Monthly Archives: May 2013

May 16 2013

The Largest Cemetery in the World

wadi-us-salaam-3[1]

Wadi us-Salaam, which literally means the Valley of Peace, is an Islamic cemetery located in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. The cemetery covers an area of 1485.5 acres and contains millions of bodies, making it one of the strongest contender for the title of the largest graveyard on earth. Najaf itself is one of Iraq’s biggest cities, with a population of nearly 600,000. But the adjoining city of the dead holds the remains of millions, stretching for up to 10km along the valley. Wadi Al-Salam cemetery is also the only cemetery in the world where the process of burial is still continuing to day since more than 1,400 years.

May 16 2013

An Illustrated History of Gas Masks

ilhismask
The gas mask has a history that dates back thousands of years, though it wasn’t until World War I that it became nightmare fodder for Doctor Who and countless other stories. Here is a sometimes terrifying history of the gas mask, from its beginnings through the present day. VIA: –PRESURFER–

May 15 2013

Beautiful Portraits of 18th Century “Monstrosities”

ku-medium

The illustrations from this 18th century text are both beautiful and intensely disturbing. They come from a time when science was separating superstition from medical practice with the development of teratology, the study of deformities — but retained the unfortunate word “monster” as a medical term.