
Dissolving the Dead - nols
http://thewalrus.ca/dissolving-the-dead/
======
rl3
> _After twenty minutes or so, he placed them in his bone press, turning them
> to dust before wheeling in the second body._

That seems like such a waste. If it were me, I'd want my bones artificially
reconnected to one another, then my skeleton donated to a comedy club or
something.

No reason to stop having fun just because you're dead.

~~~
zck
The comedian/improviser Del Close willed his skull to a theatre to be in
Hamlet ([http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/as-del-lay-
dying/Conten...](http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/as-del-lay-
dying/Content?oid=1109931)):

> "I give my skull to the Goodman Theatre, for a production of Hamlet in which
> to play Yorick, or for any other purposes the Goodman Theatre deems
> appropriate." At a press conference on July 1, 1999, Charna gave Robert
> Falls, the Goodman's artistic director, a skull resting on a red velvet
> cushion inside a Lucite box. Falls held out the skull in his right hand and
> spoke. "Alas, poor Del! I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest..."

> But the skull wasn't Del's. Charna came clean in the October 9, 2006, issue
> of the New Yorker. After Del died, hospital personnel laughed at her request
> to remove the head, suggesting that she contact the Illinois Society of
> Pathologists. They too ultimately refused. After two days, she reluctantly
> had the body cremated in its entirety. Then she went skull shopping at the
> Anatomical Chart Company in Skokie. She purchased a skull there, and to make
> it resemble Del's she and her sister pulled out as many teeth as they could
> manage before turning it over to the Goodman.

> The truth doesn't seem to matter to most of those who knew him. Robert Falls
> still keeps the skull on his bookshelf. The attitude of most of Del's
> friends is that if it wasn't originally Del's skull, it is now.

~~~
rl3
I read the full story and quite enjoyed it, thanks for the link.

------
sandGorgon
In my last startup, my primary product was a CRM of sorts for the US funeral
industry. Coming from Hindu country, I was kinda puzzled on why does one need
CRM and accounting systems in deathcare over a period of 30 years - think of
one "lead" changing states for 30 years.

That is until I realized that the primary business of deathcare in the US
revolves around real estate. People want to be buried under a tree on top of
the hill with the gentle sea breeze.. And not near a place where a dig can
take a dump.

Very surprising.. And IMHO wasteful for someone like me, who admittedly
belongs to another belief.

Also, since a lot if people have written about this, the Parsis (a community
in India who trace their descent from Iran) feed their dead to vultures.
Sadly, Mumbai don't have too many vultures... So now, they are mandated by law
to cremate them.

------
Killah911
How about just burying the body, no embalming fluid, no casket etc & letting
it decompose. Is that harmful to the environment?

~~~
ComputerGuru
This is the norm in Arab/Muslim countries where their doctrine instructs that
the (naked) dead should be covered only in a simple, white cotton shroud and
buried six feet under; caskets and embalming fluids are not used. (Hence the
Islamic requirement for a speedy (same day if possible) burial, no wake, etc.)

In similar vein, mausoleums, raised tombstones, and cemetery shrines are also
forbidden (the overall theme is "we are all equal in death").

The net result is that cemeteries are "reusable" and some of the most-popular
in Saudi Arabia ("jannatul baqee'" a là Arlington Cemetery) are
reused/recycled every so many decades (or is it once a century, once the
denizens are forgotten/no longer visited?).

~~~
pascalmemories
Are you sure about that ?

[http://www.bury.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=4013&p=0](http://www.bury.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=4013&p=0)

Specifically discussing Moslem burials, offers :

Types of graves available

Timber, brick or concrete vaults

On request, graves will be lined with timber, brick or concrete breeze blocks
to form an inner shell in the grave space. Please note that we require the
following notice for these types of vault.

And in NY
([http://www.isnf.org/Documents/GuideToMuslimFuneralsInWestern...](http://www.isnf.org/Documents/GuideToMuslimFuneralsInWesternNewYork.pdf))
you are charged extra for not having a lining on the grave.

"A concrete or other permanent outer burial container is not required, but
there is an additional charge for a burial without an outer burial container."

~~~
ComputerGuru
Absolutely positive, I've been to quite a few. You can refer to Wikipedia, a
quick glance shows it to be in line with what I was saying:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_funeral#Enshrouding_th...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_funeral#Enshrouding_the_deceased)

The UK burial section for Muslims might be for offshoots or sects; for
example, I do not know if Shiaa Muslims adhere to the same. Or it could be
like here in the US: government regulations say you can't bury people sans-
casket, so it could be "these (and only these) are your options."

------
cmurf
Carrion. Just toss me out into the desert.

------
jaysoncena
Isn't this similar to what cartels does to dispose bodies?

~~~
scurvy
Yep. El Pozolero was famous (infamous?) for this. [0]

[0] [http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2013/04/el-pozolero-legacy-
of-...](http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2013/04/el-pozolero-legacy-of-death-by-
tijuanas.html)

------
fizixer
I'm starting to believe that every form of burial other than cryonics is
unethical.

As in you are taking away an opportunity from that human to have another shot
at life.

~~~
davegardner
The big assumption you're making is that everyone would want another shot at
life. I'd be surprised if that were universally true.

~~~
krapp
No, the big assumption here is that cryonics will ever work.

