My cousin died a few days ago, "only" in his mid-fifties (so you can guess how old I am, at a minimum). He was cremated. My thoughts turn to body donation (some prefer the term anatomical gifts, but that sounds like this to me). 遺體捐獻 in Chinese. I've pretty much said everything I wanted to when I wrote about organ sales.
Since I wrote those two posts I've read Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. I don't mind her joking, but sometimes her humor's a little strained. Someone's sure to say that's because she's uncomfortable with the subject, but I think sometimes she's just not funny. If she didn't joke, would that be proof that she was comfortable with her subject?
Anyway, there's nothing that she describes about what happens to dead bodies that could really bother me. Mary Roach herself seems ready for anything, except she doesn't want her corpse to be used to study crucifixion. Despite my anti-religiousness (I just typed crucifiction by mistake), I wouldn't particularly mind that, but I really think my heirs should get paid. One of the people in the book who works with cadavers says that she wouldn't donate her body, because the bodies aren't treated with dignity. Spare me! Whatever is dignified about human existence? If you don't believe me, take off your clothes and jump up and down in front of the mirror. And after you die, what do you think happens?
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