Burials and cremations with your mobile
More people than ever are apparently asking to be buried with their mobile. The trend, which started in South Africa through fear of being buried whilst under a spell, has now moved onto Ireland, Australia, Ghana and the USA.
According to Martin Raymond, from trend-spotting think-tank, The Future Laboratory, the trend has moved from fear to a show of affluence, with people following the example of the ancient Egyptians, wanting to be buried with items that represent their lifestyle. They term these burials as "limelight funerals", with diamonds, jewellery, expensive suits, and gold watches also ending up in the hole.
In some cases, people are even taking their mobiles into cremation. According to Mr Raymond, this leads to explosions during the cremation process when the mobile battery heats up – which is how the trend was first noticed.
To get round this, some funeral parlours will now arrange for the phone put into the box with the ashes following the cremation. And one service in South Africa will put a number of batteries in the coffin just in case the dead person wakes up much later and finds their own battery has run out.
Via The BBC
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