People Are Lining Up to Be Eaten by Mushrooms
It's never too early to start planning your own funeral, right? As morbid as the thought of your own demise may be, hoards of people are clamoring to add their names to a growing waitlist so that they can be a part of the latest funeral trend (you know you want to be trendy in both life and death).
What is this newest trend?
In the name of the environment, people are ditching the traditional casket and opting to get eaten by mushrooms instead. Yes, mushrooms.
As ridiculous (and horrifying) as the concept may sound, Coeio, a New York-based company, believes they are single-handedly revolutionizing the funeral game with their soon to be released 'Infinity Suit' (set to be on the market late 2016). Despite the image the name might conjure up, this is not the type of suit you would wear to your average cocktail party.
Image credit: Coeio
Here's how it works:
The Infinity Suit (or 'mushroom death suit' as creator Jae Rhim Lee refers to it) is made of a special thread infused with mushroom spores. However, these spores are not 'normal' mushrooms, rather they have been specially selected due to their powerful eating abilities. These mushrooms are then bred with other powerful eaters in order to create a new species of 'infinity' mushrooms. The super mushrooms not only help the human body to decompose, they also clean out thousands of toxins that build up in the body over a lifetime. This ensures that as the body decompose, it does not harm the environment.
So why all the hype over this new trend? What exactly is the draw of being decomposed by super mushrooms?
There are multiple factors that have people excited by this new prospect:
1. Traditional funerals are EXPENSIVE. I'm talking college education expensive, with a casket costing up to $10,000 - and that's just the start. Many people don't wish to bankrupt their loved ones solely in the name of 'tradition'.
2. Traditional funerals have a negative impact on the environment. Not only does a tree that took forty years to reach maturation have to die for the sake of a casket that will only be used for three days, it also robs the body of it's ability to contribute nutrients back into the earth.
3. Traditional funerals have harmful effects on embalmers and other funeral home employees. In order for a person the look like they are alive when they are in fact dead, the body must be pumped full of the carcinogen chemical formaldehyde. This chemical has been known to cause deadly health effects on those who must work with it.
Why not go the popular cremation route?
Simple. The process of cremation, while cheaper, releases the thousands of toxins and metals that have accumulated within your body (such as the chemical Mercury found in dental fillings) into the environment with no filtration. In addition, to perform the act of cremation, the facilities burn through vast amounts of fossil fuels.
However, if the idea of mushrooms slowly eating you is a little much, don't worry, numerous types of 'green burial' options are popping up all over the place. These options range all the way from getting planted as a tree, to being turned into a playable record. These various burial practices will ensure that you will have your pick of unique (and creepy) ways to make your funeral both environmentally friendly and, well, memorable.
To begin browsing for your ideal burial, add your name to a waitlist or two, or cater to your curiosity about how in the world a human being can be turned into a record by clicking here.
Enjoy!
