Intro to Pinterest Myths: Buried Alive!

Look, I like Pinterest as much as the next girl. I think it's useful for saving all those links that I used to have to put in word docs to find later (only to go back through and have no idea what they were for) or those pictures that you want to save for some reason but that you don't want to print (because then what do you do with them?) and you can't leave up on your browser permanently.

What I do not appreciate about Pinterest (although in all fairness, it's kind of the internet at large) is the way that it PERPETUATES THE MOST RIDICULOUS MYTHS. Some less ridiculous ones as well, but really, some of the things that I've read. You've probably seen some of them too. Some of them annoy me enough or are to the point of being dangerous or are even just plain funny enough for me to write about them. So here we go: the very first "Pinterest Mythbusting" letter!

I'd like to start with a personal favorite:

Link to Pinterest source

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact original source, so I did a search via Pinterest and chose the first pin that included it.

First off, is being buried alive becoming common enough that we have to worry about it? And have tips for it's eventuality? Maybe this is a phenomena that I'm just not aware of....

Second, they don't specify whether or not you're in a coffin while you're being buried alive. I mean, as it relates to the advice, I'm not really sure it makes a difference, but I'd think that the survival tips for each situation would have to be different.

Third, besides keeping dirt and dust out of your nose and mouth (P.S. Isn't your mouth part of your face? Perhaps this advice is meant for a non-human species?) and maybe eyes if you're lucky, what else is it going to do exactly? How is that going to keep you from suffocating? If you're in a coffin, it seems kind of pointless to have a shirt over your face and if you're just being buried under dirt, I don't think the shirt would be all that effective against the pressure of the dirt bearing down.

Fourth, I'd imagine that if you're being buried alive, you are not a willing participant. Assuming you're in a coffin (always the first assumption as it seems like it would be more inconspicuous), I would think it would be rather difficult to do as they suggest, that is, to remove your shirt and then tie it over your face. I'd think you'd be a bit crowded. Assuming you're just having dirt heaped on you, I would also assume that your hands are tied because who's just going to lay down and let someone shovel dirt on top of you? (Okay, maybe a long-suffering parent of a small child but I really don't think that counts as being buried alive, at least not as much as relates to this advice. Although come to think of it, this might be the only situation for which this advice is useful). So assuming that your arms are tied, how exactly are you going to take off your shirt off...? If someone could manage to take their shirt off and tie it around their face, all while being buried alive....my hat off to you, sir (or madame)! I would be very impressed indeed! Again, maybe this advice isn't intended for humans.

So in conclusion, I hope no one has taken this advice seriously because in the strange event that you do, in fact, find yourself being buried alive, I really doubt that this advice would be of any use (to anyone human). I hope that you also see that not everything is quite as useful as it seems to be. I also hoped you laughed. A lot. I know I did. And please, avoid being buried alive if you can.