The Amazing Stuff

For Redditor QuantumFractal and his girlfriend, one of the worst days of their lives was when their fish Watson passed away. A faithful and beloved member of the family, instead of simply flushing him down the toilet, Watson’s owners decided that something more had to be done.

That’s when they came up with the idea of giving Watson a Viking funeral. A traditional way to honor the dead in pre-historic times, they knew that it would serve as a fitting monument to his life.

If there’s one fish deserving of such a tribute, it’s Watson.

They knew that he was worth all the trouble that went into preparations.

First, they created a Viking ship for him.

After they loaded Watson up, they headed to a nearby pond to begin the ceremony.

And in Viking tradition, they set the ship ablaze.

These swans seem like they were intrigued by the process, too.

Recognizing the significance of the event, they escorted Watson to the halls of Valhalla.

Goodnight, sweet fish. They may have left a few details out, but something tells me that Watson appreciated the effort all the same.

Hyong Yi’s wife Catherine Zanga died last year after a heartbreaking battle with ovarian cancer. Wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed after suffering such a devastating blow, Yi had to stay strong for his family. With two young children at home, he had to be their rock.

That’s when he decided to do something truly amazing. He came up with a way to commemorate the anniversary of Catherine’s death that would help them move on, and also ensure that she would never be forgotten.

Catherine’s death left a huge hole in her family’s hearts. All three of them felt lost after she was gone.

That’s when Yi decided to draft love letters to express the love he’s had bottled up inside since her death.

After writing 100 notes over the course of a month, he and his children walked around Charlotte, North Carolina, on the anniversary of Catherine’s death and handed the notes to strangers.

He based the content of each note on memories and conversations he and his wife shared over the course of their relationship.

“I wanted them to experience how it felt to give this gift, rather than just be spectators,” Yi said of getting his little ones involved.

The event prompted a number of Yi’s friends to create a website where the notes could be published online.

“The most difficult, rewarding part of the past year has been to try and define a life worthy of Catherine. What is a life well lived? My conclusion: a life filled with love. Catherine taught me this,” Yi wrote in a Facebook post.

It was also the culmination of a year-long healing process. “For the last month, I was really looking forward to doing this with my children.”

“People sometimes take loved ones for granted. Be thankful for everyone around you,” Yi’s daughter Anna told the media.

According to Yi, “one of the things my wife was most concerned about was being forgotten. I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen now.” We couldn’t agree more. As our hearts go out to Yi and his family, there’s no chance that we’ll forget about Catherine. Something tells me that members of this community will hold her in their hearts forever, too.

If you’d like to learn more about this project, head on over to Yi’s website.

All cultures have a way of celebrating the ones who have passed away. It might be funerals, it might be simply telling stories, or it might be the huge holiday we in the U.S. know as Halloween. But few come as close to the dead as the Ma’Nene festival that takes place in the Tana Toraja province of Sulawesi, Indonesia, where people spend quality time with their deceased loved ones — quite literally.

Ma’Nene is a festival of ancestor worship. When a person dies, their body is mummified using natural ingredients and buried in rock graves. This preservation allows for the family to come back an visit each year.

The festival, which has no set date but is usually held in late August, allows people to revisit their loved ones. This woman is having an emotional moment over the casket of her late husband.

But it goes further than just seeing the caskets.

The mummified bodies are removed from their coffins and lovingly tended to. This includes cleaning the bodies, removing their old clothes and giving them new ones.

Some of the bodies are even propped up so the family can gather around them, just as they would when the person was alive.

Looking into the face of death like this isn’t seen as scary or sad, but rather as a way to connect with death — and transcend it.

This mummy is especially heartrending — it’s a baby.

Dust and debris are removed from the body, and then the bodies are dressed. Their personal affects, like this man’s glasses, are kept, as well.

People so still respect the possible dangers of breathing in the dust, so many wear masks.

The photos you see here were taken by photographer Paul Koudounaris, who specializes in capturing the way different cultures approach, deal with, and celebrate death. This festival might seem macabre to people from other cultures, but to the people in Tana Toraja, it’s a heartfelt expression of a love that even death can’t conquer. “To the villagers it is sign of the love they still share for those who have passed on but are still present spiritually,” he explains. “It is a way of showing them respect by letting them know that they are still members of the family group, and still hold an important place in local society.”

Many people think looking into a face like this is frightening, but to the people in Tana Toraja, these are still the faces of their beloved relatives.

Ma’Nene might seem strange, maybe even distasteful, to those outside of this culture. But in a society that seeks to get as far away from death as possible, it’s refreshing to see people embrace and celebrate it so readily.

You can see more of Koudounaris’ photography on his website and Facebook page, and learn about the ways people all around the world honor their dead.

Dog owners everywhere are familiar with the Kong brand toy. The ultra-durable material has been proven to withstand even the toughest of canine teeth without causing damage to their dental health. They also feature the convenient opening for a treat to keep them occupied even longer.

While that usually means hours of fun for the dog, this poor pup suffered tragically from his favorite toy.

Warning: some of these photos may be hard to look at due to their graphic nature.

Maximus was a loyal, sweet, humble dog according to his human Jamie Stumpf.

She decribes the gentle rottie as a fearless defender of his pack, puppy raiser, cat whisperer, and an all-around amazing pooch.

But one day while playing with his favorite Kong toy, the pup’s tongue was suctioned in by its opening.

This is the totally normal, average toy most dog owners have probably seen.

As he continued to decline, Stumpf knew having a major portion of the tissue removed would severely hinder his quality of life.

And with a vet bill climbing over $3,700, she made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to put Maximus down.

(via San Fransisco Globe.)

As she and her family mourn this incredible loss, Stumpf hopes to warn others about this potential tragedy with their own pups.

Representatives from Kong have stated that this is the first time any health issue has been associated with their toys and that they are taking the steps to fully investigate and prevent any future family from experiencing this awful situation ever again.

According to experts, climate change has some pretty dire consequences in store for humans. Even if we halt greenhouse gas production today, the effects will still be felt on this planet for generations to come. Most of us know the usual list of climate change consequences — sea level rise, warmer winters, drought, extreme weather events — but one thing to add to that list is the reemergence of ancient viruses.

Trapped beneath the permafrost of places like Siberia are thousands of ancient microbes that were stuck there when the last ice age set in.

Now, with temperatures around the world rising thanks to climate change, the permafrost in these spots is not so permanent anymore.

This thawing ground has led to discoveries around the world of viruses that are thousands of years old, and possibly deadly to humans.

For example, the Mollivirus sibericum virus lay dormant under the Siberian tundra for 30,000 years before it was rediscovered by scientists a few years ago.

While these ancient viruses haven’t been shown to infect humans, it’s something we should watch out for.

Luckily, most of the discovered ancient viruses only target other single celled organisms. Despite that, some researchers are cautioning us to be careful while looking for these viruses. You never know if you might accidentally discover an ancient, deadly form of the flu.

(via Unexplained Mysteries)

The prospect of an ancient virus coming back to kill humanity is more than a little terrifying. Still, it would make for a great movie plot…

For two and a half years, Moscow resident Andrey Gorbov was missing without a trace. During one fine day in the early 2000s, Gorbov left his home without telling anyone and disappeared. Usually, with stories like these, you hope that there’s a happy ending, and hopefully Gorbov disappeared because he was kidnapped and struggled to make it home before he finally managed to escape back to the loving embrace of his family.

Sadly, this story doesn’t have a happy ending.

This is Gorbov a few months before he disappeared.

After over two years, Gorbov’s wife decided it was at least time to sell the garage where Gorbov kept his car. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she found in there.

Instead of being kidnapped, Gorbov had actually committed suicide in the back of his car, which remained undisturbed for the whole time he was missing.

His body was badly decomposed when his wife found him.

Alongside the body, police found four separate, heartbreaking suicide notes left by Gorbov.

This one reads: “Especially Kirill, forgive me. I am very bad father. Please, try to understand me.”

“Natasha, thanks for all. Forgive me. Finally you get rid of me.”

“Wishes: 1) Incineration 2) Do not take remains if you want 3) I don’t need funeral feast. I insist. 4) Don’t tell my mother. 5) Forget me.”

“For Police Department. I am Gorbov Andrey in adequate condition turning on the engine of my car. There is no reason to blame somebody. This is suicide. “

(source Reddit)

He had clearly suffered, but I can’t even imagine the anguish his family went through after this discovery. He did get his wish, though; he was forgotten for those two and a half years, at least.