12 May,2024 07:13 AM IST | Columbia | A Correspondent
Clovisnerys Bejarano with her dead mother’s mummified corpse, describing her intact clothes and hair. PICS/NY POST
In the mountain town of San Bernardo, deceased Columbian residents, have been suddenly mummified, with intact trails of clothes and hair. "People were a little incredulous about what was happening," Rocio Vergara, a guide at the town cemetery's Museum of Mummies said.
After relocating the Alpine cemetery due to a flood, the desiccated corpses belonging to the people born in the past century were first dug out in the 1950s. It was then followed by a constant unearthing of these bodies in the 1980s, crossing over 80 per year. Today a dozen or so of these best-preserved species are on display at the Jose Arquimedes Castro Mausoleum for people to see.
"She still has her little brown face, and her hair, intact" Clovisnerys Bejarano, 63, said while describing her mother, Saturnina, who died 30 back. She is on display at the Historical Preservation Society. The dress she was interred in is as well preserved as the carnation clasped in her hands.
Locals have formed multiple theories regarding this phenomenon, including the good and bad karmas of the dead and their consumption of the local fruits, Guatila and Balu. But, none had a concrete reason for the perfect condition of the corpses' clothes. Some experts also believe the mummifications are a result of the bodies' place of burial in arid, above-ground vaults, which could have acted as a natural embalming agent.
An aerial view of the Jose Arquimedes Castro Mausoleum, where the bodies are preserved
"The wind is constantly blowing as it is hot," said Daniela Betancourt, an anthropologist at the National University of Colombia. "It is possible to assume that the vaults work like an oven ⦠they dehydrate you." However, there haven't yet been any studies on "what specific conditions cause people to mummify," she said.
U.S. tour and travel company teams up with Norwegian Pearl for an 11-day nude cruise
After organizing up to 75 nude cruises, an American Tour and Travel company is now partnering with Norwegian Pearl, for an 11-day nude cruise, setting sail from Miami to the Caribbean in the next February. Renamed The Big Nude Boat, this 968-foot vessel can accommodate around 2,300 passengers. "As always, it's our pleasure to provide you with the luxury of deciding what NOT to wear," reads a message on their website. To maintain hygiene and decency, guests are required wear clothes while sightseeing and in indoor dining rooms. Further, they are requested to lay down a towel on the floor, before sitting in the stateroom, pool deck, and the buffet area. They can enjoy the buffet in the nude outdoors.
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Dressing up Chow Chow dogs, Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province, China, unveiled fake pandas. The zoo officials decided to display the dogs due to unavailability of the actual pandas. This mismatch recieved a mixed response, with some accusing them for animal cruelty, while some finding them cute. "They are too small to run that fast! I think they're lovely, while the other one said they are cute", commented a fan on the social media.
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23-year-old Charlotte Gilmour, developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), a rare disorder that gave her painful blisters on her skin, mouth, and oesophagus, after consuming lamotrigine, an anti-depressant. "I looked in the mirror, and I just burst into tears. I think I subconsciously knew it was something quite serious," she said. She was discharged after 30 days of treatment.
Koji, a Singaporean restaurant is serving a questionably appetizing dish: raw octopus eggs. Tako Tamago, usually eaten with a side of soy sauce, is quite similar to salmon roe, the restaurant says. It is served encased in a white membrane, which gets cooked with a blowtorch to reveal the oblong eggs.
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Of all the things that can ruin a wedding, a woman identifying as a cat, crawling behind the altar wouldn't be on the top of your list. Imagine what the horror Mistique Morris, a bride from Oklahoma City felt when she saw a cat girl crouching down on the other side of their wedding venue. At first, she assumed it to be a cow instead.
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One can't even go to a resort without imminent death threatening them. The Recreo Verde tourist complex in Costa Rica has a mountain cavern, commonly known as the Cave of Death, where on entering la Cueva de la Muerte will lead to instant death. Only 2 metres deep and 3 metres long, it is filled with carbon monoxide, a toxic gas.
