Skulls under Paris

Under the city of Paris lie a maze of catacombs, filled floor to ceiling with skeletons. In 1786, all the bodies that had been buried in the Cimetiere des Innocents were dug up and moved to these subterranean galleries of the dead. A sign above the door to one chamber reads, "Arrete! C'est ici L'Empire de la Morte" or "Stop! Here is the Empire of the Dead." In all, there are more than six million bodies in the Paris catacombs, as bones continued to be moved there off and on for seventy years.

But wait, there is more bizarre information here. In 1777, gypsum and limestone quarries under the city were proving hazardous to the buildings above and were shut down. Inspectors had to figure out some way to shore up the quarry walls so no more buildings collapsed. About the same time, the citizens realized that the Cemetery of the Innocents had no more room for burials. Problem solved: The walls of the underground ossuaries (places where bones are laid to rest) are made, not from stone, but from the very bones that were exhumed and moved--leg bones and skulls stacked and packed until they were solid enough to support the weight of the city above. (Note: photo by Jeff Belanger)

For a virtual tour, go to http://www.triggur.org/cata/. The catacombs under Paris have played a role in books (such as Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and even Tess Gerritson's Body Double), movies (such as the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame), and even video games (such as Lara Croft's Tomb Raider III expansion, The Lost Artifact).

Now it's your turn. What do you know that's cool--or weird?