Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/05/06/luke-perry-was-buried-in-a-mus.html
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I always heard he was a pretty introverted person irl, but apparently in death he’s become a real fungi.
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Caitlin approves!
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I was on board until I came across this line. This sets off my bullshit alarm at a deafening level.
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Better than putting bodies in a metal box, inside a concrete box, full of poisons that can one day leach into the soil… Fungi can function as a means of natural breaking down the body instead of working to try and preserve it in the ground for as long as possible. Ignoring the woo, a natural burial is still a hell of a good idea.
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Maybe? It might just be bad wording for something that’s actually sound.
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I’m not convinced these things actually work as advertised. It doesn’t seem like a recently deceased human body makes for good fungus food, as fungus just aren’t a significant part of breaking down animal remains. Fungus do significant work breaking down wood, soil, herbivore excrement, other fungi, there are even those that like being on living animals, but not animal remains (with the exception of a few fungi that consume insects). I’m not sure if the spores would even survive the decomposition process. At best they’d play an incredibly minor role that wouldn’t change much.
Bioremediation is a thing, but the whole thing sets off my alarms.
Agreed. But this doesn’t seem like a good way of doing it. It’s just selling an overpriced suit. (You could spend slightly more for a real green burial.)
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Some interesting claims are made. Wondering how they tested these suits before marketing…
Donated bodies? Animals? Humans? And where.
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Probably more of an exaggeration at worst.
Bodies are full of toxic stuff once they come out. Body fats break down into strong alkali, hydrochloric acid in one’s stomach… It makes sense to make the claim.
All those gooey bodily fluids become mushroom matter.
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Avoiding a casket probably has the same effect regardless of the suit.
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Admittedly, there’s not mushroom in there.
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No, and that’s the whole point of what has become the typical funeral practices in the US, preserving what isn’t meant to be preserved, a dead body.
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The unfortunate plant ‘graphics’ on these suits impedes their alternative use as “Ninja in Baby Boots” costumes. A major oversight by the makers, I must say.
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Eh. Parts is parts. I’ve certainly had kitchen storage experiments where fungi were happy to help themselves to meat dishes.
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Those are my thoughts. Or are they saying “mushroom” but it’s some other kind of fungus that is actually in the suit that is good at decomposing flesh? I would think the kind of composting they do for animal remains would work for humans though.
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You know Jewish tradition since like forever is to bury unenbalmed in a simple wooden box, so the concept of biodegradable burial is nothing new. No fancy mushrooms needed.
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“putting bodies in a mental box”
