Getting buried alive used to be a world-wide phobia.
You would pass out or go into a coma and everyone would just rush you into a really early grave.
It wasn't an unreasonable fear.
Christine Quigley, author of The Corpse: A History, writes that in the early 1900s, a case of premature burial was discovered an average of once a week.
Inventions abounded to prevent such a thing. Coffins were invented that provided an airway. Others were easy-open devices and some had flag signals, according to Atlas Obscura.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
