Saturday, June 21, 2014

A perfectly reasonable explanation for a perfectly terrifying mummy that opens and closes its eyes

Why Does This Mummy Appear To Open And Close Her Eyes? 

Italian researchers have debunked morbid claims that a child mummy in Sicily opens and closes her eyes every day.

Recorded in time lapse photos and videos, the creepy phenomenon has been the subject of various speculations for some years. This week, Italian newspapers again reported that Rosalia Lombardo, a two-year-old girl who died of pneumonia in 1920, moves her eyelids several times during the day, slightly opening them to reveal intact blue eyes.

One of the world’s best preserved mummies, Rosalia is the most famous among some 8,000 thousands mummies lining the catacombs beneath the Capuchin convent in Palermo, Sicily. more at Discovery News


5 comments:

  1. "It's an optical illusion produced by the light that filters through the side windows, which during the day is subject to change,"

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  2. Mascali, curator of the Capuchin Catacombs, said in a statement Thursday.
    Let's finish reading the article, everyone.

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  3. In every photo the glares and shadows are the same, the only thing that seems to change is the perspective of the camera, and only slightly. Not to say it's supernatural, but i don't buy that it's a "trick of the light." Also, drawing any observations off of these old photos spaced so far....impossible.

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  4. I thought I had read somewhere that it had something to do with the embalming process and how light heated up the body, causing the eyelids to shrink and expand. I have no link, though, just take my word for it. I am just some random guy on the internet.

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  5. Temperatures in the museum change throughout the day. The hot and cold temperatures cause the mummified skin to contract and tighten.

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