They're called tear bottles, tear catchers, tear vials, unguentaria, and lachrymatories. In them, tears are collected as a token of grief and mourning. Legends of tear catchers go back millennia to the days of Rome when, purportedly, mourners would bury their tear bottles with the dead as symbols of respect. It's also reported that professional mourners (called wailers) would be paid to collect their tears for the dead--the loader the wails and the fuller the tear bottles, the better the pay.

The use of tear bottles enjoyed a resurgence during the Victorian period of the 19th century. Mourners would place their tears in a bottle with porous stoppers. The complete evaporation of the tears would mark the end of the mourning period.

During the Civil War, women would catch their tears in a bottle and kept them to show their husbands how much they were missed while away on the field of battle.

Today, tear bottles are enjoying yet another resurgence in popularity. You can buy them online and in trendy gift stores to give as gifts and tokens, not just of mourning, but for shared tears empathy over present struggles, and even for shared tears of joy.

Have you ever asked yourself why we fly the flag at half-staff at times of national mourning? It’s one of those things we just take for granted.  But it is so much a part of our national culture that Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 7 of the United States Code actually provides rules for regulating how, when, and for how long it is flown that way. 

The death of a current or former president lowers the flag for 30 days, while the current vice president, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Speaker of the House receive 10 days of half-staff flying following their deaths. Flags fly at half-staff from the day of death until the date of interment for cabinet secretaries, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, former vice presidents, and the governors of states.

The death of a current member of Congress lowers the flag to half-staff on the day of death and following day. And of course, the president can, by executive order, declare the flag to be lowered to mark days of mourning for other special occasions, as well. Following the September 11th attacks, for example, President Bush ordered the flag be flown at half-staff until September 16th.

According to the fact finding gurus at MentalFloss.com, “The oldest commonly accepted reference to a half-staff flag dates back to 1612, when the captain of the British ship Heart’s Ease died on a journey to Canada. When the ship returned to London, it was flying its flag at half-mast to honor the departed captain.  According to one line of scholarly thinking, “by lowering the Union Jack, the sailors were making room for the invisible flag of Death. This explanation jibes with the British tradition of flying a ‘half-staff’ flag exactly one flag’s width lower than its normal position to underscore that Death’s flag is flapping above it."

Many people tend to fight the onset of tears, when crying is in fact a natural and beneficial response to several common emotions such as grief, sadness, dejection, and even joy. Tears are triggered by our emotions, but they are also a practical and protective reaction from the body. We produce three main types of tears.

Basal tears are in our eyes all day. Basal tears are functional, lubricating tears that help improve our vision, focus, and fight against infection. A protein called lysozyme is present in basal tears. This protein protects against viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Basal tears contain oil, mucus, salt, and water. The oil prevents the tears from evaporating and blinking spreads a layer of basal tears on the eye’s surface.

Reflex tears are our eyewash tears. These are triggered by environmental irritants such as dust, smoke, and wind. These tears flush out any irritating material for our eyes. These are also the tears produced when we cut an onion.

Emotional tears flood our eyes in response to strong emotions and are similar to basal tears in chemical makeup but also contain stress hormones and natural pain relievers.

Crying has a number of other proven benefits as well. Crying has a self-soothing effect which helps us to calm ourselves, regulate our emotions, and return us to a more neutral emotional state within a certain period of time. Deep belly breaths from crying and sobbing regulate our heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing - all of which aids in recovering from stress.

Crying can cause our body to produce hormones that make us feel better. We release oxycontin and endorphins after we cry, which can help reduce stress, relieve pain, and lift our mood. In other words, having a good cry can improve our mood after we cry. 

Crying is also a way the body rids itself of chemicals that are released in the body to help us cope during times of stress, but can have negative impacts when not processed out of the body. So, if we try to push back the tears or feel shame when we cry, it can have the opposite effect, inducing anxiety, depression, upset stomach, and heart-associated issues.

Crying is also an attachment behavior. Crying signals to others that we need help and support. Most obviously associated with infants and small children, research suggests that crying serves the same functions in adults, facilitating deeper social connections and community support.