There are many things that a family needs to consider and in the weeks and months after a loved one’s death. A court battle over legal custody of her frozen head should not be one of those things, but that’s what a Colorado family faces after the death of their 71-year-old grandmother. [More]
death
Websites Offer After Death Services For Your Online Life
By 2.26.10
If you don’t want all your various online accounts left unattended when you permanently go off the grid, you can now hire several different services to clean up any loose ends–closing accounts, sharing passwords with survivors, transferring gaming accounts, and so on. Wired says they cost anywhere from $10 a year to $300 for a lifetime account, although after reading about this you may find it’s cheaper and more efficient to just add the necessary info to your will. [More]
Consumers Opting For Cremations Over Costly Funerals
By 2.26.10
The Grim Reaper wears hand-me-downs; the Great Recession is forcing more people to opt for cheaper cremations over costly funerals. [WSJ via Clusterstock] [More]
Toyota Clusterfracas Might Free Man Jailed For Vehicular Homicide
By 2.25.10
“Brakes, brakes not working!” screamed Lee moments before crashing his 1996 Toyota Camry into the back of another car, killing a family of three. In 2006, the Minnesota jury didn’t believe this testimony and sentenced Lee to 8 years in prison. In 2010, they might be changing their mind. [More]
Landing Gear Not Good Place For Discount Airfare, Dead Man Finds
By 2.8.10
A man was found dead inside the landing gear of Delta airplane landing in Tokyo enroute from New York. Doctors speculated that he froze to death and had a shortage of oxygen when the plane reached over 30,000 feet. Sheesh, we know the seats are cramped but this is ridiculous. What happens when you climb into an airplane’s fuselage and it takes off? This clip from “1000 Ways To Die” explains: [More]
Alleged Shoplifter Dies After Encounter With Walmart Security
By 1.18.10
A South Carolina woman died shortly after a run-in with Walmart loss prevention. Was the asthma sufferer’s death a coincidence, caused by the stress of being caught by security, or something even more sinister than that? Test results and a review of surveillance footage should clarify the situation somewhat in a few months. [More]
If Your Adult Child Dies, Do You Have To Pay His Credit Card Debt?
By 12.31.09
Reader Mat has a question. His uncle passed away a few days ago and his credit card company is telling his grandparents that if his bank account can’t pay the balance — they’ll have to. He’s wondering if this is true. [More]
Sears Driver Runs Over Customers' Dog, Inspires Website
By 12.11.09
What do you do when a Sears delivery driver runs over one of your dogs and kills it, but all Sears will tell you is that it’s your fault for letting your dog out of the house? You start a website called searskilledmydog.com. Update: There has been a reconciliation between the owners and Sears. I’ve included a statement from Sears below. [More]
Sorry, No Mortgage: Experian Says That You're Dead
By 11.21.09
Shortly after surviving the death of her husband and a life-threatening medical crisis, Ann Howe of Seattle decided to refinance her home mortgage. Everything went smoothly until the bank informed her that the refinance couldn’t be completed because the credit bureau Experian was convinced that she was dead.
Facebook Nags You To Communicate With The Dead
By 11.1.09
If you’ve logged in to Facebook lately, you may have noticed the site’s suggestions on the right-hand side telling you to write on the wall of someone you haven’t communicated with in a while. This is merely annoying for most of us, but sort of a punch in the gut when the person you’re being told to get back in touch with is dead.
Even In Death, You Can Still Shop At Walmart
By 10.29.09
Walmart now provides for their customers from cradle to grave. Quite literally—since you can not only purchase cribs there, you can now order caskets and funerary urns from the mega-retailer’s Web site.
Blair Recalls More Flammable Clothing After Yet Another Fire
By 10.23.09
“Consumers Urged to Stop Use of Flammable Wearing Apparel,” says the warning on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site. You would think so, wouldn’t you? But Blair, the catalog where your grandmother probably gets all of her clothes, has expanded their recall of chenille sleepwear after nine deaths and another reported chenille fire.
Chinese Police Say Walmart Shopper Beaten To Death After Botched Receipt Check
By 9.8.09
Chinese state media says that a woman accused of shoplifting was allegedly beaten to death by 2 employees of a Walmart in eastern China. A police report says that the employees stopped the woman on the street near her home (which is also near the Walmart) and demanded to see her receipt. One report says she refused because she was unsure of the employee’s identities, another says she handed it over, then took it back.
Report: Billy Mays Used Cocaine In His Last Days
By 8.7.09
The Hillsborough County, Florida medical examiner’s office reported this afternoon that toxicology results show boisterous master pitchman Billy Mays had used cocaine sometime in the days before his death. This may have contributed to his fatal heart attack.
Top 10 Recalled Children's Products To Avoid Buying Secondhand
By 8.7.09
It’s garage sale season, so our esteemed sister publication, Consumer Reports, has put together a list of 10 recalled children’s products to avoid buying secondhand. This one, in particular, has a defect that should become obvious upon glancing at the accompanying photo.
It's Official: Sunbeds Cause Cancer (But Moles Are Far Worse)
By 7.29.09
The BBC reports that there is now conclusive evidence that tanning beds can cause cancer—and not just Tacky Cancer, which makes you look orange, but real live go-see-a-doctor cancer. However, sun exposure and tanning bed radiation both pale in comparison to your mole count, according to an earlier report.
Taco Bell Chihuahua Mascot Dies
By 7.23.09
Gidget, the tiny Chihuahua star of Taco Bell‘s “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” ad series in the ’90s, in addition to other ad and film work, died yesterday of an apparent stroke. She (yes, she) was fifteen years old.
Estate Planning Lessons from Michael Jackson
By 7.9.09
Let’s face it, Michael Jackson had a spotty record when it came to managing his money. Sure, he earned a gazillion dollars making music and was savvy enough to buy rights to Beatles’ tunes, but in his latter days he also spent lavishly, millions more than his annual income, and he racked up a sizeable debt. In other words, you wouldn’t want him as your financial advisor.
