Boing Boing

Boing Boing

This 1903 patent proposed preserving bodies in transparent glass blocks

Ellsworth Toohey
May 05, 2025
∙ Paid
6
3
Share

Method of preserving the dead. U.S. Patent No. 748,284 (1903)

What if you could preserve your loved ones forever, suspended in a crystal-clear glass cube? That's what Russian inventor Joseph Karwowski proposed in 1903, patenting a method to encase corpses in transparent glass blocks for eternal display.

The process, as reported in Hyperallergic, aimed to …

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Boing Boing to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
Ellsworth Toohey's avatar
A guest post by
Ellsworth Toohey
Contributor to Boing Boing
Subscribe to Ellsworth
© 2025 Happy Mutants LLC
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture