# Curve on a hearse

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curve-on-a-hearse/65438>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 14, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curve-on-a-hearse/65438 "2001-05-14T21:55:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curve-on-a-hearse/65438/1 "2001-05-14T21:55:27Z")

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Does anyone know if there’s any significance behind the stretched-out Gompertz curve-like symbol often seen on hearses in the United States? Does it have a formal name? You’ve seen it before – it’s the curve with the balls at the ends and midpoint. Here’s some examples …

[http://www.americandreamcars.com/1974cadillachearse.jpg](http://www.americandreamcars.com/1974cadillachearse.jpg)  
[http://www.americandreamcars.com/1967cadillacss.jpg](http://www.americandreamcars.com/1967cadillacss.jpg)  
[http://www.americandreamcars.com/77caddyhearse.jpg](http://www.americandreamcars.com/77caddyhearse.jpg)

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**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curve-on-a-hearse/65438/2 "2001-05-14T23:09:55Z")

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I believe the design is called a “landau”. It mimics the design of the hinge used on the two piece covers used on old-fashioned four-wheeled carriages made in the German town of the same name. Perhaps those carriages were typically used as hearses and the design was simply carried on by tradition.

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**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2001, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curve-on-a-hearse/65438/3 "2001-05-16T11:13:08Z")

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The Landau is a kind of hinge that was used on convertible car tops for many years. As said, it comes from the use of said hinge on elegant horse-drawn coaches. I don’t believe the line goes from the horse-drawn coaches direct to hearses, but rather via the older elegant convertibles of times past. Horse-drawn hearses don’t seem to have these “Landau irons” ever, and I can’t recall ever having seen a convertible hearse that was either horse-drawn or motor dirven. So how this piece of equipment got from convertibles to hard topped hearses is still a mystery (at this point).

Slight hijack: British S.Dopers: Do your funeral directors still wear stovepipe hats with a black scarf?

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**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2001, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curve-on-a-hearse/65438/4 "2001-05-16T11:42:00Z")

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My Uncles do when conducting funerals, they used to use a horse drawn carrage too (and horse) but when the most recent horse died they didn’t replace it and do now use a hearse.

I can’t speak for all, but a lot (in my experience) of others still wear them as well.