6 ms·

I just always thought, "ehhh we've been burying our dead since the dawn of human existence. I'm sure they've figured out the groundwater situation by now." Now

by creep 8y ago

I just always thought, "ehhh we've been burying our dead since the dawn of human existence. I'm sure they've figured out the groundwater situation by now." Now I'm spooked.

village-idiot 8y ago
Yes, we have. But we also typically just tossed the corpse into a pine box and buried it. Now we bury a hell of a lot more than just the corpse. Coffins in particular are just straight up weird to me. Polished and plush, why? They even come with rubber gaskets to “protect” your now ex-loved one, which is quite creepy when you think it through.
- paulpauper 8y ago
  yeah what's the deal with these massive plush caskets. it's being lowered gentry into the ground, not dropped from an airplane.
  - village-idiot 8y ago
    Also, the occupant is dead.
  - notduncansmith 8y ago
    I assume that "gentry" was a typo there, but in fact the massive plush caskets are precisely because of the gentry being lowered into the ground. Once nice caskets became a status symbol, it was considered crass to put your dead relatives in an ecologically-responsible plain wooden box.
    - ars 8y ago
      > it was considered crass to put your dead relatives in an ecologically-responsible plain wooden box. The Jewish religion requires plain boxes, to show that by death everyone is equal, rich and poor. It's actually preferable to have no box at all (because it slows decomposition), but US laws prevent that. So a plain wooden box with nothing that doesn't decompose is used.
      - mmmBacon 8y ago
        It’s usually cemeteries that require vaults and caskets not the government.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    A cynic in me thinks that if you wake up in the middle of being lowered into the ground, you won't be heard and rescued.
- creep 8y ago
  Yeah, it's true. And I personally hate the thought of my bones sitting in a box in the ground. I really like the thought of the "sky burial"[1]. Basically, they bring your remains to the top of a mountain and wait for vultures to clean off the bones. Then the bones are crushed into a powder and mixed with something called tsampa for the crows and other birds to eat afterwards. It seems like a safe way to dispose of remains, is spiritually significant (to me), and is actually useful to the ecosystem. Unfortunately, it's very costly on time. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial
  - zeroname 8y ago
    Disposing of human remains in a regular cemetery is safe as well, unless maybe you drill a well right next to it. You know what excretes far more E. Coli than a dead body? A living body. That bacterium is basically everywhere where there are animals, infections are pretty common. Plus, if you have any of those artificial things that the article mentions, that will still have to be disposed of otherwise, lest the bird eat it. > Then the bones are crushed into a powder and mixed with something called tsampa for the crows and other birds to eat afterwards. Sounds like yet another great way to catch an E. Coli infection: Grinding down bone contaminated with bird poop.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  The fully opinioned coffin now comes with heated seats and mirrors, adaptive cruise control, and a hybrid turbo diesel-electric engine that only sort-of-cheats on emissions. I joke, but: funerals are as expensive as a secondhand car. Whereas I figure I’ll die at home and my dogs will eat me before anybody realises. Much cheaper. I only sort of joke here: all the bits of cows, sheep, and pigs, we don’t want to eat we turn in to other products. Why can’t we do the same for human bodies? I mean, so long as the person didn’t die of infectious disease their remains could probably be recycled in to the biosphere?
  - dmurray 8y ago
    > I mean, so long as the person didn’t die of infectious disease their remains could probably be recycled in to the biosphere? Human bodies are full of parasites and pathogens that are dangerous to humans: just because someone got hit by a car doesn't make their body sterile. That's one reason the BSE (mad cow disease) spread, feeding cows to other cows. It's also a reason we don't generally fertilize crops with human waste, although horse or cow manure works very well. So we probably can recycle human bodies, but there are extra genuine health concerns. One pretty safe way is to bury them in the ground and let them get eaten by worms - but as the article points out, even that comes with health risks.
    - selimthegrim 8y ago
      How did the Japanese do it with night soil then? Did they burn it before using it as fertilizer?
      - Nasrudith 8y ago
        Having a more or less vegetarian diet helps it some at least - less trophic layers since the diet is more akin to other herbivores although not as fibrous as grazers. Since fish was far less spread before advances in refrigeration and transportation those inland more would have been more subsidence farmer involuntarily vegan - let alone the increased acceptance of meat.
      - 8y ago

by creep 8y ago

I just always thought, "ehhh we've been burying our dead since the dawn of human existence. I'm sure they've figured out the groundwater situation by now." Now I'm spooked.

village-idiot 8y ago

Yes, we have. But we also typically just tossed the corpse into a pine box and buried it. Now we bury a hell of a lot more than just the corpse. Coffins in particular are just straight up weird to me. Polished and plush, why? They even come with rubber gaskets to “protect” your now ex-loved one, which is quite creepy when you think it through.

paulpauper 8y ago
yeah what's the deal with these massive plush caskets. it's being lowered gentry into the ground, not dropped from an airplane.
- village-idiot 8y ago
  Also, the occupant is dead.
- notduncansmith 8y ago
  I assume that "gentry" was a typo there, but in fact the massive plush caskets are precisely because of the gentry being lowered into the ground. Once nice caskets became a status symbol, it was considered crass to put your dead relatives in an ecologically-responsible plain wooden box.
  - ars 8y ago
    > it was considered crass to put your dead relatives in an ecologically-responsible plain wooden box. The Jewish religion requires plain boxes, to show that by death everyone is equal, rich and poor. It's actually preferable to have no box at all (because it slows decomposition), but US laws prevent that. So a plain wooden box with nothing that doesn't decompose is used.
    - mmmBacon 8y ago
      It’s usually cemeteries that require vaults and caskets not the government.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  A cynic in me thinks that if you wake up in the middle of being lowered into the ground, you won't be heard and rescued.
creep 8y ago
Yeah, it's true. And I personally hate the thought of my bones sitting in a box in the ground. I really like the thought of the "sky burial"[1]. Basically, they bring your remains to the top of a mountain and wait for vultures to clean off the bones. Then the bones are crushed into a powder and mixed with something called tsampa for the crows and other birds to eat afterwards. It seems like a safe way to dispose of remains, is spiritually significant (to me), and is actually useful to the ecosystem. Unfortunately, it's very costly on time. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial
- zeroname 8y ago
  Disposing of human remains in a regular cemetery is safe as well, unless maybe you drill a well right next to it. You know what excretes far more E. Coli than a dead body? A living body. That bacterium is basically everywhere where there are animals, infections are pretty common. Plus, if you have any of those artificial things that the article mentions, that will still have to be disposed of otherwise, lest the bird eat it. > Then the bones are crushed into a powder and mixed with something called tsampa for the crows and other birds to eat afterwards. Sounds like yet another great way to catch an E. Coli infection: Grinding down bone contaminated with bird poop.
TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
The fully opinioned coffin now comes with heated seats and mirrors, adaptive cruise control, and a hybrid turbo diesel-electric engine that only sort-of-cheats on emissions. I joke, but: funerals are as expensive as a secondhand car. Whereas I figure I’ll die at home and my dogs will eat me before anybody realises. Much cheaper. I only sort of joke here: all the bits of cows, sheep, and pigs, we don’t want to eat we turn in to other products. Why can’t we do the same for human bodies? I mean, so long as the person didn’t die of infectious disease their remains could probably be recycled in to the biosphere?
- dmurray 8y ago
  > I mean, so long as the person didn’t die of infectious disease their remains could probably be recycled in to the biosphere? Human bodies are full of parasites and pathogens that are dangerous to humans: just because someone got hit by a car doesn't make their body sterile. That's one reason the BSE (mad cow disease) spread, feeding cows to other cows. It's also a reason we don't generally fertilize crops with human waste, although horse or cow manure works very well. So we probably can recycle human bodies, but there are extra genuine health concerns. One pretty safe way is to bury them in the ground and let them get eaten by worms - but as the article points out, even that comes with health risks.
  - selimthegrim 8y ago
    How did the Japanese do it with night soil then? Did they burn it before using it as fertilizer?
    - Nasrudith 8y ago
      Having a more or less vegetarian diet helps it some at least - less trophic layers since the diet is more akin to other herbivores although not as fibrous as grazers. Since fish was far less spread before advances in refrigeration and transportation those inland more would have been more subsidence farmer involuntarily vegan - let alone the increased acceptance of meat.
    - 8y ago