Caskets
What’s up with them and things the Mortician doesn’t want you to know.

The only purpose of a casket is to provide dignity (and convenience) when moving a body prior to burial or cremation. No casket will preserve a body forever. Unfortunately, morticians prey on the public's fears of the unknown.

ACTUAL AD FROM A FUNERAL HOME:

"We offer many different styles and prices of caskets and an alternative container from which to select. Since many caskets that appear similar in appearance may differ greatly in quality and construction, we offer the following in order to assist you in making an informed decision.

PROTECTIVE
These caskets are designed by the manufacturer to resist the entrance of air, water and other outside elements. They may be constructed of varying gauges of steel, copper or bronze.

NON-PROTECTIVE
These caskets are not designed by the manufacturer to resist the entrance of air, water or other outside elements. They may be constructed of metal, hardwood, or wood products covered with fabric."

The rubber gasket used to construct a protective casket costs about $8. But the $8 gasket is likely to raise the cost of the casket by $800 or more!

What happens to a body in a "sealed" casket?---Instead of the natural dehydration that occurs in most climates, anaerobic bacteria take over and the body putrifies—as any grave-digger can attest after an exhumation

The average cost of a funeral in the U.S. ($4,500) is almost three times that in Great Britain ($1,650) and more than twice what it is in France ($2,200) or Australia ($2,100). Some of that difference can be attributed to the cost of the casket.

All the whistles and bells make no difference to whoever's inside the casket and going broke to assure the funeral broker that you do, indeed, care, is assinine. Fully 92% of all funeral directors surveyed cited Emotional Over-Spending as the prime reason funerals are so expensive. They should know since they encourage it.