Saved by the bell

VirusType2

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I heard something interesting the other day.

Where did the phrase, "saved by the bell" come from?

Boxing? A really corny TV show?

No.

I cannot find any information about this maybe someone can assist me.

I found it interesting to read in a book something like:

Long ago, In England, many people were thought dead and buried. They ran out of room to bury people so they had to dig up the dead so they could put another corpse in the coffin. They discovered scratch marks on the insides of some of the coffins, indicating that some people that were thought dead were actually buried alive.

The put a hole in any future coffins with a string attached to a bell above the earth. If anyone was accidentally buried alive, they could pull the string to ring the bell so that they could be unearthed and saved.

A better idea would have been to see if their heart is beating and/or wait a while IMO.


Anyone heard of this?

I read it in a science fiction book, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any facts in it.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty sure the thing about the undead-early-warning-system thing is real, not sure if thats where the phrase came from though.
 
yeah, before the bells people used to think they were vampires.
 
hey, I just learned about this like a week ago. In spanish class, actually :O
 
screech2.jpg
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I didn't think England had that system, I thought it was in one of the Eastern countries like Romania.

'Ripley's Believe or Not' in Orlando indicated this. Which book did you get this from
 
WRONG THREAD! I posted it and the forums went down. Dagnabbit!
 
VirusType2 said:
A better idea would have been to see if their heart is beating and/or wait a while IMO.
Hahaha. Best line ever. That was Jack Handey style observing right there man xD
 
DEATH eVADER said:
Thats a little random
Wrong thread. Sorry.
Claim: The numerous current sayings listed in the popular "Life in the 1500s" e-mail sprang from ordinary living conditions in that era.

Status: False.
If the bell would ring they would know that someone was "saved by the bell" or he was a "dead ringer".

Saved by the bell is a 1930s term from the world of boxing, where a beleaguered fighter being counted out would have his fate delayed by the ringing of the bell to signify the end of the round. Need we mention that although fisticuffs were around in the 1500s, the practice of ringing a bell to end a round wasn't?
 
KoreBolteR- said:
thatd be the worst way to die though...

buried alive... arghh!

As opposed to the best way to die, being buried alive with the complete "Saved by the Bell" anthology.
 
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