Dissolving the Dead
Read a fascinating but somewhat grisly article on a BBC website last night about an alternative to burial and cremation where the body is dissolved in a mixture of chemicals instead.
The body is placed in a large pressurised container and sealed then at the press of a button, a collection of chemicals mixed with water is introduced and the chamber heated up. Because the chamber is pressurised, the boiling point of the water is increased so as to make the process quicker. Apparently, it's the same process that a body goes through when it's decomposing only accelerated. When the process is over, the skeletal remains are washed thoroughly and the resultant liquids can safely be disposed in a normal sewer. The bones are put into a grinder like you find at crematoriums and ground to a fine white powder not unlike flour to look at.
If you're as morbid as me and find such things fascinating, you can read for yourselves here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/...lving_the_dead