Life After Death – Unique Ways To “Live On”

I love to people watch; I like to create scenarios in my head about where they came from, what kind of people they are, if they are happy, married, successful etc. The other day I was sitting down doing just that when a thought came to my mind. How many of these people think about what will happen to them after they die.

I’m not talking about if there is life after death or anything spiritual, I’m talking about how we decide to be buried. Now I know the world is filled with creative people, how many times have you heard someone say ‘I want to be different!’ or ‘no one has ever done that before!’? I hear these phrases all the time. We all want to stand out and get other people talking about how creative we are. This could be our need for attention or just our love for the unique. We hear these comments often when referring to things such as parties (wedding, engagements birthdays etc.), clothes, cars, events and for many other things in our life.

However, more recently there is a phenomenon of people using their creative juices even after death. While the traditional burial six-feet under is still alive and well (haha get it? Alive….ok never mind) more and more people are wishing to stand out and leave a legacy not easily forgotten. I have compiled a list of the top five bizarre ways to dispose of a body after death.

You Sound Like A Broken Record

broken record

Did you know that there is a company, And Vinyly, that offers to turn your corpse into a vinyl record! You can literally be spinning for eternity! You start off by recording a personal message to your loved ones (I would also throw some of my favorite tunes on there to liven things up a bit!) then when you pass your ashes are pressed into the record. You can also give only a body part so you are still able have your body buried. You can even out a pic of yourself on the record. This is kind of cool but kind of morbid; it would be interesting to see how many people have actually done this.

Something For The Hippies
cremated ashes to plants

In Sweden there is a company that takes the dead persons remains and turns it into a biodegradable plant. They freeze the body and then with slight vibrations turn it into a powder. After that they completely dry the body using a vacuum tube sifting through to remove any metal in your body such as tooth fillings. The powder is placed in a coffin made of corn starch and ready for burial. This is definitely the most Eco-friendly burial I have ever heard of.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

cubic zirconia

There is an American company, LifeGem, which takes the cremated remains of your loved one and creates synthetic diamonds from their ashes. After purifying the carbon in the corpse they then convert it into graphite which is then used in the synthetic diamond making process. The diamond can be engraved with the dead person’s name and comes with a letter of authenticity. You can then literally carry your loved one with you everywhere you go. Now that definitely sounds cool to me but I wonder if it would feel weird to have a diamond made from someone you love. They can also make diamonds out of a lock of hair.

Definitely More Than Six-Feet Under

Something not as bizarre as the other things on my list is burial at sea. Many countries and cultures allow and practice burial at sea where the body can be intact or cremated. The rules are a bit more strict when it comes to bodies that are not cremated, for example in America the body needs to be a certain distance away from the shore (this changes depending on the state), on average about 3-4 miles and the body needs to be in a something that is weighted so it doesn’t float, like a metal casket. The casket also needs to be more than 600 feet below the surface! Definitely a lot more than the standard 6 feet for land burials! This method has become very popular in the last decade with more and more people choosing to swim with the fish than lay with the worms.

Human Fat To Soaps & Candles

soap made from fat

Probably the most bizarre thing I have heard when it comes to corpses is the claim that the Germans in World War II made candles and soap from the fat of the people they killed. This was confirmed by a 2006 report that concluded that this actually did happen, but not on the massive scale that was originally claimed. Yikes! Now that’s sick!

So what drives a person to consider a burial so dramatically revolutionized from the current traditional 6 feet under method? Is it that need we have as a society to be unique? Is it a rebellion against tradition? I don’t know if I would consider any of these methods myself, but it’s definitely something for me…..and you, to think about. How would you want to “live on”?

[Photo: DH Photography]

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eddie

Eddie is a writer covering men's lifestyle topics for Unfinished Man. With a business degree and passion for writing, he provides reviews on the latest cars, gadgets, and other interests for today's man. Eddie crafts entertaining and informative articles aimed at helping readers live their best lives.

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