Faces of Death II

My name is Dr. Francis B. Gross,

and again I invite you to join me

as I travel through the world of the dead.

Several months after I completed my first study,

I realized that some of my original theories

were no longer valid.

My optimism regarding life after death

has greatly diminished.

Still, there is one hope, that our body suffers

little pain and that our mind will end

on a thought unaffected by the fear of dying.

music

The ritual of commemorating the dead

has a history which dates back to the beginning

of man kind.

There is no group on earth that doesn't have

some kind of ceremony which acknowledges

the death of a loved one.

Many extraordinary customs have resulted from man's

realization of death.

In the 14th century, people were hired

to rouse the ghost.

Their job was to attempt to bring the deceased

back to life.

This strange ritual eventually produced

the practice of necrophilia.

By making love to the dead, it was believed

that sexual arousal would bring the spirit of life

back into the body of one who recently died.

This custom of the Middle Ages led to a greater

understanding in the finality of death.

As time passed, man realized that those

who died would never physically return to life.

Religion then introduced another concept of death,

it conceived the belief that the soul

or Holy Spirit travels beyond this earthly plane

when the physical being ceases to exist.

In some countries, as hamlets became villages

and villages grew into towns,

graveyards had to be modified to provide

accommodations for the bodies

of future generations.

Carnal houses were created to house

the bones of the dead who were removed

from the cemetery after a certain number of years.

Upon being blessed by a priest,

the deceased's remains were placed on display

for loved ones to visit.

The time is 1981, graveyards still exist,

but death has now become

a multi-billion dollar industry.

Today a person can choose their style of wardrobe

and in which manner they want to be secured

for their eternal rest.

Shopping for a casket is similar to buying a car,

the more money you pay, the more lavish

your coffin will appear.

The fee for a normal funeral runs about $3,500.

Of course, you have to pay an extra fee

for the embalming process and any necessary

cosmetic touch-ups.

Funerals lie at the very innermost core

of life's experience.

It is a time of introspection where we

honor and value fond memories of a person

we shall never forget.

A Hindu cremation presents a striking

contrast to a Western burial.

The banks of the Ganges River are considered

the most desirable place for the ceremony.

To prepare their dead for cremation,

the body is bathed in oil,

and then with soap and nut powder,

among other preparations.

The Hindus believe at death the soul is trapped

in the skull.

Therefore, it is imperative that the skull will

explode during the burning process.

The mourners of a loved one

sprinkle holy water on the deceased

and take purification baths

during the cremation.

They also shave their heads in deference

to the departed.

For the Hindu, death represents a liberation

of the soul.

Their ceremony of cremation ensures

that the spirit of the departed will have

the chance to be reborn once again.

It's one thing to witness the cremation of the dead,

but the horror of being burned alive

is a truly agonizing face of death.

The residents of this West German

apartment building were the victims

of a furnace explosion.

Within seconds, their apartment became

a burning inferno.

Although firemen worked furiously to extinguish

this out-of-control blaze,their efforts

to save those trapped inside the building

proved unsuccessful.

On that cold January morning in 1979,

18 of the 20 residents that occupied

this building lost their lives.

Those who weren't asphyxiated by the massive

amounts of toxic smoke, were eventually

burned alive.

This particular man suffered third-degree

burns on his hands, legs and face.

A special preparation was applied to the burned

areas of his body to promote healing

and reduce infection.

An emergency tracheotomy had to be performed

so that the victim could breathe.

Unfortunately, even the advanced treatment

administered by the burn center specialist

could not keep this man alive.

When the warmth of springtime begins

to melt the snow,

a new setting for death is created.

At any moment, a disaster can occur

capable of turning a beautiful panorama

of natural magnificence into an explosive wall

of destruction.

This white blanket of death

is called an avalanche.

When the snow begins to rumble down the mountain,

anything in its path is instantly destroyed.

Brenner Passis located near the border

of Austria and Italy.

In April of 1975, this highway connecting

the two countries became the scene of one

of the worst avalanches in history.

Before this disaster occurred, people had been

warned not to use this route of passage.

Road warnings had been posted

and frequent radio reports admonished drivers

of this expected danger.

But people didn't want to listen,

for many were on holiday and needed to return

to either side of the border.

As a result, many vacationers decided

to challenge this prediction,

and subsequently lost their lives.

In total, 50 people died in this avalanche,

a whole section of Brenner Pass was buried

under more than 14 feet of snow.

Some people never made it out of their cars.

Those who did, had nowhere to go

and froze to death while trying to escape.

Hypothermia is probably one of the most painful

ways to die.

During this process, you literally freeze to death.

The whole disaster could have been avoided

if these people had only heeded the warning signs

of impending danger.

Boxing is perhaps the most brutal of all

professional sports.

Sheer strength, endurance and agility are the major

ingredients of a winner.

Everyone who enters this sport dreams of one day

becoming the next champion.

Their desire for wealth and recognition are great

motivating factors in their quest for the title.

I was born poor, and many nights

I went to bed with an empty stomach.

And I read where guys like Sugar Ray Robinson,

Joe Lewis and all these guys were born

in very poor areas, and, they...

through sports they got recognition,

they got respect, they traveled around the world

and they got to do things that otherwise they would

have never done.

And, but yet, nothing comes easy in life.

Boxing's a tough life, it's very tough.

Three minutes in the ring of actual fighting

is much more difficult

than two weeks of hard training.

But it's the training that hardens the muscle

and strengthens the fighter's endurance.

Another important element of his training

is the fighting strategy.

He must learn how to throw a punch

and how to protect himself at all times.

If more trainers would take time and teach kids

the difference between coming in

and going backwards, or if they would take more time

to teach this kind of boxing, there--

there would be less people getting hurt in the ring.

Sparring marks the final stage of training.

During these sessions a fighter will learn

to take punches, and to test

his own offensive skills.

Ninety per cent of the boys are not in the physical

condition for a boxer that they should be

at the time of their career for a fight.

On September 19th,1980,

Johnny Gowens and his managers

felt he was ready.

The fight was a scheduled 15-round title bout