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Death is a profound, often spiritual event, but the practical concern afterward is what to do with the body. While burial and cremation are still the most widely used methods to dispose of a body, many have explored cleaner, eco-friendly, cost-efficient, and more personal alternatives for handling our remains.
However, it's not always as straightforward as it may seem. Regardless of the method you choose, there's usually something left behind. Yet, if you're looking for a unique farewell or a way to make your remains serve a purpose, you might want to consider the following options.
10. Drift Off Into Space
If you’ve always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, you might consider spending eternity as a tiny particle of cosmic dust. For approximately $2,500, you can launch your cremated remains into space. In return, you'll receive a custom-made ‘ash capsule’ designed to hold your ashes. This capsule is then placed in a satellite and sent off into the vast expanse of space.
There’s even the option to have your name engraved on the satellite as a tribute. Once the satellite reaches the end of its orbit around Earth, it will disintegrate during re-entry into the atmosphere, and your remains will blaze across the sky as a 'shooting star.'
Currently, though, there’s only space for a small portion of your ashes to be sent into space. Future advancements in technology may enable funeral directors to scatter ashes on the Moon or even shoot them into deep space.
For those looking for a brief yet thrilling experience, one company also provides a service where your ash capsule is dropped with a parachute from the edge of space, giving you one final exhilarating journey. Of course, once your remains land, your loved ones will have to figure out what to do with them next.
9. Transform Into A Diamond
During the Victorian era, people had a strange fascination with creating keepsakes from the deceased, often crafting jewelry from their loved ones' hair. Thankfully, modern science has given us more visually appealing and far less uncomfortable alternatives. You can transform into a diamond.
While the human body is primarily composed of water, about 18 percent of it is carbon, the very same element that makes up diamonds. These diamonds are eco-friendly, as they aren’t mined, and they are ethically produced without relying on child labor, unlike many traditional diamond mining operations. Plus, unlike a hair brooch, these diamonds can be turned into a dazzling necklace.
Carbon is extracted from the remains and subjected to high heat and pressure, mimicking the natural process inside the Earth. However, this method takes only a few weeks, after which the diamond is ready to be cut and polished.
The diamonds produced, which share the same molecular structure as those mined from the Earth, are often blue due to trace boron, though they can also appear in other colors. Just like humans, each diamond is unique in its characteristics.
8. Rest With The Fishes
Resomation, also known as water cremation, is a method that involves dissolving human remains in a water-based alkaline solution. The body is placed inside a pressurized chamber with potassium hydroxide and heated to 152°C (306°F). In about three hours, the body is reduced to bones, which are then ground into a fine white powder. This process uses less energy than traditional cremation and produces fewer emissions, making it more environmentally friendly.
The decomposition process mirrors what would occur if the body were buried, but the high heat and extremely alkaline water accelerate it, allowing decomposition to occur in just 90 minutes instead of taking much longer. At the end of the procedure, the powdered remains are given to the family, who must decide what to do with them.
A sea burial might seem like a fitting option.
7. Turn Into An Ice Cube
If you’re not fond of getting your feet wet, you might want to consider promession, which involves freeze-drying your remains. The proposed method would use liquid nitrogen to freeze your body and extract the water, which makes up 60 percent of the human body.
The body would be frozen to approximately minus 200 degrees Celsius (–328 °F), making it extremely brittle. It would then be vibrated with sound waves until it breaks down into dust, leaving behind only dental fillings or surgical implants. The dust would then be collected and returned to the family.
You could place the dust in a biodegradable coffin and bury it, allowing it to naturally decompose into compost in about a year. However, what do you do with the compost afterward? The dilemma seems to be ongoing. In the end, the company that was set to offer promession shut down before any remains were processed.
Drat.
6. Become The Spirit In The Sky
Maybe we’re overcomplicating things. If you prefer something simpler, you might want to consider a Tibetan sky burial. Villagers will transport your body to a burial site, typically located on a mountain, while your family stays home to pray. Once there, after some ritual prayers, Tibetan monks and nuns will burn incense and tsampa (a roasted flour mix with butter or milk, commonly eaten in Tibet), attracting vultures to carry your remains into the sky.
Your body may be fed to the vultures as is, or, to make it easier for the birds, a 'body breaker' may chop you into pieces. As the vultures circle above, the monks will step aside, allowing the birds to swoop down and feast.
Ideally, the vultures will clean the bones, leaving only the skeleton behind. If the vultures consume everything except the bones, it's considered a good omen. However, if even the vultures refuse to eat you, it may be interpreted as a sign of bad deeds in your past life, affecting the taste of your flesh.
Sky burials continue to be practiced in Tibet, though those who have died of infectious diseases are often cremated instead to avoid spreading disease to the vultures. Tibetan Buddhists view the body as an empty vessel that once held the spirit. Since the spirit has already moved on to a new life, offering the body to vultures is seen as an act of generosity, giving back to the Earth.
Once the vultures are finished, the remaining skeleton is often ground into powder and mixed with tsampa. This mixture is then offered to other birds.
5. Become A Tree
If you prefer the idea of being part of something larger, you might choose to transform your remains into something useful. Rather than being buried in a traditional coffin marked by a gravestone, you could opt to be placed inside a biodegradable 'egg' that helps nurture a tree. As the egg decomposes in the earth, it provides the nutrients a growing sapling requires.
The creators of these capsules envision cemeteries made of trees rather than gravestones. However, they’ve faced bureaucratic challenges in many places and, for now, can mostly bury only cremated remains in their pods. While this still enriches the soil, it may not supply enough nourishment for a full-grown tree.
4. Become A Dummy
If you want your remains to serve a higher purpose, you could consider donating your body to medical science. But if you're seeking something a bit more striking, you could opt to become one of Gunther von Hagens’s plastinated anatomical figures.
Von Hagens created a method to drain all bodily fluids and fats from tissue, then infuse the empty cells with plastic under vacuum pressure, allowing the tissue to harden. This groundbreaking process made it possible to preserve anatomical specimens for public display, no longer confined to jars.
Not stopping there, he founded his own institution to display these preserved specimens. His exhibits, often featuring models posed in various positions like dummies, have toured the globe, though not without stirring debate.
Gunther von Hagens himself has expressed a wish to be plastinated after his death, even hoping to stand at the entrance of his exhibitions as a macabre welcoming figure. He’s not alone in this; over 17,000 individuals have enrolled to have their remains turned into anatomical displays, including his wife and family.
3. A Feast for Thought
The word 'cannibalism' has long carried a dark and disturbing connotation, with those who engage in it often believed to be driven by either severe hunger or a twisted desire. However, in certain cultures, 'peaceful' cannibalism has been practiced for centuries, and recently, there has been speculation that, due to overpopulation and food scarcity, this practice could make a comeback.
In the 1980s, anthropologist Aparecida Vilaca researched the practice of cannibalism among the Wari’ people in the Brazilian rainforest. They practiced two distinct types of cannibalism. 'Exocannibalism' involved consuming outsiders—either captured enemies or strangers who accidentally wandered into their midst—while 'endocannibalism' referred to the consumption of deceased family members and friends.
Exocannibalism took place in a celebratory setting. The meat would be roasted, and participants would indulge enthusiastically. In contrast, endocannibalism was a more somber affair. After a death, the entire community would assemble to share the meal. A non-relative would carefully chop the meat into tiny pieces, and the solemn diners would eat it using small utensils.
Endocannibalism has been recorded in regions like Australia, South America, and Africa. This practice has held significant value in funeral rituals worldwide at various points in history. It has even been suggested that some tribes in Borneo incorporated 'secretions' from a deceased body in the making of their rice wine, which was then distributed among funeral attendees to honor the dead, although this claim remains unproven.
2. Become a Record
You might consider turning yourself into a vinyl record, which can be given to your loved ones after your passing. The record could feature recordings of your voice or even a song. (Though copyright issues could arise.) Alternatively, you could hire musicians to create a song in your honor.
Ashes are incorporated in the later stages of production and are visible to the naked eye. While only about a teaspoonful of ashes are used for each record, you could always share them as mementos with your family and friends.
Given that your ashes typically range in weight from 1.8 to 4.5 kilograms (4 to 10 lbs), you would need a large number of friends to help you scatter your remains in this manner.
1. Become A Firework
Funerals can be incredibly somber, so what better way to lighten the mood than with an exciting fireworks display? And if you can merge the two, all the better.
Johnny Depp set a trend when he fired the ashes of his friend, the legendary author Hunter S. Thompson, into the night sky from a massive cannon during a grand fireworks memorial.
Although Thompson's funeral reportedly cost millions, you can now have a portion of your remains launched into the sky for a much more affordable price. Many funeral providers now offer the option of firing part of your ashes in rockets, or even letting them spin around in a Catherine wheel. Funeral fireworks are growing in popularity as people opt for a dramatic farewell, making a memorable exit from their own memorial service.
Unless you happen to have the financial backing of a mega-star, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to fit all your remains into your fireworks. Most rockets can only hold about a teaspoon of ash. Even if you fired a rocket for each year of your life, you're probably going to have some leftover.
You might consider placing the remainder in a sand bucket, where guests can use it to extinguish their sparklers.
