Helen FieldsScience Writer

This kind of image is on a very large percentage of the headstones in Boston’s historic burial yards:

Seventeenth-century Puritans were opposed to using religious imagery (like crosses) on gravestones, so they went for reminders of the limits of mortal life, instead. Yipe. Note the grinning teeth, partly hidden by the leaves.

So, just a friendly reminder: You are going to die. You might want to bookmark this for later.

Here’s an introduction to gravestone iconography, courtesy of the City of Boston.