Healthbolt

The Sunday Sidebar…Dealing with the Dead.

by Liz on May 11th, 2008

There are only two things that are guaranteed in this world - you are born and you will die. Just how long you have between the two events depends on a multitude of factors. Longevity is possible, and for most of us highly probable (so says the Vitality Compass).

Death and dealing with the dead might seem like a morbid topic but apparently it’s also a very popular one. After all, how many of you were hooked on Six Feet Under?

Top 10 Weird Ways We Deal with the Dead.

This is a fascinating list of what happened to the dead throughout history. From ‘towers of silence’ and ‘tree burials’ to ‘plascination’ and ‘cyronics’, humankind has always looked at different ways to bury the dead and honor the spirits.

A New Twist to the Burial at Sea

Forget about six feet under. The Neptune Memorial Reef is offering a much more deeper burial option. Located in open waters just off the coast of Key Biscayne, this reef is being marketed as the perfect final resting place for those who loved the sea. A relatively new development, the artifical reef’s first phase has room for only 850 remains. But the company is planning on the concept growing with the reef one day covering 16 acres and room enough for 125,000 remains. A person’s ashes are mixed with cement and fitted into a mold which is then taken by a diver in the memorial area and secured onto the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person’s name, date of birth and death.

Museums

Turns out there are even museums that focus solely on the dead and the mortuary business…

National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, Texas is where you can learn about Civil War embalming practices and check out fantasy coffins. The museum itself is housed in a reproduction of an early 1900’s coffin factory. There’s even a funeral industry Hall of Fame.

Museum of Mourning Art at Arlington Cemetery in a replicia of Mount Vernon, explores grief and mourning throughout history.

Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, Illinios focuses on the history of American funeral and mourning customs.