Library of Dust depicts individual copper canisters, each containing the cremated remains of patient from a state-run psychiatric hospital. The patients died at the hospital between 1883 (the year the facility opened, when it was called the Oregon State Insane Asylum) and the 1970’s; their bodies have remained unclaimed by their families.
posted by oneirodynia on Aug 4, 2008 - 17 comments

Thanatorama [flash] You died this morning. Are you interested in what comes next? Webdocumentaire.
posted by tellurian on Nov 1, 2007 - 25 comments

Hallstatt, Austria, besides being idylic, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is historically fascinating: A Bronze Age cultural center, with a 2,500-year-old salt mine (the world's first); beautiful ice caves; and a Catholic cemetery so small that the dead were regularly disinterred after a time, their skulls painstakingly identified and decorated and stacked in an ossuary.
posted by bigskyguy on Aug 28, 2007 - 5 comments

My post-mortem to-do checklist, so far: 1. Study marine biology. 2. Accessorize my hot, wealthy widow. 3. Relay a few spooky telegrams to my spooky new friends. 4. Try to look as suspicious as possible. And that's even before rigor mortis sets in!
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Aug 8, 2006 - 37 comments

"Our society really doesn't deal well with the whole dying process." No, it's not a hoax. Through the magic of soft teddy bears, pillows, and plush dogs or cats, you can hold your deceased loved one, thanks to Huggable Urns. It's founder, Alexandra, Lachini was inspired to form the enterprise after her recently departed father spoke to her. "All I wanted to do was hold him again, but the urn was hard and impersonal." For less than $100, her solution can be yours too.
posted by motherfather on Jul 5, 2006 - 34 comments

There's a new option available for pet owners who can't bear to say goodbye when their furry friends pass on: having them freeze-dried. Is this just a comforting alternative, or just a way to make some cold cash?
posted by debralee on Sep 14, 2002 - 10 comments

Damned if you do, damned if you're dead. If families don't purchase an expensive urn for cremated remains, require them to purchase a $45 temporary container. But be sure to stamp it "Temporary Container" on all four sides, advises one industry newsletter. The funeral industry may not be making any friends, but they're making a boatload of money. The Funeral Consumers Alliance would like to help them make a little less.
posted by headspace on Mar 19, 2002 - 14 comments

Crematory operated for years without burning bodies. Hundreds of decaying corpses found strewn about, and the crematory owners lived next door. Apparently, the furnace broke down, and cost too much to fix. How exactly does one deal with a crime like this? (NYT link)
posted by Ptrin on Feb 17, 2002 - 52 comments

"Man's Body Left on Front Porch After Funeral Home Isn't Paid for His Cremation." Ah, American Death Inc.--gotta love 'em. Any other stories like this out there? Not that all funeral homes are so um efficiently run.
posted by aflakete on Oct 9, 2001 - 20 comments