r/todayilearned • u/WilliamofYellow • Oct 05 '24

TIL that when Dylan Thomas (the Welsh poet) died, his widow had his body shipped from New York to Wales. While they were under way, she discovered a group of sailors unwittingly using the coffin as a card table. She decided not to say anything as she thought her husband would have liked it.

http://www.dylanthomas.com/blog/dylans-journeys-to-america-part-3
13.8k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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2.5k

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '24

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1.2k

u/SilasMarner77 Oct 05 '24

It reminds me of when Oliver Reed died in a drinking competition with some RN sailors and the sailors had t-shirts made that said “We killed Ollie Reed.” The story got out and the navy apologised to Oliver Reed’s widow but she was like “Honestly I think he would have found it funny.”

386

u/Novel_Pipe_9050 Oct 05 '24

The actor Omid Djalili, who was also in Malta at the time of Reed's death filming Gladiator, said during an interview in 2016: "He hadn't had a drink for months before filming started... Everyone said he went the way he wanted, but that's not true. It was very tragic. He was in an Irish bar and was pressured into a drinking competition. He should have just left, but he didn't."

178

u/gramathy Oct 05 '24

There's a difference between it not being how he would have wanted to go and still being able to find the situation funny given your sense of humor.

82

u/PVDeviant- Oct 06 '24

That he was self-destructive really just suggests he would've found it funny. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I'm not saying it's not tragic, but come on, died from an Irish drinking contest is the sort of epitaph that would appeal to a certain gallows humor loving crowd (me).

17

u/gwaydms Oct 05 '24

Ah, the British sense of humour.

80

u/skorletun Oct 05 '24

My grandad died recently. He requested his flowers be laid on a WWII memorial at the graveyard. After the funeral, two very out-of-breath funeral home workers (2 ladies) came up to us and apologised - there was no memorial. They scrambled to find the grave of a fallen soldier from WWII to put the flowers on.

We just laughed, grandpa would've loved it.

1

u/EmuCanoe Oct 07 '24

I think most people would be happy at the thought of their body in a box still being useful in allowing people to enjoy themselves.

921

u/Ok-Entrepreneur-4942 Oct 05 '24

As long as they used coasters, I don't think he would mind them having some drinks too.

406

u/4Ever2Thee Oct 05 '24

Just putting this out there in the extremely unlikely event that it ever becomes relevant: when I’m gone, anyone and everyone has my full support to play poker and rest their drinks on my casket, no coasters needed. Just try not to have any petty arguments around it; I hate that shit in life and I don’t need it in death.

102

u/TalkToTheGlyphWitch Oct 05 '24

You can play D&D on mine and I don't mean simple games but bring out your whole minis and maps and all your fancy dices. Only request is that you insert me as an undead miniboss in your game and rock my coffin when i do something scary.

46

u/tiredofscreennames Oct 05 '24 edited Oct 05 '24

What’s the Lich look like?

Well, open up the table and take a look.

25

u/gramathy Oct 05 '24

"So we have a Hand of Vecna prop..."

"Did someone make that for you?"

"...In a manner of speaking."

63

u/Monotonegent Oct 05 '24

Putting that out there for me too. Go ahead and just play cards. No Bridge though. Fuck off with that.

14

u/psychoPiper Oct 06 '24

Having cup rings stained into the top of the coffin would be way cooler and more personal than having it pristine. The proof of one last card game with your friends and family, stained into the lid of your resting place

2

u/coolpapa2282 Oct 06 '24

If I wind up in a casket, I'll be pissed. Just throw my dead ass out back for the vultures.

1

u/4Ever2Thee Oct 06 '24

I don’t think you’re allowed to do that, not in my town at least. Buncha prudes.

37

u/virtually_noone Oct 05 '24

He probably would have been fine with them tipping a bottle of whiskey on the casket.

11

u/nekomoo Oct 05 '24

Pour one out …

35

u/MyKinkyCountess Oct 05 '24

"Do you respect wood?"

2

u/WithDisGuy Oct 05 '24

My heart bleeds for wood

3

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '24

Lord Admiral Nelson type shit

1

u/Massive-Path6202 Oct 08 '24

They almost surely were, yes? 

334

u/PanicLikeASatyr Oct 05 '24

I think he would’ve liked it too.

99

u/nekomoo Oct 05 '24

Go not into that good night … and also, no worries playing cards on my burial box

48

u/PanicLikeASatyr Oct 05 '24

Rage, rage against the dying of the light…and the next hand should be dealer’s choice.

I have a tattoo of part of that poem alongside a welsh dragon.

2

u/potatoclaymores Oct 06 '24

Show us or we don’t believe you

5

u/PanicLikeASatyr Oct 06 '24

This is from the day I got it back in October of 2009. It’s on my hip so I had to crop it a bit for the sake of my inbox.

I also have him reading some of his own work on vinyl like a true stan/dirty hipster.

3

u/Queasy_Ad_8621 Oct 05 '24

I think he would have been outraged. "What!!"

casket rattling around, as he's pissed off and trying to get out

190

u/PygmeePony Oct 05 '24

Imagine playing poker and the coffin knocks back.

46

u/InappropriateTA 3 Oct 05 '24 edited Oct 05 '24

If it’s to indicate a check (or call a zero bet) then that’s fine. 

136

u/RetroMetroShow Oct 05 '24

Do not fold gently into that good night

7

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '24

Plucketh not thou that low hanging fruit.

4

u/Tru-Queer Oct 05 '24

Blave, blave against the dying of the light

23

u/TallEnoughJones Oct 05 '24

"I've had 18 straight whiskies...... I think that's the record." - supposedly Dylan Thomas' last words

44

u/evil_timmy Oct 05 '24

I'd be happy if they did lines off mine. Not just the life of the party...

14

u/mastermoge Oct 05 '24

This ain't the Chelsea Hotel...

9

u/NoGoodNames2468 Oct 05 '24

I'd like it if I was Thomas. Embrace life's absurdity folks.

7

u/MainFrosting8206 Oct 05 '24

It's a little morbid, and probably illegal, but sometimes I think I'd like to be cremated and have my ashes included in a special run of gaming dice to let people roll natural 20s long after I'm gone.

9

u/draconianRegiment Oct 06 '24

There are businesses that incorporate ashes into various objects. I've never seen any that do dice though. I'm not sure if it would be better to ask one of those businesses or a dice manufacturer though. Probably the former I'd wager.

7

u/PVDeviant- Oct 06 '24

Absolutely independent dice makers out there who would get a kick out of that! Make sure to get one that specializes in properly weighted dice, but, uh, also hopefully it's a ways off.

Posting on the DnD subreddit might yield some interesting responses!

7

u/Magnus77 19 Oct 06 '24

AFAIK, you could absolutely turn your ashes into dice. They really only get weird about non-burned corpses. Ashes you can kind of do whatever with.

7

u/ScipioCoriolanus Oct 05 '24

Rage, rage against the playing of the cards.

1

u/potatoclaymores Oct 06 '24

Ironically, no one raged at that

5

u/Sea_Negotiation_1871 Oct 05 '24

And death shall have no dominion!

3

u/Eran-of-Arcadia Oct 06 '24

When I die, play Dominion on my coffin.

3

u/StormerBombshell Oct 05 '24

Now I have a wish for my coffin to be taken on a worldwide trip and for people to play cards or have drinks over it…

3

u/MuffinMan268 Oct 06 '24

Fun fact: Bob Dylan, born Bob Zimmerman, changed his name to Bob Dylan after Dylan Thomas

5

u/No_Eye_8432 Oct 05 '24

I remember reading in Swansea (where he’s from) the first thing Caitlin said when she got to the hospital was, ‘Is the fucker dead yet?’

10

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '24

I liked him on 90210

18

u/fakeuser515357 Oct 05 '24

You're thinking of Bob Dylan, and he wasn't on 90210, he's a very famous folk singer and one of the most popular and influential surviving artists from the 1960's.

9

u/naturalchorus Oct 05 '24

I thought that was the painter with the perm and soft voice?

14

u/CharlemagneIS Oct 05 '24

You’re thinking of Bob Rogers, better known as “Mister Rogers”

5

u/fakeuser515357 Oct 05 '24

No, "Mister Rogers" was definitely the guy who worked with Oscar Hammerstein to create stage classics like The King and I.

4

u/whycuthair Oct 05 '24

No, you're thinking of Richard Rodgers. I think they were refering to the musician who founded Pink Floyd.

4

u/fakeuser515357 Oct 05 '24

You mean Syd Barrett? What's he got to do with anything?

3

u/chupathingy99 Oct 05 '24

No, he said Pink Floyd, not the Sex Pistols. You're thinking of Sid Vicious.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '24

No that's not it. The guy I'm thinking of was a cool guy, all the chicks at the Peach Pit were totally into him...

2

u/ThurloWeed Oct 05 '24

After the first ante, there is no other

1

u/Blackhole_5un Oct 06 '24

One last game for old times sake.

1

u/Odds0cket Oct 11 '24

Chwarae teg