Famous corpses we have known

When yer dead, yer gone and that's it -- or so they say. Ashes to ashes, right? Not necessarily: here's a list of people who refused to molder quietly into that good grave; who nature, and/or some very strange morticians, decided to keep around for awhile longer.

Vladimir Lenin

According to Uncle John (king of bathroom books), more people have seen Lenin's mummy than any other mummy in history. The man shuffled off this mortal coil in 1924, but to look at him today, hyber-embalmed and lying in an airtight glass coffin in his humidity- and temperature-controlled mausoleum in Red Square, you'd think he kicked it last week. Despite his requests for a modest burial, a few days after his death, a team of Soviet scientists began working to preserve him forever. This "body brigade" has been on the job for 83 years now, giving Lenin a thorough dusting and embalming touch-up twice a week, not to mention a new hand-tailored suit every eighteen months. Lucky stiff.