The Oddities in the News Page |
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This Month's Oddity in the News: Frozen Dead Guy Days in Colorado |
IN THE ARCHIVES: Mind Reading |
This year's winners: The Pink Socks NEDERLAND, Colorado, March 5 (UPI) -- The Pink Socks reaffirmed their dominance Sunday afternoon, winning the coffin races for a third straight year at the Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, Colorado. The team, consisting of six pink-clad casket-bearers and one rather lively "corpse" from the University of Colorado, churned through the snow, slush and mud-filled course in a winning time of under 50 seconds, The Denver Post reported. The Donner Party came in second. "Our jobs are just a way to fund our passion for coffin-racing," team captain Joel Weber said. It was a sun-filled, raucous end to the festival, the day after some events were canceled because of bitter cold and 60 mph winds. "Yesterday was the worst day of my life," festival owner Amanda MacDonald said. "Today is the best." An estimated 15,000 people filled the town that normally boasts a population of about 1,400 to celebrate Frozen Dead Guy Days, which refers to Grandpa Bredo Morstoel, whose body has been packed in dry ice in a mountainside shed since 1993. After Morstoel died in Norway at age 89, his son brought his body to Nederland in 1989 in hopes of building a cryonics center. While the facility never materialized, for 11 winters now people have turned out in droves to honor a frozen Norwegian they never knew by having some fun in the cold. Read more HERE HEARSES ON PARADE AT THE FROZEN DEAD GUY DAYS See more photos HERE |
WHO IS THE DEAD GUY? Who was Grandpa Bredo Morstoel? Nederland, Colorado, a picturesque little town about 45 miles northwest of Denver claims more than just quaintness, beauty, and the ruggedness of the Rocky Mountains to draw thousands of visitors. It also is home to Grandpa Bredo Morstoel, more commonly known as "The Frozen Dead Guy.” Morstoel died on November 6, 1989 while at the family’s mountain retreat in Norway and was immediately packed in ice before making the long trip to Los Angeles, California, where he was cryogenically prepped and frozen. Morstoel’s grandson, Trygve Bauge decided that his grandfather should have the opportunity of potential immorality and made the arrangements for his grandfather. Bredo was kept at the Institute, while Trygve searched for a suitable place to store frozen bodies. Grandpa Morstoel remained at the California institute until 1993, when his body was packed in dry ice, shipped to Nederland, Colorado, and stored in a garden shed. Read about Grandpa HERE THE SHED INSIDE THE SHED WANT TO KNOW MORE? THERE IS EVEN A BOOK ABOUT THE FROZEN DEAD GUY: Visit Bo Shaffer's Facebook page HERE Find his book HERE
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