Crab-Shaped Caskets & Coffin Torpedoes | 4M #202
Welcome to the two-hundred-and-second edition of Morticians’ Monday Morning Mashup, 4M #202, where we’ll serve up bite-sized, easily-digestible nuggets of the deathcare news you need to crush conversations in the week ahead. Bon appetit!
More than mildly infuriating
You don’t have to be a feminist to recognize the stark contrast in this couple’s epitaphs — which is why the image has gone viral on Reddit. Newsweek reached out to Parting Stone’s Carla Harvey for comment, and we love her response. “Too often, Harvey said, women are remembered only for the roles they played in service to others, while their own passions, achievements, and identities go unacknowledged.” So, as a deathcare professional, remember that you have the unique opportunity to help a family tell a person’s story — whether it’s on a grave marker, video tribute, obituary or elsewhere.
Meaningful journey
How cool is it that the Washington State Ferry system hosts memorials at sea for families in the Northwest? Anyone who wants to spread the cremains of a loved one into the Puget Sound can book a memorial on one of seven ferry routes for only $150. The ferry service also offers a biodegradable Himalayan salt “journey urn” for purchase.
New podcast
James H. Cole Home for Funerals, Michigan’s oldest Black-owned funeral home and the home of our friend, fourth-generation funeral director Antonio Green, debuted a new podcast on August 7. Antonio and his brother, Brice, are the hosts of “The Repast Podcast,” which offers an “unfiltered, informative, and deeply human look at the funeral industry and welcomes experts from across the deathcare landscape. Check out The Repast Podcast on YouTube and follow @repastpodcast on Instagram for behind-the-scenes info.
Ghana’s got it goin’ on
Who looks forward to attending a funeral? Perhaps the folks in Ghana, as their over-the-top funerals take the “celebration” part of the celebration of life event seriously. Regula Tschumi has spent 20 years photographing and researching Ghanaian funeral rituals, which include dancing pallbearers and customized coffins shaped like apples, crabs, teapots, pineapples, fish, vehicles … pretty much anything that reflects the deceased’s life or personality. The Guardian recently shared some of Tschumi’s work, which we encourage you to enjoy here!
Bring ‘em back
The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch recently reminded readers of one of the state’s forgotten inventions: the coffin torpedo. A rash of grave robberies during the Victorian era led Columbus artist Philip Clover to design and apply for a patent in 1878 for a “torpedo” that would “successfully prevent the unauthorized resurrection of dead bodies.” The device would be secured to the coffin and/or the body and would fire lead balls if someone attempted to remove the corpse. It’s not clear if the coffin torpedo was ever implemented, but one must wonder if a version of this invention could be used today to prevent the theft of vases in cemeteries. Just a thought …
