Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dead

What is this lead ring?

tellurian — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:17:20 -0800

In this excerpt from Beloved Son Felix, there is a description of a body that they have disinterred for an autopsy. They find a lead ring which causes disgust. What would the lead ring be? The relevant part:

On opening the winding sheet in which the body was sewn, we found a woman with a congenital deformity of the legs, the two feet turned inward. We did an autopsy and found, among other curiosities, various veins vasorum spermaticorum, which were not deformed, but followed the curve of the legs toward the buttocks. She had a lead ring, and as I detest these, it added to my disgust.

Surely not a lead ring on her finger, that wouldn't cause such detestation, would it? Could it be that it was some sort of device she wore because she had deformed legs?

How many grandmothers will die in two months?

Meatbomb — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:55:12 -0800

Actuarial / statistics geeks: a puzzle for you. You are on a two month training program with a group of Korean teachers of English.

There are 20 teachers, ranging in age between late 20s to early 50s.

How many of their grandmothers are likely to die during the course?

Consider the current months (October-November) as the timeframe. Assume the grandmothers are all residents of Daegu, Korea.

I probably cannot provide any more specifics than those, but if you want clarification I will try.

I quit my "pen pal"--do I need to explain why?

naplesyellow — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:14:12 -0800

I feel weird about dropping my foreign pen-pal-but not weird enough to want to change anything. Am I too cruel? A woman in Germany befriended me last year. She saw my very handsome brother's page on an memorial site...and she claimed to "love him". (yeah..I know...what was my first clue that she is troubled). But I didn't see any harm in writing to her and I really enjoyed learning about where she lives, etc. She writes in impeccable English because she is a translator. It was kind of nice to discuss my brother with her...since not too many people cared about him while he was alive. Over the year, however, she made noises about coming here to the US. She is very effusive and "loving". I told her I have absolutely no room for guests (which is true) and she writes back things like "oh, don't worry, I can stay in your yard in a tent!" She is the kind of person who sends hugs and kisses and "cuddles"...she fawns over me. I know that she is very lonely because she is taking care of her elderly Dad and she never goes anywhere. She was writing to me twice a day...really long long emails. I feel almost like a guy who "led someone on"--but I have completely run out of things to talk about with her. I just stopped writing and answering her. A bit abruptly. She loves to send me stuff and I am completely tired of it. I just didn't know how to tell her that I don't want to write anymore...so I have handled it passively agressively by just dropping her.
I know I have not handled this well...but the question is..should I just never write back and call it a day? She isn't writing either now and I know she is "hurt" because she has written my dead brother some messages about it on his tribute page.
Advice gladly accepted.

Help me dress up as a dead celebrity!

gwenlister — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:32:00 -0800

Costume Party Filter : Going to a "Dead Celebrity" costume party in a couple weeks and am having trouble coming up with any good ideas that aren't going to be done 100 times over. The obvious ones that I know are going to show up are going to be things like Billy Mays, Marilyn, Michael Jackson, etc. so I really want to go as something that no one else is but that people will still know/recognize. I'm also open to other interpretations of the theme, as well as dead movie characters etc. The problem is I'm a big, busty, curvy woman with long dark brown hair and the only dead celebrity I can come up with that fits that even a little is Mama Cass... and that sucks. I do not want to go as Mama Cass.

I would love to go as something funny/ingenious/unique so I'm hoping the brilliant minds here on askmefi can help me come up with something. I have no problem dressing up in ridiculous things and looking like an idiot, though I would prefer not to have to wear a wig though, simply due to comfort and wig availability. I'm very adept at styling my hair, though, so I can recreate most any look I would need.

Cosmetology for dead people.

MaryDellamorte — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:45:58 -0800

Are you a mortuary makeup artist or know someone that is? I'm not trying to hastily make a job change, but I've always been interested in this and wanted to know more about it. What kind of schooling is necessary? How much does the schooling cost? How much do they make? What's the proper title for a mortuary makeup artist? I read an interview here which was somewhat informative but I want to know more.

My monitor won't turn on

bingwah — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:10:14 -0800

Is my Dell monitor dead? CPU boots up but the monitor is black and on/off switch is not lighting up. My computer and monitor are about 3 years old. I have no idea what the model # of the monitor is. All I know is it's a Dell 15' flatscreen that I bought with the computer. Everything worked fine last night. I shut down and turned the monitor off. This morning when I turned the computer on the monitor remained black. Usually once I boot up the on/off switch on the monitor turns orange and then I'll turn it on and it will turn green. Today there is no light at all on the on/off switch. The computer seems to be booting up fine.

So is my monitor dead or is there a deeper issue with my video card? I don't have a 2nd monitor to test this with although I'm about to go buy one and test it.

What went wrong when I tried to replace my car battery?

jacobm — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:28:41 -0800

I just changed my car's old dead battery with a new, just purchased one following the directions here. Even though I clamped the connectors down hard enough that I can't move either of them, the car seems to be completely dead --- it doesn't appear to be getting any power whatsoever. Any ideas what could be wrong? Long extended explanation, just in case people are interested / think there's a larger problem:

We have two cars, and one of them hardly ever gets used. Last time I used it was in May, after it had been sitting unused for probably several months. When I left home, it had trouble starting up (but ran fine once it started); and I needed a jump to get it started coming back. I tried to start it again the next day, and it wouldn't start.

So I ignored the problem until today. Tried to start it up again, and got some lights to turn on, but the engine wouldn't go. I jumped it with the good car, and it ran fine; I let it run for about 40 minutes (with the engine running above idle for at least 15 minutes that time). Then I turned the car off and immediately on again, but it still didn't start --- if anything, it seemed more dead than before.

I concluded the battery couldn't hold a charge, so I went and bought a new one. I followed the directions, but the car is now completely unresponsive; I see no evidence that it's drawing any power whatsoever.

I'm assuming I installed the battery incorrectly. Does that sound plausible, and if so what should I do about it? If not, what should I try instead?

Should I give a dead stranger's book to his children?

Salvor Hardin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:22:02 -0800

I found a neat antique book, and now I've tracked down its old owner. He's dead. Should I offer to give it to his children? I found a CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 25th edition from 1941 at a recycling center! It's in excellent shape, and, being a physicist, it'll make for a cool desk piece. It has a name and address handwritten on the inside cover.

I did some googling on the person who wrote his name on the inside cover, and I found his NYTimes obituary. He died a year and a half ago at age 88. He sounds like he was a pretty interesting guy - an orthopedic surgeon, lecturer, college track star, golf enthusiast, ran the Boston marathon, served in US Army Medical Corps, animal rights philanthropist, etc.

I also located his five children (he also has many grandchildren and even a few great-grandchildren).

Now for my question:

Would it be a nice gesture to contact one of his children and offer to send the book to him? I feel like this could be a touchy situation, since I know little about these people or their former patriarch. The only sign of his ownership is the name handwritten on the front inside cover along with a home and school address.

Note: I realize of course that I am not obligated to return the book to his children - just asking if it's a nice idea or a stupid idea. Thanks hive mind!

Drive without a GPS? Is such a thing possible?!?

Admira — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:04:00 -0800

My TomTom One 3rd Edition stopped getting a GPS Signal Yesterday! Please hope me! So I was driving home yesterday when I reliased it stopped getting a signal. No big deal I thought, and kept driving. But I left it on in the car on my normal route where it gets signal, and no luck. Same on the way home. I think its dead.

I tried a cold boot of the device, and also connecting it to the web to get the "quick GPS update" fix things, but no loving. Any other tips?

Assuming its dead, and assuming (correctly) that I don't have the reciepts or remember exactly WHEN I bought it, what should I buy? I'm in Sydney, Australia, use it for car travel and the only thing that annoyed me about the device was that if it couldn't get a GPS signal it was difficult to use, and you couldn't look ahead for turns coming up easily that I could see.

Thanks!

Selling a dead battery car: Dealership or Craigslist?

carpyful — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:23:17 -0800

Car with a dead battery (sorta). I want to sell it immediately. Will I be better off selling it to a used car dealer or on Craigslist? If the former, can anyone recommend a dealer in Seattle? So when I first moved to Seattle, I bought a used car ('95 Mitsubishi Mirage) for $1300. I just needed a jalopy to get me from point A to point B -- or so I thought. It turns out, I don't really need a car at all. So the car has just been sitting around, with me driving it around every couple of days to make sure the battery doesn't die.

As it happens, I kept procrastinating moving the car around and now the battery is dead. Even though I got it jumped (and had the battery checked by AAA), I don't drive the car nearly enough to hold the charge and it's just a hassle now.

Really, all I want now is to sell the car quickly and without hassle... but I don't want to get completely fleeced.

Will I be better off selling it to a dealer or putting it on Craigslist as a car with a dead battery? It seems like both options are equal, hassle-wise. Which do you think will get me more money? If the former, can you recommend a place in Seattle that buys used cars? .. and assuming the car is in slightly below average condition, what's a reasonable price to ask for / expect?

Help me just get this over with, please.

Dead bird in stagnant pool -- health hazard?

spiderskull — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:11:29 -0800

This morning we found a dead bird in our pool -- unfortunately, this pool is half-empty and has been unfiltered and stagnant for a month. Considering that birds carry diseases, do we need to completely empty out the pool or will chlorine be enough to fend off any potential health hazards? About a month ago, my folks had to fix the pool light, so they emptied the water down to about half its regular capacity. Since it's winter and no one's swimming, they left it down there without new chlorine or the filter running.

This morning, we found a dead bird floating around and removed it. But it may have been there for about a day or two.

Since it's a 40,000 gallon pool, I'm wondering if chlorine shock and acid treatment will be enough to sanitize the remaining ~20,000 gallons, or if it's best to empty it out completely to avoid any avian-borne diseases. The former saves water, the latter is a health precaution at the expense of wasted water.

Thanks!

Itchy sunburn

gttommy — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:56:50 -0800

I'm recovering from a body sunburn, most of the pain is gone but now I'm painfully itchy. Should I use some moisturiser cream or should I let my skin dry out to accelerate the process? The itchiness was so bad I could not focus and had to leave work. Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Something is rotten in my state (not Denmark).

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:43:43 -0800

Last Wednesday I was assaulted by a foul smell in my front (guest) bathroom. I have been trying to pinpoint the cause for several days. I'm about to go out of town and need advice on what to do, especially since I'm extremely broke and have tried all the usual methods of attack. Details inside... Thursday I noticed there was a bit of a poo smell going on in the front bathroom. Often, it takes two flushes, and I assumed the toilet was clogged. I plunged, cleaned, plunged, etc. and then lit a candle. I never use those drop-in toilet cleaners.

Friday the smell was WORSE. It smelled like sewage. I did my due diligence; I read up as to what the various causes may be and bought every cleaner imaginable. I opened up the drains and did the vinegar/baking soda clean on all of them.

Saturday, the smell was better... I followed it along the ground until I realized it was emanating from the bathtub drain.

Once again, removed all fittings possible, dumped some special drain cleaner (a green product specifically for drains, no lye, no bleach) down the hole, several pots of boiling water, etc.

Went around and checked every other spot in the house; there is no smell except in the front bathroom. Ran water in every sink, tub, shower, etc. to ensure there were no dry traps.

The smell has now dwindled from a sewer-gas smell to simply a musty, sort of unpleasant dust-like odor. Stale, but not poo-ish or sewer-gassy. (To contrast, when I came home on Friday, when I opened the front door I SMELLED SEWER. FROM SEVERAL FEET AWAY, WITH THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM CLOSED.)

My house was built in 2003. The drain is at floor level and the tub/shower are completely surrounded by stone and concrete. I have crawled, literally, with my nose shoved along the edge of the toilet, sink, wall, everywhere in that bathroom and it is coming up out of the drain. As of right now it smells musty and vinegar-y just a bit from all the treatments I've done. The smell is now confined to just the bathroom and is severely diminished.

I have no idea where the pipe is that goes to the roof. There is nothing under my house, it's on a concrete slab foundation. There are no signs of dampness or leaks anywhere in the walls, around the tub, around the toilet, around the sink, etc.

The shower liner is immaculate. I opened the closet door that shares the wall with the tub/shower. The inside of the closet is dry, smells pleasant, no dampness. I took a knife and pried up a bit of the carpet that runs along the wall that is shared with the drain... no dampness, nothing. Even shoved my fingers up under the wall right now where I'd pried the carpet; I feel/smell nothing. Flashlight showed everything is white and normal-looking just opposite the smell.

What I'm asking is... did an animal possibly get trapped somewhere and die? If so, can I just leave and come back assured that the smell will probably be gone? I'm in Texas and the temps are expected between 40-77F over the next week.

I really don't think it's mold. I am extremely sensitive to such things and take daily medication for allergies, and have yet to sneeze or itch at all, even with my nose shoved into the drain.

At this point were I not about to leave for 3-4 days and severely broke, I'd probably just call a plumber. My trip is non-refundable and was paid for in advance, so I can't change plans and use the money for a plumber. Also, I'm concerned that I'll call somebody and they will either tell me 1. I have something terrible going on and they have to tear the wall apart and the bill will be several thousand dollars, which I cannot pay or be here to supervise, or 2. it's nothing, a mouse died somewhere, I'll have to wait it out (plus pay $150 for a house call at a weird hour that resulted in nothing).

What say you, MeFi homeowners? What would you do?

Dead display on Dell laptop. Tell me its not terminal.

wile e — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:43:05 -0800

Dell Vostro 1400. Screen has died. I need it to not be dead, all details inside. Dell Vostro 1400
2ghz core duo
2gig ram
160gig HD
Windows Vista Ultimate
Video card is unknown off the top of my head, checking dell in a moment to get an answer, so look below.

This computer gets a lot of use. Its a little over a year old, and all of a sudden it started to freak out. It had begun starting to run hotter than normal, then the screen went crazy. It became pixelated and wildly colored and frozen. Would not do anything until you manually shut it down.

I assumed it just overheated, but there was no blockage in the fan area and everything else seemed normal, just hot. I let it cool down and the screen came back on. The following morning after som elight usage, it did it again. I rebooted and it returned to normal. I used it the rest of the day, until I was in a conference call with my new boss and it freaked out and died. As I had been using it all day, I let it alone thinking it needed to cool off. This was 4hours ago.

Now when I boot up, the backlight comes on, but no display. The computer is ok, as I can here the windows start noises and I can blindly type in my password and it logs me in. But I cannot see a thing, just a backlit black screen.

I have opened up the few hatches in the bottom of the computer, but only see the HD, the memory slots and what looks to be the cooling heat sink. No access to a vid card or anything.

Anything I can do? Is there ANY way I am not screwed? I really need this computer now and dont have much in funds to be replacing it. I am also in Helsinki, and this was bought in NY, not sure if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any help you may have.

Is chivalry dead?

chrisinseoul — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:22:58 -0800

Chivalry: is it dead? I ask as a twentysomething guy: is chivalry dead? As much as I'd love to be a gentleman for opening doors, pulling out chairs, etc., I've found on recent dates that the action either looks presumptuous or creepy. Perhaps it has its place in already-established relationships, but I'm more interested in hearing from the MeFi's (especially you twentysomething ladies I'm so darn attracted towards). If a guy offers to pull out your chair at a decent restaurant or open a door for you, are you offended at someone else doing what you can do yourself, or are you glad to be treated like a lady?

Hedgehog: dead or alive?

999 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:39:14 -0800

Is it possible to easily tell the difference between a dead and a hibernating hedgehog? My parents recently rescued and nursed a hedgehog for about a week. They said when they found it, it looked like it was drunk. They were told by some hedgehog charity that this means they are cold and that they need feeding and warming up so they did this.
After about a week of much improvement, my father came down to discover it was dead. Or at least he thinks so, but wants to be 100% sure that it isn't just hibernating before he buries it.

It smells dead to me.

Any experts out there?

Slightly morbid bird question

Skyanth — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:10:17 -0800

Why do you never see dead birds in the city? I live in the city and close to water. My surroundings are full of ducks, swans, pigeons (yich) and gulls. Yet I never see one dead, except maybe if it was run over by a car. Why is that? Is there some secret bird cemetery they go to to die? Surely the gutters should be full of dead pigeons or something. God knows there's enough of them around. Or are they eaten by insects in record time? Disclaimer: I do not have an actual wish to see dead birds. I've just been wondering about this since forever.

La Zona Muerta.

Zé Pequeno — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 06:07:37 -0800

I came home yesterday to find that we've now got internet in our house - great. The only problem is, though I'm able to get a perfect signal in the sitting room, which is where the wireless router is situated, if I go the five metres or so from there to my bedroom, the connection rapidly deteriorates to the point that I can't even open Metafilter. I'm running a Macbook with a fully-udated version of Tiger, so what gives? I should mention that the signal bar is FULL, even in the bedroom. However, though there's a long list of wireless networks that appear when I'm in the sitting room, this list dwindles to five or six once I get to my room. It's unusual because I *always* seem to pick up a signal when other people are unable. I used to be under the impression that my Mac had been gifted with an overly potent Wifi card. And now this?

I live in a fairly old suburban Barcelona apartment block. In between the sitting room and the bedroom are a lavatory and kitchen. To my knowledge, my room is not lined with lead.

One suggestion I read from someone was to ensure the router is broadcasting on a specific channel, as opposed to auto. I just checked, though, and it's connected to Channel 6.

I'd appreciate any help.

It's been on my mind: what legal say do the dead have?

parmanparman — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:52:04 -0800

In the United States, what legal rights are there for dead people? Does the constitution have stipulations for the rights of dead Americans and non-Americans who die in America? Also, how long - hypothetically - does a person need to be dead until their body becomes public property and, in the case of those who die leaving kin, are dead bodies 'owned', and for how long?

Death of a laptop

Iteki — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:43:13 -0800

Laptop is giving up the ghost. Ram? HD? Videocard? Full explaination of symptoms inside, help me get it at least to a place where I can back it up. Fujitsu-Siemens E7010 with two 256 ramsticks and every Popcap and Real Arcade game ever released just got seriously hinkey. Excuse the length, want to get all details I can think of in.

Other than running hot and slow forever we have experienced no pre-fail symptoms like freezing, crashing, etc. Last night the machine froze, and the screen flimmered at a very high frequencty. Unreactive, we shut it down by holding the powerbutton. Gave it a minute and restarted. Not a peep visually, and no particular startup sounds (disk activity, CD engaging etc) but the fans and screen backlight did go on.

This morning, having given the ramsticks a bit of a push to check they are seated properly I booted up. Got the bootscreen and was given the warning that it hadn't started properly last. Continued and it froze before getting any further. Shut it down and tried a while later. Got it to safe-boot, couldn't find the external HD, and tried a full boot. All well and good, but then it froze again and did the screen-flimmer.
Starting 'er up again gave me no boot screen, just fans and backlight.

I don't want to stress the computer out by trying too many different things, I am a little worried it might be the HD (but no clicking or banging). The only real two things I can think of right now are to check the ramsticks, trying them one at a time in each of the sockets, and otherwise to try hook up the HD to a desktop for backup. Ideally I want to squeeze a few more months out of this baby, so ideally it's the ram and I can just buy new stuff.

Thanks for bearing with me, little help?
(on preview, no POST beeps)

What to do you say to someone that will soon die?

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:37:21 -0800

A good friend of mine called me the other day. He wanted to see me (he is a good friend, but I haven't seen him in many years, we live in different cities) and ask me for help. We met, and he told me his wife has cancer, one of the most difficult ones. He spends a lot of money in treatments, but he realizes that the chances are minimal. The worst part, he said, is that he is completely out of words for her. He doesn't know if he should try to give her hope, or if they should face the inevitable fact. He is despaired, she is more despaired. What can he say to comfort her? What can he say to make her feel better while she's still here? They have two daughters, 8 and 12 years old.

Extra deaths in Shakespeare's Hamlet?

booksandlibretti — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:57:33 -0800

Productions of Hamlet in which an additional character dies unexpectedly? (spoilers for a 400-year-old play and modern productions) One currently running production does this (once the show closes, I'll comment to give you the details). I saw it, and was amazed -- then curious whether it'd ever been done before.

A friend suggested that Martin Sheen's Hamlet, from 1968's Public Theater production in Central Park, may have done something similar with a Vietnam-y setting. Unfortunately I can't find information about that assertion, either way.

People expected to die in Hamlet:
-Hamlet
-Hamlet's dad (offstage)
-Fortinbras's dad (offstage)
-Polonius
-Claudius
-Gertrude
-Ophelia
-Laertes
-Rosencrantz
-Guildenstern

Know about a production with an even higher death toll? I'm interested in anything you've got -- from the local production in a church basement on up. The more documentation, the better, obviously. I have access to jstor and other scholarly resources, so feel free to link those articles as well as any others you find. Thanks!

Israel Travel Tips Needed

tickettrader — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:37:04 -0800

I'm traveling to Israel next month for a family wedding. Most of the hotels and transportation are taken care of but I looking for other sidetrips/places that are worth visiting. Details - Me, wife and baby (10 weeks). My wife and I are pretty seasoned travellers but are English speaking only. All of our hotels are prepaid so any deviations from the plan will waste money. At the same time, money isn't a huge issue as this will be a once-in-a-long-time trip for us.

Day 1 questions. We'll be pretty much on our own in the Netanya area. We'll probably stick close to the hotel after the long flight. Is there anytime in the immediate area worth seeing?

Jerusalem questions. We've basically got 36 hours there. We get in Wednesday morning and leave Thursday night. I realize there are a lot of things to see there but would a trip to Bethlehem be realistic? I've heard horror stories about some people trying to get there and others say it's very easy. Anyone with any advice there?

After seeing the Dead Sea and Massada, we're heading down to BeerSheva. Is Eilat and the Red Sea worth the extra couple hours to drive down and spend the night - and then snorkel in the Red Sea? I'd love to see Petra but that will have to wait until the next trip - circa 2025.

Thanks in advance.

Figure out this font?

wolfsleepy — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:55 -0800

I'm asking on behalf of a friend who wants to print up some more materials for her salon, but hasn't had any luck finding the same font used for the sign. Any ideas? Already tried identifont.com without success. The sign in question is here.

How do I squeeze the most value out of my lifeless corpse?

davey_darling — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:02:03 -0800

When I die, I want to make sure that my body is stripped down and recycled much like an automobile at the wrecking yard. How do I go about making sure this happens? If everything goes well, I'm not going to die for a long, long time.

When the inevitable occurs, though, I want to make sure that a few things happen:

1. Every single useful part is removed and given to somebody who needs it - nothing is off limits here.
2. The rest of the body should be used for medical students to practice on (again, anything goes)
3. Is there some sort of charity that hooks necrophiliacs up with willing corpses?
4. Cheapest, least resource intensive funeral/burial possible. Is it true that when you do the whole "donate your body to science" thing that they pay for your burial?

Ok, #3 was only semi-serious, but the rest of it is legit.

I want to provide the highest possible societal value after I die.

Will the medical/funeral folks know who to contact to arrange for the above? Should I write out a letter detailing all of this?

I'm in Canada and will likely die here, for what that's worth.