless of course, Facebook isn't quite as popular six decades from now. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5874156&view=rss&microfeed=true

Los Angeles is full of beautiful homes, many of which have served as the backdrop for glamorous lives… and tragic deaths. Mortician Caitlin Doughty takes us on a little jaunt around Hollywood to see the houses where luminaries like Marilyn Monroe, Ella Fitzgerald, Vincent Price, Sammy Davis Jr. and F. Scott Fitzgerald died. The City of Angels is also the City Of Corpses! Buckle up, get your cameras out, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle… The expedition begins now. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5870038&view=rss&microfeed=true

When someone you know has a miscarriage, it can be hard to know what to say. We have some tips for responding sensitively in this difficult situation. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5868454&view=rss&microfeed=true

Death enthusiasts! Episode four of "Ask A Mortician" has arrived. If you've ever been curious about how to become a mortician, Caitlin breaks it down. Apparently attending mortuary college involves actual academic responsibility and is not all "Whee! Bodies!" Also, should you want your cremated remains to be baked into a chocolate cake, you'll find some useful information in this clip. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5868079&view=rss&microfeed=true

New research from the Department of Creating Concern has found that people who eat more rice have elevated levels of arsenic in their bodies. This bodes especially poorly for pregnant women and people who enjoy nothing more than a big bowl of rice washed down by a glass of arsenic-laden apple juice. If you do this, please stop. While this flavor combination make make you feel unbelievably nutritionally fortified, ensuing slow and painful death will follow you like a thief in the night. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5865579&view=rss&microfeed=true

Putrefaction! Skin slip! Flesh removal! Corpse cutters! All these words can only mean one thing: Episode three of Ask A Mortician is here. This week, Caitlin, our new favorite mortician, tells us about what happens to dead bodies in the Himalayas. The circle of life is so violently happy. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5863470&view=rss&microfeed=true

Three years ago, Jackie DeVita died of cancer, and within a few months her sister Colleen Leary had moved into her home, started caring for her three children, and married her husband. The story sounds a bit Shakespearean, but thankfully no one in the family shares Hamlets feelings on women marrying their brother-in-law shortly after a funeral. Yet, it's still a bizarre tale, and not just because we've grown to frown upon romance among in-laws. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5859523&view=rss&microfeed=true

Caitlin, the fun, friendly, female mortician we heard from last week returns with the second installment of her "Ask A Mortician" video series. This week, she answers a question about cremation — using the creepy/cool words "bone blender" — and also shares what she would like to have happen to her body after she dies. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5858287&view=rss&microfeed=true

Caitlin is a mortician with a background in cremation and a writer living in Los Angeles. If you have questions about death, she will answer them. In this video — episode one — she explains rigor mortis (it starts in and around the eyes) and shows off her pet python. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5856179&view=rss&microfeed=true

Fans of Knut the Polar Bear lost it when they found out he was going to be stuffed and put on display, but some people feel taxidermy is the best way to remember a beloved pet. Today the New York Times profiled Amy Finkel, a documentary video teacher at Parsons School of Design who's working on a film about what people do with the remains of their late animal friends. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5848920&view=rss&microfeed=true

You know how drinking is bad for you, yet good for you, yet also bad for you? Well, new research confirms that it is good for you until it is bad for you. Confused? Our breakdown will help you drink the exact right amount so you live forever. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5837936&view=rss&microfeed=true

In her 1974 letter, Michele Bachmann wrote that she felt "stupid next to" her two bilingual friends. Zombie Cucumber has thought of another scenario in which this observation might be appropriate: More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5832716&view=rss&microfeed=true

Your parents were right. Watching TV will totally usher you into an early grave — and even an hour a day can have an effect. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5831269&view=rss&microfeed=true

A new study shows that an "honor culture" of toughness and badassery in the American South and West may lead to an increased risk of accidental death. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5830860&view=rss&microfeed=true

Well, here's the weirdest news story of today: an Ohio man was found asphyxiated in his bedroom, and now his friends have to figure out what to do with his lion. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5820561&view=rss&microfeed=true

Women's life expectancies are falling in many areas of the US, possibly as a result of smoking and obesity. But amid this decline, Latina women are unusually healthy. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5812145&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Long Goodbye is Meghan O'Rourke's memoir about her mother's death from colorectal cancer and her own grieving process. In this excerpt, O'Rourke, her brothers Liam and Eamon, and family friend Diana have an emotional encounter with O'Rourke's mom, who is beginning to suffer confusion as a result of her illness. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5800525&view=rss&microfeed=true

Yvette Vickers, Playboy Playmate and star of Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman and other B movies, has been found dead in her California home. Authorities think she may have been dead for months. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5798092&view=rss&microfeed=true

Sadly, most of us will be called upon to attend a funeral at some point in our lives. These occasions can be pretty stressful (what do I say? how do I act?) but our tips will help you get through them. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5763298&view=rss&microfeed=true

New research suggests that dealing with bad shit might actually make you happier over time — as long as there's not too much bad shit at once. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5724577&view=rss&microfeed=true

Two undertakers in northern Germany have determined that what the world needs now are coffins specifically for gays featuring depictions of nude men in "athletic poses". Nothing says "rest in penis" like an erotic coffin. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5695361&view=rss&microfeed=true

Sad but true: another corpse-in-car story. A man is believed to have absconded with his elderly mother's embalmed body, and be on the run with it somewhere in the UK. Oh, and she died in September. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5682484&view=rss&microfeed=true

I know, it seems obvious, right? Or at least it did until this week, when I actually had to attend one. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5676508&view=rss&microfeed=true

Bob Guccione died yesterday in Texas at 79 after a long battle with cancer. Guccione founded Penthouse in 1969, and it earned $4 billion during his reign as publisher. However, he lost most of his fortune due to bad investments. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5669611&view=rss&microfeed=true

"It's fun to delve into the past," says '80s designer Claude Montana. But only up to a point: Montana won't discuss Wallis Franken, the model and wife who fell to her death in 1996, after suffering years of Montana's abuse. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5667044&view=rss&microfeed=true

Today in jokes that aren't funny: Rep. Bobby Bright, a conservative Democrat, said maybe Nancy Pelosi wouldn't run next year because "Heck, she might even get sick and die." But it's okay: the crack "was made in a light-hearted vein." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5623845&view=rss&microfeed=true

The L Magazine recently named "The Internet" the worst medium. Arguably - but also the best! Because for every story of cruelty and increased alienation and loss of human connection, we get a few gems. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5610378&view=rss&microfeed=true

91-year-old Jean Stevens lived in her Pennsylvania home with the embalmed corpses of her husband and twin sister for more than a decade, until police were tipped off last month. Click to watch the news report. [AP, Buzzfeed] More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5580563&view=rss&microfeed=true

A recent survey from the UK found that one in 20 people over the age of 45 worry about having a heart attack during sex, and 31% of Britons have stopped sexual activity because they were too tired to continue. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5571730&view=rss&microfeed=true

According to Joran, he's quite the eligible bachelor in Peru. In an interview published on Tuesday, he boasts that he's already received several marriage offers. "One of them even wants me to get her pregnant," he told De Telegraaf. [AP] More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5569591&view=rss&microfeed=true

Six-week-old Faith Lovemore died after her mother, Julia, stuffed bits of Bible pages into the baby's mouth and sat on her. A judge says she was "profoundly mentally disordered and suffering from religious delusions at the time." Yeah. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5566124&view=rss&microfeed=true

In If You Knew Suzy, writer Katherine Rosman brought the skills she learned as a reporter to bear on her own mother's life and death. After the jump, an excerpt — and a chance to chat with Rosman herself. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5536294&view=rss&microfeed=true

It sounds morbid. But for a lot of people, it makes all kinds of sense. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5525536&view=rss&microfeed=true

Sad breaking news: Corey Haim, star of 80s classics such as License to Drive and Lost Boys, has died of an apparent overdose. Of the two Coreys (and The Two Coreys), he was definitely our favorite. Update: More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5489959&view=rss&microfeed=true

Today we got a press release that read, "A woman's greatest fears are rejection and abandonment." This woman disagrees. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5485661&view=rss&microfeed=true

A funeral home employee was about to inject a Colombian woman with embalming fluid when he saw her right arm move. Doctors determined that while she'd been declared dead, her vital signs had just dropped to undetectable levels. [AP] More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5474755&view=rss&microfeed=true