cremation

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In South Korea, Human Ashes Become ... Beads

South Korea firm turns human ashes into pretty beads

(Newser) - South Korea, with its Confucian heritage, has long honored the dead, but these days there's little space for outdoor burials and many people find the thought of stowing a loved-one's ashes in an urn distasteful. That's where a company called Bonhyang comes in: It transforms the ashes...

Bad Economy Boosts Cremations Over Burials

They're getting even more popular, with families citing savings

(Newser) - The dismal state of the economy has prompted more Americans to choose cremation over traditional burial services to save money, reports the New York Times . Cremations have been steadily rising in popularity since 1985 (41% now vs. 15% then) but the spike has been more pronounced in the last decade....

Guy Tries to Cremate Dog, Sets Fire to House

Now he's without his best friend and a place to live

(Newser) - A Virginia man accidentally set fire to his house while trying to cremate his dead dog, reports InsideNova . He reportedly set fire to wood that he placed next to the body of his 11-year-old Rottweiler, and added gasoline to encourage the backyard fire. The intensified flames caused $70,000 worth...

Box Labeled 'Grandma's Urn' Left at Goodwill

No, it's not for sale

(Newser) - State police in Michigan are trying to find who left what appear to be a grandmother's cremated remains in an urn at a Goodwill near Flint, Michigan. "It's got to be the No. 1 or No. 2 weirdest item" the store has ever received, says the store...

Japan Resorts to Mass Graves
 Japan Resorts to Mass Graves 
Mar 23, 2011 2:16 PM CDT

Japan Resorts to Mass Graves

Quake left too many dead to cremate

(Newser) - Thanks to the earthquake, the Japanese have been forced to do a lot of something they usually avoid at all costs: burying their dead. Japan’s Buddhist traditions dictate that bodies should be cremated, and the ashes stored in family tombs; burial is outright illegal in many places. But with...

In Greece, Graves Are Only for Rent

After that you have to watch while they dig up your relatives

(Newser) - If you’re looking forward to resting in peace someday, try not to kick it in Greece. The country is so drastically short on cemetery space that by law the dead may only rent graves, and then for a maximum of three years, reports Alex Mar of Slate , whose grandparents...

Cremated Ice-Age Remains Found in Alaska

Oldest such find ever in northern North America

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered the oldest cremated human remains ever unearthed in northern North America, they tell the Anchorage Daily News . The Fairbanks team found the remains of a 3-year-old in an ancient fire pit in central Alaska; they believe the child—only the second ice-age child discovered on the continent—...

At Cuckoo's Nest Facility, 3,500 Forgotten Remains

Officials contact kin of patients at Nurse Ratched's stomping grounds

(Newser) - The remains some 3,500 patients of an Oregon mental hospital used as a stand-in for the sadistic facility in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have sat in a storage area for years—and officials have published the names of patients who died at the hospital between...

Drug-Seeking Burglars Snort Man, Dog Ashes

Teen sniffers were hoping for cocaine, heroin, say cops

(Newser) - Oops. Burglars were so desperate for drugs when they broke into a Florida home that they snorted a powder found in a ceramic urn. But they didn't get even a hint of a buzz because they had inhaled some of the cremated remains of the former man of the house...

9 Weird Options for Your Ashes
 9 Weird Options for Your Ashes 
Nov 3, 2010 12:16 PM CDT

9 Weird Options for Your Ashes

Companies will make your cremains into fireworks, diamonds, art

(Newser) - For some, the traditional casket funeral is a stiff, depressing way to mark the passing of a loved one. Wilder souls may take comfort in the options provided by a growing list of companies who will transform your remains into a wide range of objects. Salon checked it out and...

Undertakers Want to Flush Your Corpse

Eco-friendly Belgians would dissolve you, send to sewer system

(Newser) - Researchers in Belgium want to flush you down the toilet. A group of undertakers say dead people ought to be dissolved, flushed, and sent to water treatment plants—all in the name of eco-efficiency. They tell the Telegraph that the procedure, which is being studied by the EU, beats cremation...

China Cremates Quake Dead
 China Cremates Quake Dead 
Apr 17, 2010 6:47 AM CDT

China Cremates Quake Dead

Number of victims makes 'sky burials' impossible

(Newser) - Monks wearing face masks set ablaze piles of the blanket-wrapped bodies of China's earthquake victims on a mountaintop today, as necessity forced Tibetans to break with the tradition of leaving their dead out for vultures. Hundreds of villagers sat on the hillside, watching as the flames leapt skyward, while monks...

Heads, Torsos Found in Medical Waste Shipment

Company claimed it had cremated them

(Newser) - Police have arrested the owner of a company they say claimed to cremate bodies, but instead dismembered them and dumped them as medical waste. The saga began when seven human heads and torsos, which appeared to have been cut up with a chainsaw or something similar, were found inside of...

Jack Nicholson Wouldn't Mind Being Eaten by Vultures

Actor, 72, mulls Native American 'sky burial'

(Newser) - At 72, Jack Nicholson has been thinking about death, or, more particularly, burial arrangements. One option he finds appealing, he tells German TV, is a Native American practice that would leave his body to the vultures. “I liked the nature of the Indians who haul their bodies up into...

In Tough Times, Families Reselling Burial Plots

Cemeteries report brisk sales of late

(Newser) - People struggling with bills and other earthly concerns are unloading burial plots at a fast clip. One Florida cemetery made as many “buybacks” in the first half of this year as in all of 2008, another in Ohio reports a similar spike, and ads are plentiful on funeral property...

Patrick Swayze to Be Cremated
 Patrick Swayze to Be Cremated 
SWAYZE ROUNDUP
Sep 16, 2009 7:11 AM CDT

Patrick Swayze to Be Cremated

Plus, a first look at the actor's book with wife Lisa Niemi, and more tributes

(Newser) - Patrick Swayze’s ashes will be spread across his New Mexican Rancho de Días Alegres (Ranch of Happy Days), which he called his favorite place in the world, a source tells Radar. The actor’s body, currently in Los Angeles, will be cremated within 48 hours. More Swayze news:...

Funeral Biz Reels as More Opt for Cheaper Cremation

Recession takes a toll on pricey burials

(Newser) - It's sometimes said that death is the only recession-proof industry, but current trends seem to prove that axiom wrong, CNN writes. Funeral homes across the country are reporting a decline in profits—not because fewer people are dying, of course, but because more people are opting for cremation and scrimping...

Die-Hard Gator Alums May Find Final Resting Place at UF

Dedicated Gators want to spend eternity on campus

(Newser) - University of Florida alums who want their final resting place to be somewhere on the campus of their alma mater will likely get their wish, the Gainesville Sun reports. A bill that cleared a Florida Senate committee today would allow any of Florida’s state universities to build a columbarium—...

Fans' Ashes in Limbo as Yankee, Shea Shut Doors

As Shea and Yankee stadiums shut, relatives fret over final resting places

(Newser) - Now that Yankee Stadium and Shea have shut their doors forever, people who scattered ashes in their favorite ballpark worry that their loved ones may spend eternity in a parking lot, the New York Times writes. Some are searching for a way to get some dirt out of the hallowed...

As Cremations Increase, So Do Options

Lower cost, greater personalization appeal to families

(Newser) - The cremation industry is booming, a reflection of tighter economic times and a push from consumers for more creative funeral options, reports the Washington Post. Cremations, cheaper than traditional burial, rose 7% nationwide in the past 5 years and made up 35% of the funeral market last year. Funeral homes...

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