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We’re a bit morbid here at mentalfloss lately (Miss C and her corpses; me and my serial killers), which today I’ve decided to just embrace and get on with it. To that end, I think we’ve all pondered at one time or another the best way to dispose of your body after you’ve shuffled off this mortal coil, and to my thinking, none of them sound very good. I could list the ways, but I really think Monty Python does an admirable job in their famous, gross-out “Undertaker” sketch:
With that in mind, you’ll be happy to know that there’s now an alternative to the nastiness burning, burying, “dumping” or eating your dead, (as outlined in the above sketch), and it’s greener, too. Cremation uses somewhere on the order of 250 kWh of power, and is anything but emission-free; most burials in the western world involve a big clunky coffin sporting plenty of metals that aren’t going to break down anytime soon; it’s essentially littering! But the awesomely-named Magnus Hølvold over at Ecogeek just turned me on to a new way to die: resomation.
Basically, we’re talking liquification. (I couldn’t find a picture; you’re welcome.) Here’s how it works:
Within a tank called a resomator, the body is immersed in a 1:21 solution of potash lye and water. Gas-powered steam generators build up pressure within the tank as the temperature rises up to around 170 degrees celcius. Thanks to the pressure (and despite what the general news media would have you think) there is no boiling, only a chemical reaction that completely liquefies everything but the bone ash in our bodies. When the tank is opened, only the bone ash and any implants or prosthetics the person had remain.
If that still sounds gross and unpleasant (kinda reminds me of that scene in Silence of the Lambs … oh, never mind), consider this: what results from the process, bone ash and amino-acid-rich person-liquid, is absolutely pollutant- and byproduct-free; a nutrient-rich soup perfect for fertilizing plants. Also, whatever expensive prosthetics the body in question had hiding in their knees or hearts can be removed and re-used, as they’ll be undamaged by the process. And the whole shebang uses less than 100 kWh of power. (Above: bone ash. Below: a schematic of the resomator.
For more info (and bookings!) check out Resomation Ltd.
Wait, isn’t that the recipe for soylent green?
posted by brick_city_man on 4-10-2008 at 11:42 am
Doesn’t cremation cost quite a bit for what it is? I just want to be buried in some remote area… for free! Just a shovel and some man-power. I think funeral homes really take advantage of people when selling coffins, services, burial plots, etc. If I want the most cost-efficient method of burial, why can’t I have those who bury me be able to do so?
posted by CK on 4-10-2008 at 11:51 am
Please don’t stop burials! Archaeologists need people to dig up. Think of it this way, by being buried you are providing the opportunity for future generations to learn about diseases and what type of life you led through your bones.
posted by Katie on 4-10-2008 at 11:52 am
Hey there! I got a google alert with my name on it, so I -had- to check it out! Thanks for the very honorable mention! ^_^ It’s weird to me that people find my name so fascinating outside of Norway, but I guess you people are just WEIRD! Freaks.
Seriously though, I thought I’d answer Katie here and say that while it’s true that we learn a lot from the bones of our forefathers, most of the bones archaeologists find interesting are thousands of years old. Why? Because we’ve exhaustively been cataloguing and researching our own bodies for centuries and centuries, so there’s no real need for it. Also: In modern graveyards, the graves are dug up after forty years or so in most countries (unless the family reserves the plot, which costs money) in order to save space, effectively removing the skeletons from the earth.
posted by Magnus H on 4-10-2008 at 12:14 pm
Eeww.
posted by Sarah on 4-10-2008 at 12:39 pm
There’s a book entitled Stiff that has a chapter dedicated to this. It’s a really interesting/funny book if anyones into this kinda stuff, all about what happens to cadavars throughout the world.
posted by Jenna on 4-10-2008 at 1:11 pm
I’ve always said I would like my body to be dumped unceremoniously in the woods for the local fauna and flora to benefit from all the lovely byproducts of my bloated dead selfless self. I figure that it’s got to be the most natural way to go.
posted by Stephen Davis on 4-10-2008 at 1:15 pm
This would be a great business opportunity to capitalize on all those who want to live (and die) green.
On the farm, we would dig a hole, fill it part way with lime, dump dead livestock, cover with more lime and bury. Because we did not have an incinerator, this is how we were told by the county to safely dispose of animals that couldn’t be rendered (ie: made into dog food). This is both green and cheap - about $10 if you are willing to dig the hole yourself.
Personally, I would like to be left in the woods so that nature could take its course - the whole circle of life thing.
posted by SDK on 4-10-2008 at 1:16 pm
@Stephen - yeah, but stinky.
I totally love this idea.
posted by Helen on 4-10-2008 at 1:43 pm
Or you can opt to get an eco pod, which is basically a coffin made out of paper.
Missy.
posted by Missy Diaz on 4-10-2008 at 1:44 pm
Like Stephen, I just want to have my body thrown into the woods or deep in the sea, and have the animals and plants enjoy my body.
Unfortunately, my country’s goverment and religious leaders think that is against nature, or something.
posted by Xiomara on 4-10-2008 at 3:42 pm
Jenna-I read Stiff, and it is such a great book. I have actually looked in the the liquid nitrogen way of body disposal. There are a few companies that do that.
Basically you are put in a vat of liquid nitrogen, then after frozen ultrasound breaks up the body into a fine sterile dust. The body is given to loved ones in a biodegradible box and then you are supposed to bury it and plant a tree.
It’s cheap and good for the earth.
posted by Heather on 4-10-2008 at 6:25 pm
I weigh over 350 lbs., so I’ve always thought the best thing for me would be to be rendered into soap and candles. You could cremate the rest, then hand out the soap and candles at mementos at my funeral. What can I say, I like being useful.
posted by airship on 4-11-2008 at 9:18 am
Hi, I must reply to Magnus. I am in fact that archaeologist, or more specifically the osteologist and paleopathologist who actually analyses skeletons and although yes we have learned quite a lot, every day as a result of new technologies like aDNA retrieval, stable isotope analysis as well as analysis at the cellular level we are learning new ways to diagnose disease both in the skeletons themselves and in living patient today. Although we do dig up bones that are thousands of years old we also dig up “historic” skeletons (less then 3oo years old) in areas across North America, Europe, Asia etc and we are continuing to learn a lot not only about diseases themselves but also how the social stigma attached to various diseases continues beyond the grave in separate burial locations and differing burial rites and rituals. We need to continue to bury our dead so when our techniques and technology itself improves in the future there will be remains for people to study. Even today we have a practice of leaving parts of known cemeteries intact so future generations can return to those sites and examine them with new ideas and methods of research.
posted by Katie on 4-11-2008 at 9:39 am
I want to be stuffed and have a soda can put in one hand and a remote in the other.
posted by Melodye on 4-11-2008 at 11:40 am
I prefer to recycle my useful parts via organ donation. Let them dissect the rest if they want to.
posted by solak on 4-11-2008 at 11:44 pm
Discover magazine reported a while back that a new invention could turn a 175 body into “38 pounds of oil, 7 pounds of gas, and 7 pounds of minerals, as well as 123 pounds of sterilized water.” blogcritics.org/archives/2003/04/23/165907.php
That would seem to be the greenest option, even if that article says it isn’t planned for such a use.
BTW, don’t the lye and potash require energy to be produced and shipped to the resomation facility?
posted by Cy Guy on 4-12-2008 at 1:03 am
I’m still a fan of the “Viking Funeral,” but this liquification process sounds like my new best bet! Carve my name on a rock and set it out somewhere, but don’t take up more earth-space with my (chemically-slowed) rotting!
posted by kitsana_d on 4-15-2008 at 8:07 pm