Step 1: The Mortician places the body in a furnace that can get up to 1800 degrees Celsius, for 1-3 hours. This is basically to rid the body of its flesh.
Step 2: The dried bones are crushed by a type of compacting machine.
Step 3: Crushed remains go through a magnetized area that collects any metals that might have been inside the body.
Step 4: What's left is put in an industrial grinder.
Step 5: The "ashes" are collected and placed into whatever jar or container the deceased purchased.
Death isn't glamourous. I want a more personal send-off than a computerized process, so I have decided to be buried in a shroud. Seems strange, but much cooler.
You're right. How we treat and dispose of our dead can get down right creepy (or impersonal as in your cremation example). I'm working on living forever so may not have to make this kind of decision. My mom has told me however that I am NOT to be cremated (for her own bizarre reasons and frankly it creeps me out that my mom has even thought of how to "dispose" of my remains).
ReplyDeleteCarl and I have discussed this and disagreed for years about his being cremated. I won the argument and we will both be buried in a veterans cemetery in SE Missouri.
ReplyDeleteWe weren't meant to experience death...death came after the fall. Thankfully, my last heart beat on this earth will be followed with my first glimpse of heaven.
@Justin- Good luck on living forever. I'm not sure if I want to live on this deadly sphere forever. anyway... there are a lot of issues on burial for religious purposes. The stories and reasons for that are more interesting than the processes sometimes.
ReplyDelete@Miz Pinney- I don't mean to sound like a tree hugger, but taking up space and leaving my kin with a death bill just doesn't sound cool. It's all about being cool before the ascension. :)
Justin, I can see how you would be creeped out about your mom thinking about disposing of your remains, but I did get a good laugh out of it.
ReplyDeleteDeath really isn't glamourous, even though I watch way too many crime shows for my own good. I always figured out of the choices of coffin/burial & cremation that I would go the cremation route, but who knows what crazy stuff they are going to come up with in the (hopefully) far & yonder distant future.
Just as long as they make sure I'm actually dead first!