Cremation was recently deemed the “hottest thing” in the funeral industry, according to people who dictate such things. Part of the reason for people to forgo traditional burial is the cost (though Walmart can help you with that). Another reason people turn to cremation is the inherent flexibility and personalization it brings. Some prefer their ashes to be stored above the fireplace of the house they grew up in. Others want to be scattered into their favorite lake.
These eccentric ideas take cremated ashes and made them into something…different.
1. A tattoo on the bodies of loved ones.
Much has been written about personal tattoo artists who will fuse your deceased loved one with your skin by mixing the ashes into the ink.
2. A frisbee.
The man behind the success of the plastic disc had his ashes made into memorial frisbees for his family and friends.
3. A terrifying memorial of your head.
A company called ‘Cremation Solutions’ has a wide selection of urns, none as striking as the ‘Personal Urns’ which turn love one’s ashes into creepy 3d busts of their own heads.
4. Stained glass.
There is a company called Forever Close Memorials that will turn your loved ones ashes into beautiful windows and other stained glass pieces.
5. Blown glass.
New Hampshire based Art from Ashes only needs a small amount of ash to create beautiful pieces of blown glass remembrances.
6. Have your ashes dropped onto land from an airplane.
Wentzel Flying Service has scattered the ashes of over 15,000 loved ones since 1938 from above the clouds in places as varied as the Grand Canyon and even The Ganges River.
7. A balloon.
Eternal ascent will put remains in a helium balloon and allow it to float five miles into the air before exploding in the atmosphere.
8. A tree.
Memorial Tree Urn allows you to choose from 32 different seeds that your ashes will nourish into a tree.
9. Wine.
Maynard James Keenan, the frontman for the band Tool, scattered the ashes of his mother in his private vineyard and used those grapes to create a special wine named in her honor.
10. A teddy bear.
The Huggables Collection provides the cuddliest memorials of them all.
11. Immortalization in the ink of a comic book.
Mark Gruenwald was a famous writer and editor for Marvel comic books. He loved comic books so much, his dying wish was to have his body cremated and turned into ink so they he can be forever be part of the stories he loves. His ashes were inked into an issue of Squadron Supreme.
12. Space debris.
A company called Celestis will shoot your ashes into space.
13. Part of a coral reef.
An organization called Eternal Reef is dedicated to rebuilding the coral reefs. They can mix your loved ones ashes into the cement that holds the reefs down.
14. Fireworks.
Angel Flights will shoot your remains and shower them upon the earth in a blaze of glory.
Cremation can allow your final ceremony to represent the life you once lived. This is why I’m fairly certain I’m going to put my ashes in a bunch of hacky sacks and have everyone kick it around to a Grateful Dead song.