Pocket Coffee doesn’t get the credit it deserves as personkind’s greatest achievement: One-third of a liquid expresso shot inside dark chocolate candy? Come on. While Pocket Coffee can be eaten as candy it’s also the basis of an easy, tasty Mocha.
Every culture has its death traditions. Since the US is a melting pot, our traditions vary greatly. Some are based on how people were buried in the Old Country, while others are uniquely American. You may recall that the big reasons colonists revolted in 1776 was over taxes and the right to own land. Land ownership and availability played a big role in shaping how we bury our dead and the preservation of graves hundreds to thousands of years later.
White bronze tombstones: A technological advancement in death.
The American Industrial Age brought with it innovations to much of American life. The electric light, automobiles, refrigerators and other inventions completely changed how we live. There was innovation in every aspect of our lives and burial of the dead was not exempt.
Fraternal societies have played a huge role in death in the US. From the symbols of brotherhood (and sisterhood) etched on tombstones to the purchase of land for cemeteries, fraternal societies changed how we bury our dead into a uniquely American thing. Around 1850 (which starts the Golden Age of Fraternalism in the US) we saw a distinct shift from Christian religious symbols on tombstones (cherubs, lambs, bibles, urns, willows, etc.) to many not-so-secret symbols of fraternal orders. Ironically, members of these clandestine groups wanted to let everyone know they had a secret.