Burials Galore [How do you want to be buried]

[andrew123]

Here's a morbidly intriguing topic: How do you want to be 'taken care' of after you die, and why do you want that specific method? Economic, financial, social, environmental or familial reasons?

This has been a curious topic for quite a while. After all, all of us will have to contemplate this at one point or another.

Edited May 21, 2015 by andrew123

[xenomorph555]

An odd thread but I will deliver.

I would prefer to be buried, my reason; I don't like the idea of my body and 'being' being burned into nothing, maybe it's selfish but I just don't want to be removed from existence into source atoms and ash like that. Sorry if I offended anyone.

[andrew123]

An odd thread but I will deliver.

I would prefer to be buried, my reason; I don't like the idea of my body and 'being' being burned into nothing, maybe it's selfish but I just don't want to be removed from existence into source atoms and ash like that. Sorry if I offended anyone.

I'll be honest: my curiosity was piked after reading this morbidly wonderful arstechnica article. Just don't read it if you're eating something.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/this-is-what-happens-after-you-die/

Self-digestion

Far from being ‘dead,' a rotting corpse is teeming with life. A growing number of scientists view a rotting corpse as the cornerstone of a vast and complex ecosystem, which emerges soon after death and flourishes and evolves as decomposition proceeds.

Decomposition begins several minutes after death with a process called autolysis, or self-digestion. Soon after the heart stops beating, cells become deprived of oxygen, and their acidity increases as the toxic by-products of chemical reactions begin to accumulate inside them. Enzymes start to digest cell membranes and then leak out as the cells break down. This usually begins in the liver, which is rich in enzymes, and in the brain, which has a high water content. Eventually, though, all other tissues and organs begin to break down in this way. Damaged blood cells begin to spill out of broken vessels and, aided by gravity, settle in the capillaries and small veins, discoloring the skin.

Body temperature also begins to drop, until it has acclimatized to its surroundings. Then, rigor mortisâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å“the stiffness of deathâ€Ââ€â€sets in, starting in the eyelids, jaw, and neck muscles, before working its way into the trunk and then the limbs. In life, muscle cells contract and relax due to the actions of two filamentous proteins (actin and myosin), which slide along each other. After death, the cells are depleted of their energy source and the protein filaments become locked in place. This causes the muscles to become rigid and locks the joints.

During these early stages, the cadaveric ecosystem consists mostly of the bacteria that live in and on the living human body. Our bodies host huge numbers of bacteria; every one of the body’s surfaces and corners provides a habitat for a specialized microbial community. By far the largest of these communities resides in the gut, which is home to trillions of bacteria of hundreds or perhaps thousands of different species.

[Exoscientist]

Here is a rather unpleasant new proposal, not yet approved for humans:

New in mortuary science: Dissolving bodies with lye

CONCORD, N.H.

By Norma Love, Associated Press

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4828249&page=1

Bob Clark

[Wesreidau]

In a hole, in the ground, in the family cemetery, on the family farm, next to my wife.

[KSK]

Two options, not sure which I want yet. I'll either donate my entire body for medical research and teaching, or donate the parts that are still useful and request that the rest is buried in a cardboard coffin and a tree planted over the top.

[PakledHostage]

I'll either donate my entire body for medical research and teaching, or donate the parts that are still useful and request that the rest is buried in a cardboard coffin and a tree planted over the top.

Sounds like a noble objective. I'm not sure I'd go as far as donating my entire body for medical research and teaching, but I told my family that I want to be an organ donor. I want what's left to be cremated and the ashes strewn in a favorite place.

[Kryten]

An odd thread but I will deliver.

I would prefer to be buried, my reason; I don't like the idea of my body and 'being' being burned into nothing, maybe it's selfish but I just don't want to be removed from existence into source atoms and ash like that. Sorry if I offended anyone.

That's what happens anyway. Would you rather it be a fire, or coffin flies?

[mackadelik]

I'll go for cremation, lots of cultures did this over the course of history and I support it. That way I don't take up space in the ground or promote more cemeteries being built. If I spent my time making more money instead of playing KSP... I'd have my ashes sent into space and the urn would have a KSP logo on it : p Try adding that one to the store haha.

[Voidryder]

Cremation too, but most importantly I want my "burial" to occur after I'm good and dead. No need to rush a thing like that as I see it.

[Brotoro]

I'd like to be buried in Martian northern polar cap.

[mardlamock]

I would like to be Cryopreserved and launched into space, that way I can avoid natural disasters whilst still having the small chance of being revived.

[TheSaint]

VA cemetery. I bought a plot with six years of my life, I plan on using it.

[UmbralRaptor]

Any viable organs to be given to those who need them. As for the rest, cremation.

The silly version would involve a collision with Pluto or Orcus at several km/s.

[GeneCash]

Donation of what little might still be working. Medical teaching/research, so I can finally be useful.

Or a Hefty bag on the street corner, I don't care. I'm not using it any more.

FYI, "Stiff" by Mary Roach is an interesting look at what they do with donated corpses.

[KSK]

Sounds like a noble objective. I'm not sure I'd go as far as donating my entire body for medical research and teaching, but I told my family that I want to be an organ donor. I want what's left to be cremated and the ashes strewn in a favorite place.

Thanks.

At the risk of trying to sound 'nobler than thou', the final choice will probably be up to my folks. Both my paternal grandparents passed away recently and left specific instructions not to have a funeral, which affected me more than I thought it would. So yeah, if my folks want to have something to bury...

I gather that donating your whole body means that it needs to be preserved asap after death, so it gets taken away pretty quick.

[MrZayas1]

I personally (Even though im young) would like to be turned into a cremation diamond. Kind of expensive, maybe I could set aside a couple thousand dollars for this or something, but that seems like a great way to be remembered. Perhaps I would be embedded into a ring and worn on my daughters hand. Nothing better in my opinion.

[PakledHostage]

Both my paternal grandparents passed away recently and left specific instructions not to have a funeral, which affected me more than I thought it would.

I'm sorry to hear that. People forget that funerals are for the living.

[Duxwing]

Thanks.

At the risk of trying to sound 'nobler than thou', the final choice will probably be up to my folks. Both my paternal grandparents passed away recently and left specific instructions not to have a funeral, which affected me more than I thought it would. So yeah, if my folks want to have something to bury...

I gather that donating your whole body means that it needs to be preserved asap after death, so it gets taken away pretty quick.

:_( Oh my gosh. *hugs*

-Duxwing

[_Augustus_]

If I can't be cryogenically frozen and sent on a probe to Alpha Centauri, I will be happy with cremation.

That is, my body being flung into the atmosphere of Venus until it hits the ground and/or melts.

[andrew123]

For all of you folks who want cremation...

fung81 wrote:

Zak wrote:

I'm going to be cremated and have my ashes throw into the woods.

Cremation isn't really that great either. Sure your body gets cooked, but that is not the end of the story.

When you come out, of the fire, your body is still mostly intact. It does not become ash. Bones don't burn, they just get dried a bit.

Your bones and body gets put into a grinder that then grinds the bones to silt.

Then the jar of ash your family gets isn't always guaranteed to be the whole body, part of the body, or even the right body depending on how legit the crematory is.

Not completely the same thing, but I think Ars had a pretty good article on pet cremation.

Let mother nature do its thing with a decomposing or natural casket. At least new life comes out of it.

And I've learned to recognize the organic nature of sewer discharge...

fablefoxArs Centurion reply2 days ago

I have a question, but decided to do an internet search first... regarding where the blood went after embalming. Was it specially collected like car's oil?

http://www.funeralplan.com/askexperts/b ... lming.html

"The blood is collected into a disposal basin and eventually flushed into the sewer system"

whoa....

[Commander Jebidiah]

Shot into the sun, no idea why.

[-Velocity-]

It's hard to say...

Cremation - you get to be air, your atoms will be incorporated into plants rather soon. Creatures will breathe you in. You become a convenient bottle of ashes for your loved ones. You can even be made into synthetic diamonds. Cons: You get to contribute to global warming even in death.

.

Burial- you might become a fossil! Cons: You don't get to become new life as readily... your biomass gets locked away underground, even embalmed and made largely inedible

Donation to science: You get to help advance knowledge. Those body farms, where they put out cadavers and let them decay are kind of cool in a way, because your biomass gets to immediately be re-incorporated into the ecosystem. You can give back a little bit out of what you withdrew from your whole life, and help cops catch bad people. Cons: You become just a specimen for someone.

[zxczxczbfg]

Cremation by re-entry. Just fire my coffin into space and let it come back down.

[G'th]

Lunar impact. And funnily enough, there actually is a company that does it. Hopefully whenever the time comes they'll still be around.