X-Message-Number: 31401 From: "John de Rivaz" <> References: <> <> Subject: Re: [Cryonics Europe] British celebrity tells Prime Minister ... Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:54:39 -0000 This story seems to produce a huge wave of flippancy, both within and without cryonics. Google now produces 549 articles if searched for < Simon Cowell cryonics >. However these say nothing more than the original. I have to wonder whether SC is serious or whether this is a publicity stunt. It may well be that he told the Prime Minister that he was considering cryonics, rather than he had signed up. Reading through the comments on http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1151872/Simon-Cowell-Im-going-freeze-body-I-die-I-brought-life.html the flippancy misses some points: Cryonics does not rely on a constant supply of power. Dewars are only topped up periodically. Cryonics does not guarantee immortality. If you are revived, you probably will live for an indefinite period, but eventually an accident will bring your life to an end, however big or safe if your backup store. "The soul can't be frozen" Where is the evidence for that? In fact the little evidence there is, is in the opposite direction -- people's personality seems to remain after long periods under anaesthetic. Not freezing I know, but the nearest there is. "Why would they revive him?" If it were announced that SC was going to have a major operation on the NHS, would there be howls of protest that taxpayers' money was being spent on it? The cost of a cryopreservation with the Cryonics Institute is of the order of L20,000 and a routine heart operation in the UK is of the order of L50,000. People are not assessed as the whether they are socially useful or otherwise before being treated on the NHS. The sole criterion is to whether the treatment is likely to work. "Why would anyone want to come back". For the same reason "anyone" does not kill themselves right now. Suppose someone was cryopreserved in the 1500s would they want to be revived now? Before you answer, consider this: LIFE IN ENGLAND IN THE 1500'S- The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.. Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, It's raining cats and dogs. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying - a thresh hold. (Getting quite an education, aren't you?) In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, 'Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old'.. Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.. Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach into the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake. England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a ...dead ringer.. And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! ! Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend -- Sincerely, John de Rivaz: http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy, Nomad .. and more ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Adams To: Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 10:07 AM Subject: Re: [Cryonics Europe] British celebrity tells Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he is going to be cryopreserved - Dail Mail Don't fret. They won't revivie him until they have a cure. It could be that it will take some time... ________________________________ From: Zog Azothoth <> To: Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 10:52:15 AM Subject: Re: [Cryonics Europe] British celebrity tells Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he is going to be cryopreserved - Dail Mail Simon Cowel??!!! Noooooooooooooooooo ooooo!!! I might just have to have myself cremated in that case - Im not coming back to X Factor, with defective singing cyborgs :( __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (3) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Links | Database | Polls | Members MARKETPLACE From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity Visit Your Group Yahoo! Finance It's Now Personal Guides, news, advice & more. Biz Resources Y! Small Business Articles, tools, forms, and more. Health Groups for people over 40 Join people who are staying in shape. . __,_._,___ No virus found in this incoming message. 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