Were there really bells attached to buried bodies?

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In the movie The Nun, Father Burke fell into a coffin and got buried alive in a grave with a tombstone.



There was a bell right in front of this tombstone and Father Burke was able to ring this bell by its attached string.



Were there really bells in front of tombstones and attached to buried bodies via a string?







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    up vote
    12
    down vote

    favorite
    1












    In the movie The Nun, Father Burke fell into a coffin and got buried alive in a grave with a tombstone.



    There was a bell right in front of this tombstone and Father Burke was able to ring this bell by its attached string.



    Were there really bells in front of tombstones and attached to buried bodies via a string?







    share|improve this question
























      up vote
      12
      down vote

      favorite
      1









      up vote
      12
      down vote

      favorite
      1






      1





      In the movie The Nun, Father Burke fell into a coffin and got buried alive in a grave with a tombstone.



      There was a bell right in front of this tombstone and Father Burke was able to ring this bell by its attached string.



      Were there really bells in front of tombstones and attached to buried bodies via a string?







      share|improve this question














      In the movie The Nun, Father Burke fell into a coffin and got buried alive in a grave with a tombstone.



      There was a bell right in front of this tombstone and Father Burke was able to ring this bell by its attached string.



      Were there really bells in front of tombstones and attached to buried bodies via a string?









      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Sep 9 at 9:51









      Paulie_D

      74k14261248




      74k14261248










      asked Sep 8 at 0:58









      Yu Zhang

      2,67831241




      2,67831241




















          1 Answer
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          Yes there were. These were known as Safety Coffins.

          The coffins contained a string attached to a bell and usually a breathing tube that could be opened by someone buried alive.



          Before modern medicine many of the ways used to confirm death were fairly subjective. Pricking someone with a pin, holding a mirror or other small shiny object under their nose to see if their breath would fog it, or even scalding their finger with boiling water were all tests used to check for signs of life.



          By the late 1700s many European countries had changed their laws to recommend not burying someone until 24-48 hours had passed.






          share|improve this answer
















          • 13




            And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
            – BruceWayne
            Sep 8 at 13:27







          • 4




            +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
            – Kwola-T
            Sep 8 at 13:45







          • 21




            @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
            – Mark S.
            Sep 8 at 16:59










          • There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
            – Joshua
            Sep 9 at 3:42


















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes








          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes








          up vote
          36
          down vote



          accepted










          Yes there were. These were known as Safety Coffins.

          The coffins contained a string attached to a bell and usually a breathing tube that could be opened by someone buried alive.



          Before modern medicine many of the ways used to confirm death were fairly subjective. Pricking someone with a pin, holding a mirror or other small shiny object under their nose to see if their breath would fog it, or even scalding their finger with boiling water were all tests used to check for signs of life.



          By the late 1700s many European countries had changed their laws to recommend not burying someone until 24-48 hours had passed.






          share|improve this answer
















          • 13




            And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
            – BruceWayne
            Sep 8 at 13:27







          • 4




            +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
            – Kwola-T
            Sep 8 at 13:45







          • 21




            @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
            – Mark S.
            Sep 8 at 16:59










          • There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
            – Joshua
            Sep 9 at 3:42














          up vote
          36
          down vote



          accepted










          Yes there were. These were known as Safety Coffins.

          The coffins contained a string attached to a bell and usually a breathing tube that could be opened by someone buried alive.



          Before modern medicine many of the ways used to confirm death were fairly subjective. Pricking someone with a pin, holding a mirror or other small shiny object under their nose to see if their breath would fog it, or even scalding their finger with boiling water were all tests used to check for signs of life.



          By the late 1700s many European countries had changed their laws to recommend not burying someone until 24-48 hours had passed.






          share|improve this answer
















          • 13




            And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
            – BruceWayne
            Sep 8 at 13:27







          • 4




            +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
            – Kwola-T
            Sep 8 at 13:45







          • 21




            @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
            – Mark S.
            Sep 8 at 16:59










          • There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
            – Joshua
            Sep 9 at 3:42












          up vote
          36
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          36
          down vote



          accepted






          Yes there were. These were known as Safety Coffins.

          The coffins contained a string attached to a bell and usually a breathing tube that could be opened by someone buried alive.



          Before modern medicine many of the ways used to confirm death were fairly subjective. Pricking someone with a pin, holding a mirror or other small shiny object under their nose to see if their breath would fog it, or even scalding their finger with boiling water were all tests used to check for signs of life.



          By the late 1700s many European countries had changed their laws to recommend not burying someone until 24-48 hours had passed.






          share|improve this answer












          Yes there were. These were known as Safety Coffins.

          The coffins contained a string attached to a bell and usually a breathing tube that could be opened by someone buried alive.



          Before modern medicine many of the ways used to confirm death were fairly subjective. Pricking someone with a pin, holding a mirror or other small shiny object under their nose to see if their breath would fog it, or even scalding their finger with boiling water were all tests used to check for signs of life.



          By the late 1700s many European countries had changed their laws to recommend not burying someone until 24-48 hours had passed.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Sep 8 at 3:07









          Legion600

          3,1761627




          3,1761627







          • 13




            And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
            – BruceWayne
            Sep 8 at 13:27







          • 4




            +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
            – Kwola-T
            Sep 8 at 13:45







          • 21




            @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
            – Mark S.
            Sep 8 at 16:59










          • There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
            – Joshua
            Sep 9 at 3:42












          • 13




            And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
            – BruceWayne
            Sep 8 at 13:27







          • 4




            +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
            – Kwola-T
            Sep 8 at 13:45







          • 21




            @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
            – Mark S.
            Sep 8 at 16:59










          • There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
            – Joshua
            Sep 9 at 3:42







          13




          13




          And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
          – BruceWayne
          Sep 8 at 13:27





          And this is where the term "saved by the bell" came from.
          – BruceWayne
          Sep 8 at 13:27





          4




          4




          +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
          – Kwola-T
          Sep 8 at 13:45





          +1 and not withstandjng Legion600's answer, It was a real fear to be buried alive. One reason this fear propagated was due to the natural decomposition of the human body. This would damage the inside of the coffin around the chest area. When people saw this after exhuming a body from a coffin, they assumed damage was scratch marks from the individual being buried alive and trying to get out!
          – Kwola-T
          Sep 8 at 13:45





          21




          21




          @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
          – Mark S.
          Sep 8 at 16:59




          @BruceWayne The wikipedia page linked in this answer and this page about the phrase both claim that you're wrong and that the phrase came from Boxing. As an aside, while there were many designs and a few examples built, it seems safety coffins were probably not used very much at all.
          – Mark S.
          Sep 8 at 16:59












          There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
          – Joshua
          Sep 9 at 3:42




          There's at least one case of a telephone in a coffin.
          – Joshua
          Sep 9 at 3:42


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