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Welcome
Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
A Taphophilia Thank You...
Taphophilia (dot) Com would not be possible without the knowledge, experience and talent of DarkestWeb. From its conception and early development, DarkestWeb was faced with many challenges; from inspiring and motivating, to providing guidance and direction. The continued dedication and support has produced results greater than ever expected, and for this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.
Announcements
Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!
Men of Mortuaries Calendar
To purchase your 2008 calendar, learn more about the KAMMCARES Foundation, or to be featured in the 2009 calendar, please visit Men of Mortuaries.
Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.
Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
Studio Indiana for more information.
West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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GULFPORT | Chips help identify bodies |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Saturday, 01 October 2005 |
By SCOTT MARSHALL and ROBIN FITZGERALD
SUN HERALD
GULFPORT - Forensic experts have implanted computer chips in the bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims to help identify the hundreds left dead in South Mississippi and Louisiana.
The process, known as radio frequency identification technology, has been used to help locate pets and livestock for 15 years. Katrina marks the first time that the chips have been used in a human disaster recovery effort, said Scott Silverman. He is CEO of the Delray Beach, Fla.-based Applied Digital, the parent company of VeriChip.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of computer chips in humans in October 2004, creating a universal way to give emergency medical personnel quick access to critical information when a person is unable to provide it themselves, said Silverman.
The chips replace the timeconsuming process of manual or computer records checks for people with cardiac problems, diabetes, implanted medical devices, Alzheimer's and other chronic health problems, Silverman said.
More than 500 of the chips, roughly the size of a grain of rice, were donated to South Mississippi and Louisiana, along with more than a dozen scanners, devices used to read the information stored in the chips.
"We're actually staging in Texas with 300 additional chips and two scanners to be ready should there be another mass casualty count," Silverman said as Hurricane Rita approached.
The chips in South Mississippi are being used by the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, or DMORT, a federal mortuary service set up in Harrison County to help identify the region's hurricane victims.
When a body is taken to DMORT, the victim's personal items are logged in, the body is cleaned and photographed and forensic investigators take dental photos and X-rays. A DNA sample is collected before the remains are thoroughly examined.
The chips are implanted in the upper right arm in a process much like giving an injection.
Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove has been assisted in the process by forensic teams from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and groups from Alabama. Coroners and deputy coroners from around the state will help finish the work.
Each chip is programmed with information specific to a body, such as what the person was wearing, where they were found and any distinguishable physical description. The information is entered in a database so that families seeking a missing loved one can ask experts to compare their information with characteristics assembled by investigators.
A bar code much like those used to price retail items is attached to the body and its storage bag. The bar code can be scanned to quickly identify the remains.
The technology is a welcome resource, said Lafayette County Coroner Chip Weaver, who, under Hargrove, leads the fatality recovery and the Mississippi Coroner/Medical Examiner Association.
Applied Digital donated 360 chips in Harrison County and 200 to Lafayette County, along with seven scanners that are used to access the information on the chips via bar codes, Silverman said. Hargrove heads the efforts for the six southern counties.
Silverman's company sent a 40-foot mobile clinic with four staff members at the request of the Mississippi Department of Health. The clinic provides food, water and medical supplies such as tetanus shots and other vaccinations. The clinic staffers have treated about 1,800 people, including 500 people within the first few days.
Applied Digital also donated chips and scanners to another DMORT facility in St. Gabriel, La.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/12732057.htm
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Taphophilia Facts
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In most states, embalming is not required by law. Bodies are cremated at temperatures of up to 1800 degrees, for an average of 2.5 hours.
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Quote Repository
“Where there is sorrow there is holy ground.” Oscar Wilde
Grave Epigrams
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Mrs Betsey W. wife of Mr Leonard Fisher died Dec 30 1836 Aged 63 years.
Dear Saviour I thy call obey
Resign to dust this cumberous clay
With sight renewed with joy I'll view
And feast upon thy glories too.
Dedham, MA 1836 |
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Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
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