Did You Know That...

The two sayings "saved by the bell" and "graveyard shift" share a common heritage?

"Saved by the Bell" came about centuries ago when medicine was not as accurate as it is today. Unfortunately, it was found that the occasional person was buried alive due to medical error. In an effort to rectify this, people were buried with a bell line tied to their finger at one end and a bell at the other. The theory was that if the deceased were not really deceased, when they woke up and realized where they were, they would move around, the bell would ring and they could be rescued. It did prove successful in a couple of cases.

For the first several nights after a burial, someone was paid to stay in the graveyard throughout the night listening for the sound of the bell. If the bell rang on their shift, they summoned help and the "deceased" was rescued. The person doing this job was referred to having "the graveyard shift".