Most graves are rather sedate affairs. Memorial stones typically contain the names, dates of birth and death, and brief and respectable epitaphs that tell you nothing about the person buried beneath them.

The meaning behind some memorials may never be known, particularly when those who knew the deceased are dead and gone themselves. For some people, however, their final resting place is a chance to have the last word in an argument or to celebrate their achievements in life.

Whatever the reason for their creation, some gravestones make for very interesting reading.

10 Sir Jeffrey Hudson

Born in 1619, Sir Jeffrey Hudson had a unique claim to fame when he was alive and his memorial ensures that he will remembered for it in death. Hudson was a dwarf in the court of Queen Henrietta Maria. He was a court jester, an explorer, a soldier, and a slave. He was even captured by pirates.

But his finest hour came when he was hidden inside a pie which was then presented to King Charles I. At some point, Hudson burst out of the pie, presumably to cries of “Surprise!” He was dressed in a miniature set of armor made especially for him. Along with a monkey and a giant, he became a kind of pet of the royal family. The giant and the dwarf developed an act for the entertainment of the royal court.

Hudson was often used to deliver messages for the royal family while they were in the midst of civil war. He was promoted to the position of Captain of Horse, supposedly for being a crack shot and a good rider.

In 1644, Hudson challenged a man to a duel and shot his opponent dead, which was unfortunate as his enemy had armed himself only with a water pistol. Hudson was sentenced to death. But after the queen’s intervention, he was exiled instead.

Soon after, he was captured by Barbary pirates and sold into slavery in Africa. Hudson spent 25 years as a slave, during which time he grew 56 centimeters (22 in). He claimed that his growth spurt was caused by the constant “buggery” he was subjected to. Eventually, he was rescued, only to be brought home and thrown into prison for being Catholic. He spent the next 14 years there.^[1]

Though Hudson’s life was full of adventure, his memorial contains only the line, “A Dwarf presented in a pie to King Charles 1st.” However, if you wanted something that summed up the strange nature of Jeffrey Hudson’s life, that line is probably as good as any.

9 Jules Verne

The author Jules Verne is considered to be one of the founders of modern science fiction writing. The author of Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea wanted to create a new genre that combined fiction with scientific fact—or as he called it, “scientifiction.”^[2]

So it was natural that Verne would want a memorial at his death that was both remarkable and challenged the imagination. The grave seems perfectly conventional at first. It has a headstone giving details of his birth and death.

At the base of the gravestone, however, a statue of a naked man emerges from the ground. Presumably, it represents Jules Verne or possibly Christ pushing back the tombstone and climbing out of the grave with his hand stretched toward the heavens. The piece was designed by Albert-Dominique Roze and is entitled Towards Immortality and Eternal Youth.

The statue is certainly memorable and challenges the imagination, though the purpose is not clear. It is also likely to scare the living daylights out of families visiting the cemetery at dusk.

8 Charles Pigeon

Charles Pigeon seems to have been proud of two things—his family and his invention. Pigeon had invented a gas lamp which did not explode. That would have been handy in 1884.

The lamp won a silver medal at the 1855 Paris Exposition. He sold the lamps in a variety of styles in his own store in Paris and patented the design. He must have made a good living from the lamps because he was able to have a remarkable memorial built on a plot large enough to hold 18 members of his family.

The gravestone takes the shape of a double bed and contains effigies of his wife in evening dress and Pigeon in a business suit. He is reading from a book while his wife listens to him. As if that weren’t grand enough, an angel hovers over them while holding a Pigeon lamp.^[3]

7 Jerry Bibb Balisok

The memorial to Jerry Bibb Balisok is as strange as it is misleading. The plaque declares that Balisok was murdered in Guyana in 1978 and includes the epitaph “Damn The State Dept.”

Balisok’s mother had erected the memorial after seeing what she believed to be the body of her son on TV after the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana, in which more than 900 religious followers of Jim Jones were killed in a mass suicide/murder in their compound-cum-temple. It is unclear why she thought Balisok was there.

Balisok, a one-time professional wrestler known as Mr. X, fled the US with his girlfriend after being charged with check fraud. The bodies recovered after the Jonestown Massacre were so badly burned that they were unidentifiable. But Mrs. Balisok was convinced that her son was dead and erected the memorial stone over an empty grave.

Balisok’s mother died in 1983, maintaining to the end of her life that her son had been killed in the massacre. Perhaps it was just as well that she died when she did. In 1989, Balisok resurfaced after being charged with the attempted murder of his business partner. It turned out that Balisok had assumed a stolen identity when he first absconded and had left a trail of criminal carnage behind him ever since.^[4]

6 Jonathan And Mary Reed

They say true love is hard to find. So when you do find someone you are happy with, why let a little thing like death come between you? When Jonathan Reed’s wife, Mary, died in 1893, he laid her to rest in a mausoleum in Brooklyn and placed an empty coffin next to it for himself.

Reed decorated the tomb “like a living room in a fine house,” with a stove, paintings on the wall, a clock, and pictures of Mary. He even included his wife’s half-finished knitting and their pet parrot. When the parrot died, he had it stuffed and returned it to its perch.

Jonathan Reed visited his wife in the mausoleum every day until his death over 10 years later. He would arrive just as the cemetery opened and only left when they were locking the gates each night.

Soon he was joined by friends and then visitors from around the world, including seven Buddhist monks who traveled from Burma specifically to visit the mausoleum. Several ladies made it their mission to try to cure Jonathan Reed of his grief, although they were not successful.

In 1905, Jonathan Reed was found dead on the floor of the mausoleum. It is said that his arm was outstretched toward his wife. He was finally laid to rest beside her.^[5]

5 Giles Corey

Giles Corey was a farmer in Salem when he was accused of witchcraft in 1692. An unpopular man, he had a reputation for violence, having once been charged with beating his farmhand to death. Corey’s wife was initially charged with witchcraft, and Giles Corey even testified against her.

Then a number of villagers accused Corey of using witchcraft against them. When his accusers appeared to suffer fits in the courtroom, Corey’s hands were bound to prevent him from casting spells on them. After his arrest, he refused to testify further against his wife.

Giles Corey refused to enter a plea at the trial, and he was tortured in an attempt to make him speak. He was stripped naked and laid on the ground. Then a board was placed on top of him. Heavy stones were positioned on the board to crush him. More stones were added over several days of torture to try to compel him to speak.

Despite the torture, Corey supposedly refused to speak, except to urge his tormentors to add “more weight.” His body was ordered to be buried in an unmarked grave on Gallows Hill.

Two days after Giles Corey’s death, his wife was hanged in the same place. A simple gravestone was added at a later date with his name, the date of his death, and the legend “Pressed to Death.”^[6]

4 Robert Clay Allison

Robert Clay Allison was a gunslinger of the Old West. Having fought for the Confederacy, he became a cattle herder. In 1870, he killed Charles Kennedy by breaking into the jail where Kennedy was held, putting a rope around his neck, and dragging him behind his horse up and down the main street until he was decapitated. It wasn’t Allison’s first killing. Or, sadly, his last.

Allison was not killed in a gunfight. Instead, a freak accident took his life when a sack of grain fell from a moving wagon. As Allison reached for it, he fell and the wagon wheel ran over his head.

He is buried in Reeves County, Texas. Allison was said to have disliked his reputation as a shootist and did everything he could to live it down. Perhaps, then, he would not have been too happy with his headstone. It reads: “He never killed a man that did not need killing.”^[7]

3 Lilly E. Gray

The grave of Lilly E. Gray is perhaps the most interesting thing about her. Born in 1880, she seems to have led a fairly humdrum life until she married Elmer Gray, who had served multiple prison sentences for burglary. Elmer Gray seems to have been something of a conspiracy theorist. During one of his parole hearings, he alleged that he had been “kidnapped by five democrat officials.”

Elmer and Lilly married when she was 72 and he was just a year younger. She died of natural causes six years later.

Her life would have been entirely unremarkable, except to her family, had it not been for the headstone which Elmer Gray erected over his wife’s grave. It read: “Lilly Edith Gray, Victim of the Beast 666.”^[8]

There is no clue on the grave as to the meaning, but its ominous words have spawned dozens of theories. Most of them, shall we say, are incapable of proof. It is known that Elmer Gray in his last years had some mental health issues, so the most likely explanation is that he ordered his wife’s stone while delusional.

Still. It makes for a good story.

2 Rosalia Lombardo

Rosalia Lombardo was born in 1918 in Sicily and died just two years later. Devastated by grief, her father approached the famous embalmer Dr. Alfredo Salafia and asked him to preserve her body. Hers was one of the very last corpses to be placed in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo.

Dr. Salafia did such a good job that Rosalia looked as though she were sleeping. Her body was placed in a glass tomb in a small chapel at the end of the catacombs. She is so lifelike that many locals believed that she was a doll. Although the body has begun to decay in recent years, Dr. Salafia’s skill was highly regarded and his embalming technique is a closely guarded secret.^[9]

Quite why Rosalia’s father wanted to preserve his daughter forever is not known. But thanks to the skills of Dr. Salafia and the Capuchin monks who guarded the tomb, Sleeping Beauty, as she came to be called, sleeps on.

1 Timothy Clark Smith

Timothy Clark Smith must have been a careful man. The sort of person who looks twice before crossing the road. During the 17th century, it is true that a large number of cases of apparently dead people narrowly escaped being buried alive. There is no way to tell how many more failed to wake up in time.

Smith was a teacher, merchant, clerk, and finally a doctor. He took a position as a staff surgeon in the Russian army and probably saw a number of disturbing near misses as part of his job. He was said to be mortally afraid of contracting sleeping sickness and waking in his grave.

So when he died in 1893, it was perhaps inevitable that he would take steps to make sure that he could attract attention if he needed to. He installed a viewing window in his coffin and ensured that the window was positioned at the bottom of a cement tube that led to the surface. It is also believed that he was buried with a hammer and chisel and held a bell in his hand to attract the attention of rescuers.^[10]

Smith’s grave can still be seen in the cemetery in Vermont, and the viewing window is still there. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on your point of view—Smith did not take into account the effect of condensation on the glass. It is now almost impossible to see anything in the grave below.

Ward Hazell is a writer who travels and an occasional travel writer.

The gradual process of decline that brought the Roman Empire to an end is one of the all-time favorite history topics. That a nation so powerful could fall has always acted as a warning to any subsequent state that rose to a privileged geopolitical position. The ascension of Commodus in AD 180 is considered by many as the beginning of the end. But in reality, the exhaustion of Rome had started long before.

10 Unclear Succession System

Augustus, the first Roman emperor, could never establish a clear imperial succession system. The result: When the time came to replace an emperor, there were numerous rivals for the throne competing with one another.

Sometimes, the potential emperors had an incentive to end the service of the ruling emperor prematurely so that they could take the throne for themselves. This is part of the reason behind the long record of imperial assassination plots.

The imperial succession was a fragile, unstable system. Within the first 200 years of imperial tradition, Titus (r. AD 79–81) was the only emperor who succeeded his own father, Vespasian, and Commodus in AD 161 was the first emperor to be born to a ruling emperor, Marcus Aurelius (r. AD 161–180).

9 Currency Debasement

When Emperor Nero faced serious economic issues, he decided to debase the currency. Nero reduced the purity of Roman coins by decreasing the amount of precious metal in them. He did this gradually, expecting that the coins would still be accepted for their nominal value. But the reduction in purity became noted, followed by inflation.

The coin debasement became a tendency followed by subsequent emperors. The denarius, the most common Roman coin in circulation, had an average silver content of 91.8 percent during the time of Nero (r. AD 54–68), 76.2 percent during the time of Marcus Aurelius (r. AD 161–180), and 58.3 percent by the time of Emperor Septimius Severus (r. AD 193–211).

8 Inflation

Debasement of Roman coins triggered a severe inflation problem. By AD 301, Emperor Diocletian was forced to issue an Imperial Edict on Prices to control inflation. During the 150 years prior to Diocletian’s edict, the value of silver had increased 86 times and gold, 45. The edict did little to solve the inflation problem.

A measure of wheat in Roman Egypt that sold for six drachmas in the first century AD increased to 200 drachmas by AD 276. Egyptian wheat sold for 78,000 drachmas in AD 324 and over 2 million drachmas by AD 334. The price of 0.5 kilograms (1 lb) of pork was fixed at 12 denarii by the edict but cost 90 denarii by AD 412.

Another side effect of inflation was the hoarding of coins. Unlike the debased coins, the “good coins” were kept as long as possible. Archaeologists have found many coin hoards from the late Roman Empire, a sign of economic uncertainty.

7 The Year Of The Four Emperors

The AD 68–69 period is known in Roman history as “The Year of the Four Emperors,” which may be considered a premonition of the countless episodes of imperial instability and double-crossing that would later affect the Roman emperors.

After the death of Nero in June 68, the three emperors that followed only reigned for a short time: Galba for seven months (assassinated), Otho for three months (committed suicide), and Vitellius for eight months (also assassinated). In AD 69, Vespasian became the next emperor until his death in AD 79.

The political turmoil of this period is reflected in the writings of Tacitus. His introduction to this period of Roman history (Histories 1.2) reads: “The history on which I am entering is that of a period rich in disasters, terrible with battles, torn by civil struggles, horrible even in peace and four emperors killed by the sword.”

6 Army’s Diminishing Returns

During the times of the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire, the Roman army was supported with the booty of conquest. Each new region that was conquered by the Romans brought new land, new slaves to be sold, new taxpayers, and other forms of wealth.

When the Roman Empire reached its maximum size, the army activity became largely defensive. There was no booty conquest to support the soldiers, and the army had to be supported by taxes.

Once the guarantor of Roman growth and prosperity, the army gradually and ironically became a necessary evil that drained the wealth of the Roman people. The increasing tax pressure required to run the army forced many members of the Roman middle class into poverty (Matyszak 2008: 227).

5 Barbarian Pressure

Previously, one traditional explanation for the fall of Rome was that barbarian invasions led to its disintegration. Although the barbarian pressure played a role, this was not the only reason for the fall of Rome.

Many waves of barbarian armies weakened both the northern and eastern borders of Rome, gradually shrinking the size of the empire. Rome lost Britain in AD 406 when the Roman legions stationed there were summoned to continental Rome due to the threat of the Huns. Rome was sacked in AD 410 by the Visigoths under the leadership of Alaric.

By AD 455, Spain and North Africa were lost to the Vandals, who also sacked Rome the same year. Barbarian pressure was not a new thing in Rome. What was different this time was the almost complete incompetence of the Roman army to successfully repulse the invaders as they had many times in the past.

4 Praetorian Guard Corruption

The members of the Praetorian Guard, a special branch of the Roman army, were household troops for the emperor and his personal bodyguards. As the power of the army increased, the Praetorian Guard occasionally got involved in the process of appointing new emperors, usually favoring those who favored them.

Their involvement grew larger until they were able to literally make and unmake Roman emperors. In many cases, the Praetorian Guard simply murdered these emperors. By the third century AD, no Roman emperor could rule without the support of the military in general and the Praetorian Guard in particular.

Perhaps one of the most astonishing signs of the Praetorian Guard corruption was a practice called the “donative.” This was an economic incentive paid to the Praetorian Guard.

The reasons for this incentive varied. But one type of donative contributed to the political instability of Rome: A pretender to the throne would promise to pay a substantial reward if he became emperor. The sooner the acting emperor “finished” his government, the better for the Praetorian Guard’s pockets.

Emperor succession became truly messy during the late history of the Western Roman Empire. Many emperors died by the sword of their own bodyguards, who were anxious to receive their donative.

3 Concentration Of Wealth

Although Rome is often depicted as a glorious and advanced nation in the imagination of the general public, social inequality was deeply rooted in Roman society. The backbone of the Roman economy was agriculture. It has been estimated that more than 90 percent of the late empire’s population were rural poor and endured a precarious existence.

This also implied an imbalance between the rural and the urban. Cities were sometimes seen as “predators” on the labor of peasants leading to the exhaustion of the land. Based on osteological studies of Roman skeletons from all periods and all parts of the empire, health issues linked to malnutrition were a common occurrence (Tainter 1990: 133; McKeown 2010: 58).

2 Size Of The Empire

The size of the Roman Empire caused a number of issues. Distances were so long that travel across the empire took weeks. Its borders were so big that they required a considerable army presence to keep them safe. But above all, it was no longer possible to control this vast realm from the city of Rome.

These challenges forced Emperor Diocletian to split the empire in two. The Western Roman Empire was centered around Rome, and the Eastern Roman Empire had the city of Byzantium as its capital.

The size of the Roman Empire is central to the study of its fall. It has stimulated many academic discussions about the limits of territorial expansion affecting all political units of a considerable size. Even today, historians and sociologists keep exploring this intriguing topic.

1 Romulus Augustulus Deposition

On September 4, AD 476, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer, a Germanic chieftain. Odoacer had served in the Roman army for years and had attained the rank of general.

A Roman emperor being deposed by a military leader was nothing new in Rome. The novelty was that nobody else was named emperor after Romulus Augustulus’s deposition and that Odoacer was crowned as king of Italy.

At this point, the Roman Empire was a shadow of its former self. Even the capital of the Western Empire had been moved from Rome to Ravenna. The Roman West was no longer an empire. It had dissolved into several smaller political units (kingdoms and city-states). The imperial traditions remained alive in the Eastern Roman Empire until its fall in 1453.

When it comes to street foods, you might be accustomed to your local Halal cart, or maybe that hot dog stand on the corner. However, if you are willing to expand your cultural horizons even further, an entirely new world of food will open up for you. Japanese culture boasts some of the most creative and mouthwateringly delicious street foods imaginable. From the sweet to the savory, these are 10 popular Japanese street foods that’ll have you drooling over your keyboard. 

10. Karaage

Vegans and vegetarians aside, it’d be pretty hard to find someone who’ll pass up on a plate of fried chicken. A beloved comfort food in many cultures, fried chicken has been taken in some truly inventive directions, not the least of which being Karaage.

The name itself is attributed to the cooking methods where diced-up bits of meat, in this instance chicken, are marinated and then deep-fried until golden brown. Where Karaage diverges from typical fried chicken is through its marinade which is frequently a blend of soy sauce, sake, ginger, and garlic. This method ensures that, after the frying is complete, the inside of the chicken will not only be juicy and succulent but imbued with extra umami flavor as well. The exterior’s crispiness is usually attributed to the coating which can either be wheat flour or potato starch.

Even though chicken is the most popular option, the preparation can easily be applied to seafood and other types of meat as well. With its excellent combination of crunch and unparalleled taste, Karaage is a favorite of many Japanese citizens, serving as a home-cooked and street vendor staple. 

9. Tako Tamago

Now of course eggs, whether they are fried, scrambled, or poached, are a staple of countless diets worldwide. However, the Tako Tamago takes the concept of a poached egg and takes it to its most visually dazzling and uniquely flavored conclusion. Tako Tamago is a unique little dish, even among other Japanese street foods, boasting a unique combination of elements. 

A Tako Tamago contains a quail egg, an already diminutive egg, that has been put inside a tiny, bite-sized octopus. Its final appearance is quite the feast for the eyes before one even consumes it, with the egg almost serving as the brain of the octopus. However, the dish’s appeal doesn’t stop at its appearance, as the combination of the poached quail egg and the chewy octopus makes for a superb crossbreed of flavors.

Tako Tamago, much like many other Japanese street and vendor foods, is typically served on a skewer, making it a very portable dish despite its odd appearance. The dish is honestly a perfect little microcosm of Japanese street foods, as it boasts not only a dazzling visual gimmick but yummy flavors as well.

8. Korokke

Before properly discussing Korokke, it’s important to understand the Western dish that influenced it, that being the Croquette. Croquettes originated in France and consist of a filling that is tossed in a special sauce, breaded, and then fried till the outside is crispy. This is quite fitting as the name Croquette even derives from the French word croquer which means “to crunch.”

Korokke takes the Croquette and puts a thoroughly Japanese spin on it with fillings like mashed potatoes, ground meat, or a mixture of vegetables. When everything is prepared properly, you’ll be treated to a perfectly balanced dish that boasts both a crispy outside and a creamy interior. This is only enhanced by the wide range of ways the filling can be customized with other ingredients, such as beef, pork, seafood, and even curry. It’s also very common to find Korokke paired with a side of tonkatsu sauce which only serves to heighten its flavor profile. 

Oftentimes the Korokke can find itself sandwiched between two pieces of bread, turning it into a Korokke Pan, adding even more to the dish’s convenient nature. Its utility and delicious flavors have turned Korokke into a staple of Japanese street foods, as well as school lunches and bento boxes. 

7. Okonomiyaki

Everyone loves pancakes, but rest assured, an Okonomiyaki isn’t your run-of-the-mill pancake you’d get at IHOP or Cracker Barrel. As opposed to typical pancakes which are predicated on their sweetness, an Okonomiyaki is more of a savory affair.

Much like Takoyaki, one of the major appeals of Okonomiyaki is just how customizable it is, with its name even translating to “grilled as you like it.” Much like regular pancakes, the batter begins with flour but from there, this is where it truly becomes its own unique creation. This batter is then mixed with shredded cabbage, eggs, and a variety of other add-ons such as meat, seafood, and even cheese. If you’ve ever had an Okonomiyaki, then you know that the final product is an absolute symphony of different textures and flavors.  

Another aspect leading to Okonomiyaki’s widespread success is the interactive element that goes hand-in-hand with it. It’s not uncommon for restaurants to prepare the Okonomiyaki right in front of the customer or even allow them to cook it themselves, very much like Korean barbeque. With all of this in mind, you can easily see how this customizable pancake broke out of Osaka and went worldwide. 

6. Yakitori

A commonality among Japanese foods is that many of them could easily slot right into being casual street food or served at an actual restaurant. A perfect example of this is Yakitori, a very popular skewered chicken dish that’s usually prepared over hot charcoals. 

The dish itself couldn’t be simpler, it’s diced chicken pieces marinated in a soy-based tare sauce, cooked, and then served on a skewer. This simple cooking method results in mouthwateringly tender and smoky meat complete with a delicious caramel-like glaze. However, Yakitori isn’t solely dependent on chicken as one can easily substitute other ingredients like vegetables, beef, or seafood.

Yakitori is a very recreational food and you’ll often see people enjoying it with a cold beer in their other hand. Often the best foods don’t need flashy theatrics or fanciful plating, as sometimes simplicity and good flavor are more than enough. Just imagine walking home on a cold day in Japan and having the aromas of the still-cooking skewers waft toward your nose. Much like many of the street foods on this list, not only has Yakitori exploded outside of Japan but it has transcended its original format as well. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to go to an indoor eating establishment and find it on the menu right alongside more complicated items. 

5. Taiyaki

Japanese culture is rife with sensational sweets and creative confections, many of them having lineages going back hundreds of years. One such treat is Taiyaki, a Japanese pastry with the unique visual distinction of being molded in the shape of a fish. The pastry’s fish name translates to “baked sea bream,” a fish regarded as a symbol of good fortune in Japanese culture.

Originating in Toyko during the Meiji period – a time of great economic, political, and social change – Taiyaki was created by a man named Seijiro Kanbei. The original, and most standard, version of Taiyaki is filled with sweet red bean paste, which is made from azuki beans and serves a popular filling in many Japanese treats. This, like many other Japanese snacks, can be altered or customized with various locations filling their Taiyaki with sweet potato, custard, chocolate, or even savory options like cheese and sausage. 

This is all held together by the batter which, similarly to pancake or waffle batter, is poured into fish-shaped molds and cooked until it’s a savory golden brown. With its lovely flavors and its charming visual charm, Taiyaki has become a prime example of Japanese comfort food.

4. Yakisoba

There are countless Japanese noodle dishes ranging from cheap street food to the most lavish of five-star cuisine. However, Yakisoba seems to hold a very special place in people’s hearts and it isn’t too hard to understand why. 

Yakisoba is made by stir-frying the ingredients, which include ramen noodles, as well as vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and onions. This cooking method is where the dish derives its name, which is a translation of the term “grilled noodles.” Meat is also an optional ingredient as well, with many opting to add in bits of thinly sliced pork, beef, or seafood. What sets the dish apart is the special sauce the stir-fried ingredients are seasoned with, that being a savory-sweet Yakisoba sauce made from Worcestershire. Once everything is cooked to completion, the final product can be topped with bonito flakes, pickled ginger, and mayonnaise.

All this coalesces into a savory dish that, due to the inclusion of meats and seasonings, boasts a strong umami taste. Unami, when translated into English, means means “essence of deliciousness” and is common among meaty and savory Japanese dishes. Due to its portable nature, as well as its mix of textures and flavors, Yakisoba has attained a global fandom, becoming rapidly more widespread across several cultures.

3. Onigiri

One need only look at how often it pops up in the hands of anime characters to understand Onigiri’s immense popularity. For example, in One Piece when Roronoa Zoro is tied up in Axe Hand Morgan’s base, a little girl from the surrounding town brings him homemade Onigiri. When the deadliest swordsman in the East Blue can’t resist their deliciousness, then you know it’s a treat worth getting excited for.

The name translates to “rice ball,” and the dish has served as a pillar of Japanese cuisine for several decades now. The handheld snack starts with rice which receives a little seasoning via some salt or vinegar, as well as a sheet of nori, a crispy piece of seaweed. Once the base is prepared, the Onigiri receives its filling which is where its customizable nature comes into play. Simply put, the sky is the limit with Onigiri, with the fillings ranging from sweet to savory, and ranging in texture as well. This includes pickled plums, grilled salmon, kimchi, cheese, tuna mayo, and teriyaki chicken, each one offering something different to enjoy when packed into the rice.

Due to its diverse fillings, as well as its portable size, Onigiri is a staple of Japanese lunches, aiding with its constantly expanding worldwide appeal. 

2. Dango

Dango’s name stems from the Japanese verb “dango,” which means to knead or form something into a ball. The sweet Japanese treat is a chewy little bite-sized dumpling made from glutinous rice flour and served on a stick in groups of three to five. Typically, the most popular filling for Dango is Anko, also known as red bean paste, a topping/filling in many Japanese desserts.

Due to the rice flour used in its preparation, Dango is typically white in its appearance but people often use things like fruits, herbs, and eggs, to alter its flavor and color. This is most relevant when it comes to Hanami Dango, a type of multicolored dango, which is typically sold and enjoyed during cherry blossom season in Japan. There is also Kuri Dango, a wonderful variant if you are a fan of nuts, with the Dango being covered in a sweet pureed chestnut paste. Additionally, there is Goma Dango, a version that is filled with Anko but is finished with a layer of sesame seeds before being fried to crispy perfection. It’s this combination of simplicity, variation, and inherent tradition that has kept Dango as a beloved Japanese treat for many decades.

1. Takoyaki

Takoyaki is a favorite of many Japanese food connoisseurs, with its popularity extending beyond Osaka, Japan’s borders, and into the United States. Its name, Takoyaki, is a one-for-one translation of what it is, that being grilled/fried octopus, though other ingredients are often added in as well. 

The cooking process begins with the Takoyaki’s batter, which is made from flour, egg, and dashi, the latter being a type of Japanese soup stock. This is mixed with diced octopus, pickled ginger, green onions, and any additional mix-ins the chef or customer desires. These mix-ins can include bits of sausage, cheese, mochi, corn, kimchi, and even other types of seafood like shrimp.

Once the batter and the mix-ins are prepared, it’s then poured into a very special cooking mold, built to create the Takoyaki’s circular shape. If prepared properly, the final product should be a perfectly circular bite-sized ball with a fluffy inside and a crispy outside. Once complete, the Takoyaki balls are often coated in a healthy layer of a special takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed flakes, and bonito flakes. With its combination of delectable textures and its inherently customizable nature, it’s not surprising Takoyaki has taken the culinary world by storm.

Most people do not like to think too much about cemeteries. We tend to visit them only as often as we need to and then leave as quickly as is decently possible. This is a shame, because there are some cemeteries that are well worth closer inspection.

Though in modern times, we tend to be somewhat squeamish about the process of death and mortal decay, it has often been celebrated in ways that are endearing, interesting, or, sometimes, downright strange. Here, we look at a few of them.

10 Merry Cemetery

The Church of the Assumption in Sapanta, Northern Romania, serves a small town of only around 3,000 people. Life there is often hard, and the townspeople are mostly poor. Though they may not have much wealth in life, they are guaranteed a lavish and rather unique final resting place.

Since 1935, the buried dead have been interred in Merry Cemetery. Each grave is given a hand-carved headstone, colorfully decorated in, shall we say, a naive style and adorned with a bespoke poem that celebrates their life.

If your Romanian is good, you can wander around the cemetery reading the inscriptions, written in the first person from the dead person to you. Some poems are funny, such as Ioan Toaderu’s, which reads:

One more thing I loved very much,
To sit at a table in a bar
Next to someone else’s wife

And some are sad or even angry, like this one from a three-year-old girl, which is directed at the taxi driver who ran her over:

Burn in hell, you damn taxi
That came from Sibiu.
As large as Romania is
You couldn’t find another place to stop,
Only in front of my house to kill me?

If your Romanian is not so good, you might just enjoy looking at the colorful carvings which sometimes depict the manner of their subject’s dying in a disturbingly comic fashion.^[1]

9 The Hanging Cemetery

For centuries, the people of the mountainous region of Sagada in the Philippines have chosen not so much to bury their dead as to hang them out to dry. The period from death to interment is a relatively long one. The deceased is first placed in a “death chair” inside their home, and the chair is positioned facing the front door so that they can “welcome” visitors. The corpse is covered with rattan leaves and smoked, which serves to preserve the body and also to help rid the home of that just-dead smell.

The corpse remains in the chair for several days before it begins the next stage of its final journey. Traditionally, it is placed in the fetal position, with legs tucked under the chin. Limbs will be broken to accomplish this if necessary, though in more recent times, fewer families are willing to do so. The body is then wrapped in fresh rattan leaves and a blanket and carried by mourners to the cemetery. There is often a large number of people willing to act as pallbearers, since it is considered lucky if any of the bodily fluids leak through the leaves and drip on the mourners.^[2]

Once at the cliffside cemetery, the body is fitted inside a coffin, usually only 1 meter (3.3 ft) wide. The coffin is then nailed to the side of the cliff. The higher the coffin is placed, the greater the person’s position in the tribe was in life. It is believed that the elevated coffins will bring them closer to their ancestral spirits.

The privilege of a hanging coffin is not open to everyone. It is reserved mostly for tribe elders, as it is believed that the corpses of those who died young are considered bad luck.

8 The Underwater Cemetery

An interment at the Neptune Memorial Reef gives a whole new meaning to the saying, “He sleeps with the fishes.”

Found about 5 kilometers (3 mi) off the coast of Florida, the Neptune Memorial Reef has been artificially created in around 12 meters (40 ft) of water. It has several classical-style statues to give it an Atlantis feel and would be a paradise for scuba divers. However, not only has the reef been built to encourage marine life, but it has also been specifically made to hold the cremated remains of those who want to be buried at sea.^[3]

It is hoped that the remains will help to feed the coral and expand the reef. Although the burial of uncremated remains would be more nutrient-rich, they are currently not permitted.

7 Cross Bones

The Southwark area of London, where Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre once stood, was always a rather seedy place. There were a large number of taverns and a large amount of prostitution. During the 12th century, the bishop of Winchester had the right to license and tax prostitutes, who were known as the “Winchester Geese” because of their habit of exposing their white breasts to passersby. The phrase “bitten by a Winchester Goose” meant “contracted a sexually transmitted disease.”

The brothels, known as “stews,” thrived despite periodic attempts to close them down, so they were brought under the control of the Church, and regulations were drawn up requiring that prostitutes be registered, did not work on religious holidays, and did not sleep with anyone for free (presumably so that no one would feel hard done by).^[4]

Although the bishop was content to tax the working girls, he was not prepared to bury them in holy soil. A plot of unconsecrated land, officially called the Single Woman’s Churchyard but unofficially known as the Cross Bones Cemetery, was set aside for their remains.

In the 17th century, Cross Bones became a graveyard for paupers and those without the means to pay for their burial. As a final indignity, their corpses were often stolen by body snatchers.

In 1992, the Museum of London carried out an excavation at Cross Bones. They found bodies crammed in on top of each other and, most surprisingly, discovered that over half of the bodies were from those aged under five years old at the time of their deaths.

6 Napoleon’s Cemetery

The island of San Michele stands in the Venetian Lagoon, and its cemetery is hidden by high walls, although it is open to visitors. The island was inhabited by monks from the 15th century until comparatively recently. Their monastery boasts a domed roof and a magnificent statue of an angel over the entrance.

When Napoleon invaded Venice, he decreed that, because of Venice’s tendency toward flooding, it was unhygienic to bury the dead on the main island. (You can see his point.) San Michele was designated as the official Venetian cemetery, and it is still in use today. The island offers fabulous views in a prestigious location, sitting as it does between Venice and Murano.

The dead may have expected to be able to rest in peace there, but since 1995, overcrowding at San Michele has meant that “inhabitants” can only be granted a ten- or 20-year lease, after which their remains are evicted to make way for new tenants.^[5]

5 The Cemetery Of 200,000 (And 1)

Okunoin Cemetery in Japan contains almost a quarter of a million graves but is the focus of only one. It is the final resting place of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most important people in Japanese religious history. He is said to be resting in eternal meditation while he awaits the coming of the Buddha of the Future.^[6]

While he waits, Kobo Daishi is said to provide help to those pilgrims who ask for it. Visitors must bow before crossing a bridge into the cemetery, which contains 200,000 tombstones, all of which are set out to line the way to his mausoleum. Many prominent people and religious monks chose to be buried here in the hope that being close to his remains will bring them closer to salvation when the Buddha of the Future arrives.

In front of the mausoleum itself is the Hall of Lamps, which contains 10,000 lanterns, which are always lit, and 50,000 tiny statues, all of the great man. Visitors are able to leave Kobo Daishi offerings in the aptly named Offering Hall, though, word to the wise, he is probably okay for a while when it comes lamps and statues.

4 Dracula’s Cemetery

St Mary’s Church at Whitby was built in 1110, and its churchyard dates from around the same time.

The graveyard must have always held a certain amount of Gothic fascination, because it was the inspiration for a scene in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In the novel, the vampire lands at Whitby and leaps from his ship (whose crew is mysteriously dead) and hides himself in an abandoned crypt in a church that very much resembles St Mary’s. Stoker stayed in the town while writing his novel, and he was said to have been very much taken with the atmospheric surroundings.^[7]

Current visitors may find more gore than they were hoping for, however. The pounding of the sea has caused erosion along the cliffs, and subsequent landslides have exposed a number of corpses, though none so far have been sporting elongated teeth and a theatrical dress sense. Work is ongoing to try to prevent the churchyard, and its contents, from slipping into the sea.

3 The Cemetery Of Shame

The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France is a military burial ground dedicated to those killed in action during World War I. There are 6,012 soldiers whose graves are proudly marked in four plots, marked A to D.

However, there is another plot at the cemetery, separate from the others. Plot E can only be accessed through the office of the superintendent. This plot contains 96 unmarked graves belonging to American soldiers who were dishonorably discharged and executed for crimes committed during World War II. None of these graves are mentioned by the American Battle Monuments Commission’s website for Oise-Aisne.

Between them, these men are alleged to have murdered 26 American soldiers. They are also alleged to have raped and/or murdered 71 civilians of other nationalities. The plot was designated as a place of burial for the “dishonorable dead.” The graves are identified only by number, and the dead are set with their backs to the rest of the fallen. The American flag is not permitted to fly over Plot E.^[8]

The only inhabitant of the plot not convicted of rape or murder was Private Eddie Slovik, who was executed for desertion on January 31, 1945, the only man to be executed for this crime since the Civil War. His remains were removed in 1987, and he was reburied next to his wife after his family petitioned President Reagan for a pardon.

2 The Cemetery Of A Million Mummies

In an Egyptian cemetery whose name means, for reasons unknown, “The Way of the Water Buffalo,” archaeologists have discovered a million mummies. Literally.

The burial ground dates from the first to the seventh centuries, and most of its dead were buried without coffins or grave goods of any kind, so those hoping for a Tutankhamen-style treasure trove are likely to be disappointed. The cemetery was used by poor, low-status citizens of Egypt while it was controlled by the Roman Empire.

Although they couldn’t afford the lavish funeral rituals of the pharaohs, great care was taken by mourners in the burying of the dead. Scientists have yet to discover the reason for the incredibly large number of bodies, since it is unlikely that they were all local inhabitants.^[9]

The archaeological dig has uncovered some surprising specimens, including one mummy that was over 213 centimeters (7′) tall and had to be bent in half to fit inside the grave as well as a number of blond and redheaded mummies. It may be that the cemetery authority buried people according to hair color, as clusters of redheaded and blond mummies have been discovered throughout the site. Then again, of course, they may have just buried families together.

1 The Plague Cemetery

In 1665, a tailor in the small parish of Eyam ordered a bale of cloth from London. When it arrived, the cloth seemed somewhat damp, so he put it in front of the fire to dry. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Eyam, the cloth contained a number of fleas. And even more unfortunately, the fleas were carrying bubonic plague.

Within two months, the tailor was dead, along with 42 other souls. The church rector, believing that he had a duty to prevent the disease from spreading to neighboring villages, decided that the entire village should quarantine itself. He told his parishioners that if they agreed to stay, he would remain with them and do everything in his power to relieve their suffering.

Knowing that he may well have been signing all their death warrants, he set up a “cordon sanitaire” around the village. Almost no one tried to escape, even as the death toll mounted. Some people lost almost their entire families to the disease. A woman named Elizabeth Hancock buried her husband and six children in only eight days. She had to dig the graves herself, since none of the villagers wanted to go near her.

The task of burying the dead was a dangerous one. Marshall Howe, who had been infected early on but survived, volunteered for the task, believing that he was now immune. He often helped himself to the deceased’s possessions by way of payment, and it is believed that his wife and two-year-old son probably caught the disease from the stolen items. They were not as lucky as Mr. Howe, and he soon had the job of interring them, too.

The graves of the plague victims can still be seen in Eyam Parish Churchyard. Marshall Howe survived the plague, as did the church rector, though the rector’s wife succumbed after prolonged contact due to nursing the dying. By November 1666, with half the village dead, the plague was eradicated, and the neighboring villages were saved.^[10]

Ward Hazell is a writer who travels, and an occasional travel writer.