tomb robbing was a routine ofa problemafter the American Civil War . Weirdly enough , most of these body - snatchers were not just looking for riches and gem . Often , aesculapian schools were looking for fresh cadaver to take apart and enquiry .
Fortunately , a couple of inventors had a root . Philip K Clover of Columbus , Ohio , developed a gadget he call the “ casket - torpedo ” . His invention evenreceived a patentin 1878 ( below ) . In his words , it was a equipment created to “ preclude the unauthorized resurrection of utter body . "
It involved a system of triggers and springs that explode an burst of lead balls if the coffin chapeau is opened after entombment . Despite its name , the casket - torpedo is more like to a landmine than an underwater missile .
Eager to parachute into this expanding market place , other bud entrepreneur take after Clover in acquire their own interpretation of the gadget . Judge Thomas N Howelladvertised his revision of the coffin - numbfish with the attention-getting motto : “ Sleep well sweet angel , let no fear of graverobber trouble thy rest period , for above thy shrouded soma dwell a crampfish , quick to make mincemeat of anyone who attempts to carry you to the pickling vat . ”
However , it does n’t come along that these gadget were frequently used . Atlas Obscurachatted to anthropologist Dr Kate Meyers Emery , who said : “ For the most part , these devices seem to have been used very little . They were definitely oddity designed to make money off of the far-flung veneration about eubstance snatching . ”
But the interrogation persist : Why was there such a spate of solemn robbers during this time ?
Despiteanti - robbing practice of law implementedin multiple states , gobs upon lashings of these crime occur in the late-19th century , peculiarly in Ohio . The most famous of which was the boy of the former - US President William Henry Harrison and Ohio Congressman John Scott Harrison .
The extent of the snatchings might be amplify , as newspaper were ready to jump on the sensationalist stories , prompting a bonny amount of public hysteria . However , as you ’ve seen , there were also a fair few inventors keen to jump on the bandwagon and take in a few pennies .
[ H / T : Atlas Obscura ]
