Infographics offer an interesting way to visualize concepts that can be abstract. Because they provide such a straightforward way to turn ideas into images, infographics have become quite popular. You might be surprised at how many different ways there are of looking a subject when you begin to study various infographics.

One subject with many approaches is death. We all die sometime, although the causes and circumstances may vary. If you are interested in learning more about your eventual devise, these 10 infographics on death offer interesting insight.

1. Population of the Dead

Estimates of the current world population of the living are at more than 6.8 billion. But how many people have died? This interesting infographic looks at how many people have died in the past 200,000 years, as compared to the current population of the living. According to this infographic, Population of the Dead, 106 billion people have lived on this planet. Since only 6.8 billion are alive now, that puts the population of the dead at just under 100 billion. 4.1 billion people died during the 20^th Century alone.

2. Chances of Death in America

One of the coolest infographics on death is Chances of Death in America. This interactive infographic allows you to play minesweeper to find different causes of death. Then the infographic provides visual representations of your chances of dying due to those specific causes of death. Includes information on heart disease, car accident, cancer, poison and terrorist attack.

3. Death Odds

Another infographic that offers information on your odds of dying from various causes, Death Odds provides an interesting look at even more probably causes of death. Includes suicide, earthquake, drowning, fireworks discharge and many more. Also includes an interesting figure of the total odds of dying. There is a 100% chance that someone, somewhere, will die of something each day.

4. Leading Causes of Death

Around the world, there are a number of different causes of death. Interestingly, though, one of the biggest causes of death is smoking. Leading Causes of Death considers the different reasons that people die, and points out that six out of the eight top causes of death are actually related to smoking. With 57 million people dying every year, and with the odds in favor of smoking causing a significant number of those deaths, it seems pretty clear that if more people would quit smoking, we’d have fewer premature deaths.

5. Causes of Death

If you are looking for a more organized and detailed look at various causes of death, this infographic is for you. Causes of Death lays out the top causes of death and organizes them by race and age, as well as gender. It is interesting to note that the #1 cause of death for white and Asian males under the age of 35 is suicide. The #1 cause of death for all male youths is suicide. The numbers for females are different, and you could spend hours speculating about the differences in causes of death across gender, age and race.

6. The Dirt on Death

If you are looking for another comprehensive look at death, The Dirt on Death is a great infographic, full of good information. The Dirt on Death breaks death down by intentional and unintentional death (only 68% of deaths caused by injury are unintentional). It also looks at death by disease, violence and other causes. This infographic goes so far as to include by-country information on AIDS deaths, as well as information on women who die from birth-related complications.

7. Swine Flu Mortality

Not too long ago, the swine flu scared many of us. However, in a 300-day period swine flu really didn’t do that much damage. Indeed, many think that swine flu was overhyped. After all, in the 300-day period represented in the infographic Swine Flu Mortality, only 5,850 of the more than 50 million deaths were due to swine flue. Cardiovascular problems were by far the biggest killer, and a number of other diseases exceeded the death toll of swine flu. An interesting infographic that puts swine flu into perspective – and cautions us against hysteria.

8. The Death Penalty Around the World

Sometimes people die because they are scheduled for execution for some crime. The death penalty is a debated policy in the U.S., but in much of the world there isn’t much of a debate: Most countries have abolished the death penalty. The infographic The Death Penalty Around the World points out that 92 countries have abolished the death penalty, and an additional 36 haven’t had executions in the last 10 years.  Only 69 countries use the death penalty, and 10 of those reserve it for exception cases, like war crimes. The U.S. is one of 59 countries, including, Cuba, China and much of the Middle East, which allows the death penalty without the qualification of exceptional circumstances.

9. Deadliest Drugs

Which drugs are most likely to kill you? Find out from Deadliest Drugs, an interesting look at drug deaths in the U.K. This interesting infographic also looks at number of reports about the deaths caused by certain drugs. For instance, heroin causes way more deaths than marijuana, but the press reports about marijuana related fatalities are more prevalent. Something that many might find interesting is that alcohol is the second most deadly drug. The list also includes anti-depressants and aspirin.

10. Death by Caffeine

Especially fun is the interactive Death by Caffeine infographic. You can choose your favorite energy drink or caffeinated food, and then find out how much of it would kill you upon consumption. For instance, someone weighing 130 pounds would need to drink about 64 bottles of 5-Hour Energy in order consume a lethal amount of caffeine. Choose from popular caffeine and energy products in the U.S., Down Under and in Europe and the U.K.

When you’re buried, most people expect you to stay buried. However, there are instances that might require the exhumation of a body. Some people are exhumed so their remains can be moved elsewhere, whether to be closer to their families, to be buried in honor, or to make way for some new building. Others are exhumed for stranger reasons, including criminal investigations, paternity suits or for monetary gain. Celebrities, as you might imagine, make the most sensational exhumations. Here are 10 celebrities who were exhumed for weird reasons:

1. Charlie Chaplin: Exhumed for Ransom

Normally, kidnappers take live victims in the hopes of getting money from a wealthy family. These snatchers ask for money from the family in return for the loved one’s safety. In the case of Charlie Chaplin, the famous silent film actor, kidnappers were actually grave robbers. They exhumed Chaplin’s body in 1978, hoping to ransom it and get money from Chaplin’s survivors. Happily, police caught up with them before the family paid. When he was reburied, the Chaplin’s family chose to use concrete.

2. Benny Hill: Exhumed by Treasure Hunters

Rumors that Benny Hill was buried with large amounts of gold jewelry proved rather tempting to some treasure hunters. As a result thieves dug up Hill’s grave in Southampton and broke into the coffin. However, it appears that they found nothing, since reports say that the shroud remained in place. Police re-interred Hill, and then put a slab across the top in order to discourage future treasure hunters.

3. Abraham Lincoln: Exhumed for Further Protection

The 16^th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, wouldn’t be held hostage to anyone during his life, but he was almost held hostage in death. When Ben Boyd, a master engraver for a counterfeiting organization, was jailed, his fellow criminals, led by Jim Kennally, hatched a plan to get him out: Steal Abraham Lincoln’s body and hold it as a hostage for Boyd’s freedom. The plan didn’t work, and eventually concerns about theft led the authorities to exhume Lincoln’s body and bury it beneath concrete.

4. Sammy Davis, Jr.: Exhumed So His Wife Wouldn’t Be Broke

A talented entertainer, Sammy Davis, Jr. enjoyed plenty of fame as a member of the Rat Pack. What many didn’t know, though, was that by the end of his life he was nearly broke. After his burial, Davis’ wife found out there was almost no money left. She decided the best thing to do was have Davis’ body exhumed so that she could recover the jewelry that had been buried with him – all $70,000 of it.

5. Eva Peron: Exhumed World Traveler

One of the most influential and outspoken women in South American history was Eva Peron, wife of President Juan Peron of Argentina. When she died of cancer, she was embalmed and put on display for two years. (Juan Peron was overthrown and exiled to Spain.) Then, Eva Peron’s body was placed in a military attic before being buried in Italy under a false name, in order to protect her. In 1971, when a military coup overthrew the government that overthrew Juan Peron, Eva’s body was exhumed and sent to her husband’s Spanish villa. Eva’s body stayed behind, though, when Juan returned to Argentina. When Juan died, Eva was brought from Spain and her casket placed in the presidential palace. Finally, though, Eva found a resting place in her family’s tomb – after 26 years of world travel.

6. Bobby Fischer: Exhumed to Play Dad

Word famous chess player Bobby Fischer was banned from the U.S. after breaking international sanctions and choosing to play a chess match in what was then Yugoslavia. His comments about the U.S., as well as his renunciation of his American citizenship has helped him lose the popularity he won when he beat Soviet Boris Spassky. Iceland finally granted him citizenship and took him in. Now, a woman has come forward, claiming that her daughter is Fischer’s from when he lived in the Philippines. Fischer’s body was exhumed for paternity tests (results pending).

7. Thomas Paine: Exhumed and Sold at Auction

Thomas Paine was an American revolutionary and the author of the well-known Common Sense. After his death, William Cobbett, a rival-turned-admirer, exhumed Paine’s body without permission and took it to England. The plan was to build a memorial to inspire democracy in the British Isles. The memorial never came to be, and Corbett’s descendents began auctioning off bits of Thomas Paine. Now, he is thought to be all over the world, his bones used to make buttons, a rib located in France, and his skill – possibly – in Australia.

8. Stonewall Jackson’s Arm: Exhumed to Join the Family

Famous Civil War general Stonewall Jackson had his arm amputated as a result of friendly fire. His left arm was buried at Chancellorville, Virginia, at the site of the battle. Jackson, though, was buried in Lexington, Virginia soon after the amputation. Jackson’s arm was exhumed and taken to the Jackson family cemetery at Ellwood plantation in Virginia. Stonewall Jackson’s arm has its own grave marker, and is surrounded by Jackson’s family, but Jackson’s body is still in Lexington.

9. Joseph Haydn: Exhumed for Pseudo-Science

When famous composer Joseph Haydn died, there was a great deal of interest in the study of phrenology. One phrenologist, Karl Rosenbaum, wanted to prove that Haydn had the “musical bump,” accounting for his genius as a musician. Rosenbaum bribed the sexton at the church to help him exhume Haydn’s body and steal the head for study. More than 10 years later, when Haydn’s remains were to be moved, the missing head was discovered. Rosenbaum substituted a different head for Haydn’s, and the real head was passed through various owners until finally reunited with its body in 1954.

10. Nicolae Ceausescu: Exhumed for Identification

Nicolae Ceausescu, ruler of Romania, is commonly classed as one of the world’s most brutal dictators. After his government was overthrown, Ceausescu and his wife were executed and buried in a Bucharest military cemetery. However, there is some doubt about the identities of the bodies in the designated grave. In order to confirm the identities of the dictator and his wife, the Ceausescu bodies have been exhumed as DNA testing is underway.

Death comes to us all, and in an infinite variety of ways. Most of us would prefer a peaceful end – or at least a quick and relatively painless death if accident should befall us. Sometimes, though, fate has other ideas. Throughout history, there have been many unusual and mysterious deaths. Some of them have been downright bizzare. Here are 11 incredibly weird ways people have died:

1. Biting One’s Tongue

One of history’s most famous detectives was Allan Pinkerton. His agency was known for its uncanny ability to solve mysteries, but it was no mystery how Pinkerton died. One day in 1884, Pinkerton fell, biting his tongue as he did so. An infection set in, and three weeks later Pinkerton died from gangrene.

2. Hoarding

The Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, were two of the most famous hoarders ever. These men kept everything from newspapers to pianos; they also set up booby traps to catch those who might intrude on their valued privacy. One day in 1947, the police were called to the Collyer home, where they found Homer dead of starvation. Normally, Langley took care of Homer, who was paralyzed by that time. However, Langley was nowhere to be found. Homer hadn’t been fed for days, and died. Two weeks later, authorities found Langley’s body. He had set off one of the booby traps and was buried underneath their mountains of hoarded trash.

3. Falling Out of Bed

In 2008, Miami University student Aaron Miller died when he fell out of bed. To be fair, his bed was six feet off the ground, so that might have contributed to the fatal injuries sustained. While that may not seem like a very large drop, it depends on how you fall – and whether you land on your head.

4. Reaching for the Moon

The phrase “reaching for the moon” normally is used as a metaphor for having high expectations or attempting to achieve lofty goals. Chinese poet Li Po (called Li Bai in China), though, died in an actual attempt to embrace the moon. Li Po was well known for his drunkenness, as well as for his beautiful poems. One night, while drunk on a boat, Li Po saw the moon’s reflection in the Yangtze River. He attempted to take the moon into his arms, but instead fell out of the boat and drowned.

5. Jogging (plus tree branch)

Normally, you would think that a healthy activity like jogging would prolong your life. However, in a 2009 case of a Philadelphia woman, jogging proved fatal. She was exercising in Fairmont Park when a branch fell on her. The branch was 30 feet long and fell from a height of about 50 feet. The sad thing is that this might have been prevented: If the woman hadn’t been listening to music through headphones, she might have heard the branch breaking and been able to avoid being hit.

6. Overcoat Parachute

Most people today wouldn’t think that a coat would make a good parachute. But in 1912 inventor Franz Reichelt gave it a try. He created a parachute out of an overcoat. Reichelt had wanted to create a suit for those who had to leave aircraft unexpectedly. The wearable parachute would save lives – or so he thought. Reichelt decided to test the design from the Eiffel Tower. However, instead of using a dummy, as he told authorities he would, Reichelt tested the parachute on himself. The parachute was a failure, and Reichelt fell to his death.

7. Airplane Slicing a Ski Tram Cable

In 1998 a freak accident claimed the lives of 20 skiers in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy. As a cable car ascended the mountain carrying holidaymakers, a U.S. military jet on a training exercise sliced the cable with its tail. The tram fell about 600 feet, killing everyone inside. The jet made an emergency landing, its crew unharmed.

8. Robot

The first robot to kill a human looked nothing like the humanoids in the Will Smith movie I, Robot. Instead, the robot was the kind used to assemble cars in a factory. Robert Williams died on the job in a Ford Motor casting plant in 1979 when the robot arm hit him. What made this death especially weird was that it occurred on the 58^th anniversary of the play R.U.R. (about Rossum’s Universal Robots), which is considered the first use of the word “robot” to describe an artificial person.

9. Helicopter Blade

Even though helicopter blades are normally way too high above the ground to hurt anyone, most people instinctively duck when anywhere in their vicinity. Actual decapitation due to helicopter blade is rather rare, but actor Vic Morrow died this way. In 1982, on the set of the movie Twilight Zone, a helicopter went out of control during a special effects sequence and the blades took off Morrow’s head. Two young child actors were also killed, and director John Landis was indicted (but eventually acquitted) for involuntary manslaughter.

10. Taco Bell Sign

A high rise Taco Bell sign fell on a Nebraska woman in 2009. Because signs are regulated by municipal code, there are no national standards for ensuring their safety. As the result of some possible neglect, or even insufficient enforcement of regulations, the Taco Bell sign in question fell on the pickup truck Diana Durre was sitting in as she waited for someone who was selling her a dog.

11. Poison, Gunshot Wound, Beating, and Drowning

One of the weirdest stories of death is that of Grigori Rasputin, the Russian mystic and purported seer. Rasputin was admired at the court of Czar Nicholas II, but there were plenty who hated and feared him. The mystery of Rasputin’s death has never been completely solved. However, accounts say that in 1916, after being invited to the home of the czar’s nephew-in-law (who intended to kill him), he was first poisoned with cyanide, and then shot four times.

Still alive, legend says Rasputin was then beaten with clubs before being tossed into the freezing Neva River to drown. Theories about Rasputin’s death continue to emerge, including one purporting that the British Secret Intelligence was involved in the plot.

Death is part of life—there’s no avoiding it. And most of us die in ways that appear unrelated to a grander plan. But there are those whose deaths seem to indicate the Universe is conspiring to make a statement. Here are 12 ironic deaths that make an eerie kind of sense:

1. Marcus Licinius Crassus

A member of the first triumvirate with Julius Caesar (and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus), Marcus Licinius Crassus was known for his flair as a general – and for his wealth. Rich enough to fund his own armies and invasions, he met his match with the Parthians. In order to punish him for his greed, they poured molten gold down his throat in 53 BC. There’s a way for a rich guy to die.

2. Clement Laird Vallandigham

Clement Laird Vallandigham was an interesting study in irony and contradiction. He opposed slavery, but wanted Abraham Lincoln removed as president. He was also a lawyer known for his involved style of defending clients. In order to demonstrate during a court case in 1871 that is was possible for the deceased to have shot himself accidentally, Vallandigham actually…shot himself accidentally. He died, but his client, accused of murder, got off, since the lawyer had successfully offered an alternative narrative.

3. Bobby Leach

You would expect a well-known daredevil to go down in a blaze of glory during an amazingly challenging stunt. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened to Bobby Leach. Leach survived a broken jaw and broken knee caps as the first person to successfully navigate Niagara Falls in 1911. However, in 1926 Leach met his match in an orange peel. He slipped and fell on the rind, and fractured his leg. He died of gangrene.

4. Jerome Moody

5. Jean-Baptiste Lully

The Italian composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (he altered his name while working in France) also served as a ballet dancer. The king enjoyed his ballet compositions, and Lully performed in them. One evening, while conducting a piece honoring Louis XIV’s recovery from illness in 1867, Lully slammed the staff used to beat out the time on the floor into his toe. As a result, the musician himself became sick from an abscess on the injured toe and died of gangrene.

6. Michael Anderson Godwin

7. George Story

When Life magazine launched in 1936, one of the first photos displayed inside featured George Story, a baby, and the caption “Life Begins”. Throughout the run of Life Magazine, updates on Story were included periodically. Then, in 2000, Life announced it was folding. Less than a week later, Story died of heart failure. Fittingly, “A Life Ends” was an article in the last issue of Life, and it featured Story.

8. Mel Ignatow

Tried and acquitted for a grisly murder, Mel Ignatow became one of the most despised men in Kentucky after evidence came out that he was quite guilty, and that he bound his victim to a glass coffee table. However, he couldn’t be tried for the murder again, and was instead convicted of perjury. After serving less than 10 years, in 2006, Ignatow was released. However, in 2008 he tripped and fell, apparently cutting himself on a glass coffee table. He bled out slowly, dying due to his injuries.

9. Jerome Rodale

One of the founders of the organic movement, and a longevity guru, Jerome Rodale announced, in 1971, that he would live to be 100 to the New York Times Magazine during an interview. He said that a sugar-crazed taxi driver might be the death of him, but that he felt great, and would live nearly 30 more years. However, the next day, at the age of 72, Rodale slipped quietly into eternity on stage on the Dick Cavett Show.

10. Adolf Frederick of Sweden

King Adolf Frederick was not known as the most talented of rulers. He was generally considered the king who presided over Sweden’s decline. He did have one overwhelming passion, though: food. He was a great eater. And, ironically, it was food that killed him. In 1771, the king had a huge dinner of caviar, lobster, sauerkraut, and smoked herring, washed down with champagne. Then, as a finisher, he ate 14 servings of the pastry semla. It was his love of food that finished him off, killing him through what is known as surfeit, or an excess of something (in this case, food and drink).

11. Felix Lloyd Powell

12. Jim Fixx

Author of bestseller The Complete Book of Running, Jim Fixx, was an advocate of how healthy living could extend your life. Fixx transformed himself from a smoker to a fit, middle-aged athlete who ran 10 miles a day. He talked up the value of running as a route to health and longevity. Many took up jogging as a way to increase their health, thanks to Fixx’s efforts. However, instead of living a long life, Fixx died of a heart attack in 1984 at age 52 – right after his daily run.

The sad truth is that dying is expensive. Even a no frills funeral can cost $6,000. By the time you pay for a casket, burial plot and funeral service, it starts to add up. Throw in transportation for the deceased, flowers, obituary notices and other trappings, you are looking at a number that could easily exceed $10,000.

It’s one of the reasons that life insurance is so helpful; your loved ones can offset the cost of the funeral and burial without having to break the bank. A good life insurance policy not only provides for your family after you’re gone, but it also helps them pay for your interment.

But not everyone tries to save money on funerals. History is full of expensive funerals and burial customs. Here are 8 of the most expensive ways to move into the afterlife:

1. Japanese Funeral

If your burial is taking place in Japan, chances are that your survivors will spend quite a bit more on you than those in many other countries. On average, Japanese funerals cost around $25,000, largely because of the cultural custom of spending money to show your respect for the deceased (and not losing face in front of the neighbors). Another issue, especially if you decide on burial, is that land is at a premium. If you choose not to be cremated, and are buried instead, the cost can quickly get out of hand.

2. Mummification

You don’t have to be an ancient Pharaoh to be mummified; there are companies that offer modern mummification. You can have pets mummified, of course, but you can also have yourself mummified — Egyptian style. The process is similar to that done by the ancients, as closely as can be figured by studying historical records. A group in Salt Lake City, UT, Summum, offers the service. You can pay close to $70,000 to be mummified just like an ancient Egyptian king. You even get a custom sarcophagus.

3. Cryogenics

If you are willing to pay $90,000, you could have your brain cryogenically preserved for the future. If you want your whole body preserved, you will have to spring for $150,000. In either case, the idea is that you could be preserved for the future, just as it is. Many people think that this is a way to immortality: Be preserved now, and then be “awakened” in the future and cured of what ails you with inevitable scientific advancements. There are even cryo plans that break down the cost ($500 a year or so). But you usually have to pay an extra retainer in order to keep a crack team on standby so that you are preserved properly.

4. Precious Gem

Depending on the carat size you are going for, you could pay quite a lot to become a diamond. We are carbon based life forms, and diamonds are pretty much pure carbon. As a result, you can have your cremated ashes — or even non-cremated bits of you, such as your hair — turned into diamonds. It takes a great deal of heat and a high amount of pressure to create a diamond. The larger the diamond, the larger the cost. You can pay close to $25,000 or more for a large diamond made from your ashes. But, you know what they say: “A diamond is forever.”

5. Posh Cemeteries

Perhaps you can’t rub elbows with the rich, powerful and famous in this life. But you could in the next life. If you’re willing to pay. There are a number of cemeteries around the U.S. that offer prime burial real estate, just for you. From the Santa Barbara cemetery to the Forest Lawn Memorial park, you can pay between $5,000 and up to $1 million for certain plots of land. Choose a desirable location, and you pay even more. Some cemeteries even have “estates” that you can purchase. Mausoleums only add to the cost. However, these posh cemeteries are known for their superior maintenance, as well as their style and attractiveness.

6. Presidential Style

You wouldn’t think that the tax payers would spend that much on the funeral of someone who had been president. But that isn’t the case. Presidents are buried with plenty of pomp and circumstance. Indeed, when you consider the cost of having the president lie in state for a couple of days, and think of the memorial service and proceedings, you can see where it would add up. On top of that, there are transportation costs to think of. Air Force One, and other modes of transportation to get a former president to his (and someday maybe her) resting place, costs thousands of dollars an hour. Former President Ronald Reagan’s funeral cost an estimated $400 million to the tax payers.

7. Celebrity Funeral

If you are a celebrity, your funeral is bound to be pricey. Anna Nicole Smith had her casket draped with rhinestones. Princess Diana’s funeral, a royal affair, is estimated to have cost somewhere around $5 million. And Michael Jackson’s funeral cost around $1 million. Jackson’s casket alone cost $25,000, and his outfit cost $35,000. Celebrity funerals are expensive because you have to pay for a number of high class and high priced items. Plus, you can’t forget the millions lost in productivity for celebrity funerals that are televised.

8. Conquering Death?

Alexander the Great, that well-known ancient conqueror, might be held in immortality for more than just his military accomplishments. He currently holds the title of “most expensive funeral.” In today’s dollars, there are estimates that it cost $600 million. Additionally, it took two years to plan the funeral (and get the body back to his ancestral home in Macedonia. Alexander had a gold sarcophagus encased inside a gold casket. You can’t really beat all that gold. Especially when you realize that the carriage that was carrying all of this gold was itself gold. No wonder Alexander’s empire fell apart. It was probably bankrupted by his funeral!

For thousands of years, humans have mourned their dead. Evidence from Shanidar Cave in Iraq indicates that, perhaps, Neanderthals originated the idea of a funeral. Different customs surrounding the dead have grown up in various places around the world. Funeral and burial customs are still evolving today, as technology advances. Here are 12 interesting funeral and burial customs from around the world:

1. Hanging Coffins

In China, there are coffins hanging off a cliff. These coffins contain the remains of members of the Bo. The Bo people are now extinct, but they once lived in what is now Southwest China. Instead of putting their dead in the ground, they lowered coffins down on the cliff, hanging by ropes caught on stakes pounded into the rock of the region’s mountains.

2. Custom Fantasy Coffins

If having your coffin swinging in the wind is not for you, you might consider being buried in a custom coffin, based around one of your hobbies. In Ghana, these fantasy coffins are quite common, and are built around a theme. Do you really like fishing? Your coffin could resemble a huge fish. The idea is to provide the deceased with something that he or she can enjoy for eternity.

3. Sky Burial

This is an interesting custom that includes making use of birds to help with your burial. In Tibet, monks chop up your body and grind your bones, and offer your remains to the vultures, which then take your remains to the sky. A similar rite is practiced in the Zoroastrian religion. The deceased is left at the top of a tower, where the vultures can easily get at the remains and take them to the sky. The leftover bones are tossed into the tower’s pit.

It is also worth noting that the ancient Celts believed that birds helped the spirit to the next world. Warriors were left, by their comrades in arms, for birds to eat.

4. Under-Home Burial

One of the ways that the poor among the Maya kept records was by burying items under their homes. But it wasn’t just things that were buried; some Maya also buried their relatives under their homes. This way, family histories could remain in the family, and it was possible to keep dead family members close – within the walls of the home.

5. Strangling Family and Friends

One of the more colorful funeral customs comes from Fiji. A great funeral feast was held for the deceased, and then, as part of the festivities, the members of a deceased man’s family, and even sometimes his friends, were strangled. Servants could also be strangled and buried with the man. This way, he went into the next life surrounded by friends and family.

Similar customs in ancient China and Egypt have also been seen, with treasured objects buried with the dead. In some cases servants, wives and even pets were buried with powerful and important men.

6. Sati

In order to show her devotion to her husband, a woman in India might throw herself onto the funeral pyre of her husband. This ancient Hindu custom was rather rare even at its height, and it has been outlawed in India today. However, there are still some stories of self-immolation by wives. The reward for this act of devotion? The woman was said to become a goddess.

7. Stripper Funerals

In China, your family has more luck if more people show up to your funeral. So it is a tradition to round up as many people as possible – even if these people don’t know the deceased. One way to do this is to hire exotic dancers for funeral processions. This way, more people are sure to show up to the funeral. It’s illegal, but that hasn’t stopped the practice from gaining a rather large following.

8. Famadihana

It’s a funeral celebration years after the funeral. Every few years (around seven) in Madagascar, corpses are dug up and a big celebration is held. Villages hold big parties, and everyone dances around the corpses. The shroud of the deceased is replaced with a fresh new shroud. But the old shroud doesn’t go to waste. Instead, it is torn into different pieces and passed around to married couples. The couples then place the pieces of cloth beneath their mattresses and it is supposed to help them conceive children.

9. Ecological Funeral

Those concerned about the environment are increasingly turning to biodegradable coffins and other means of being environmentally friendly. However, you don’t need a pine box to be ecologically friendly in death. In Sweden, there is increasing interest in using science to help decomposition along. First, your body is reduced to a fine powder through a special process. And, since there are metals in your body, these can be recycled. So the metals from your body are separated out and sent to be reused in various products. Then, your remains are placed in a biodegradable container and buried. Once the container breaks down, your own remains are easily absorbed, since they are in the form of an earth-friendly powder.

10. Space Burial

One of the most modern funeral customs is the space burial. It is possible to have your remains shot up into space on a missile. One astronomer, Eugene Shoemaker, is even buried on the moon. In some cases, it is possible to have a small portion of your remains sent into space for as little as $1,000.

11. Diamond Burial

Diamonds are made from carbon. Guess what the ashes of a cremated dead person contain? Carbon! If you want to carry your loved one with you wherever you go, it is possible to have his or her remains turned into diamonds. Have the diamonds set in a ring, necklace or earrings, and your loved one remains beautiful (and sparkling) forever.

12. Mummify Yourself

This one is really hard, since it requires a great deal of discipline. But around 24 Buddhist monks in Japan have gone through the process. It requires a strict, three-year diet of seeds and nuts, and then another three years of eating only roots and bark. The monks also have a specific exercise regime that gets rid of the body’s fat. A special tea is also drunk during this time, which coats the inside of the body with a lacquer-like substance. When the monk is ready, he gets into his tomb and meditates until he dies. Once a day he rings a bell. Once the bell stops ringing, the other monks know it’s time to seal the tomb.

Photo by casch52

As cremations have become more and more popular in recent years, people have devised a number of unusual ways to commemorate the dearly departed. If you’re looking for a unique way to be remembered, here are 12 strange things you can do with your cremated remains.

1. You Can Be Shot Into Space

Celestis made headlines in 1997 when they launched the cremated remains of 60’s icon Timothy Leary and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry into space. For a fairly reasonable fee (starting at $695), you can send a “symbolic portion” of yourself on the next available mission, riding alongside a commercial or scientific satellite.

You can come back to Earth after the flight, or pay more to remain in orbit. You’ll stay there for an estimated 10 to 240 years before reentering the atmosphere in a blaze of fire. In the future, Celestis plans to launch cremated remains into the moon’s orbit, to the surface of the moon, and possibly into deep space.

2. You Can Be Exploded With Fireworks

Yes, you can literally “go out with a bang.”

Companies like Heaven’s Above Fireworks can pack a small portion of your ashes into professional-grade fireworks and stage a memorial display for your survivors. You can choose a big, noisy, colorful display or a quieter, more understated event.

For a smaller fee, you can have your ashes stuffed into small, self-fired rockets, so your family can have their own private fireworks ceremony at home.

3. You Can Be Mixed Into a Coral Reef

Environmentalist? Ocean lover? You can create your own “living legacy” by having your ashes turned into an artificial coral reef. Your remains will help restore damaged reefs and create a nurturing marine environment for fish and other forms of sea life.

Starting around $4,000, Eternal Reefs will mix your cremated remains into concrete, shape the artificial reef and place the reef out on the sea floor. Larger personal reefs can hold up to four people and include pets. If that’s too pricey, you can have your remains mixed together with others and as part of a complete reef system.

4. You Can Be Crushed Into a Diamond

Jewelry from human remains? It sounds ghoulish, but we’re not talking about necklaces made from bones or teeth.

With companies like LifeGem, your carbon remains (or a lock of your hair) can be crushed into a gemstone that is identical to a natural diamond on a molecular level. Using modern technology, this process only takes a few months instead of millions of years.

It’s not cheap, though. Expect to shell out a few grand for the smallest gems, and that doesn’t include the cost of the setting.

5. You Can Be Fired In Hand-Blown Glass

Can’t shell out a small fortune to be crushed into a diamond? For a fraction of the price, you can still be turned into bling at Memory Glass.

Starting around $150, the artists at Memory Glass take a small portion of cremated remains and infuse them into hand-blown glass keepsakes and jewelry. Each member of your family can get their own colorful glass pendant to wear on a chain or leather cord.

6. You Can Be Painted Into a Work of Art

The professional artist at Ashes to Portraits creates oil paintings of the deceased with traces of cremated ashes mixed in. If you like this idea, make sure you leave behind a large, close-up photograph to work from (at minimum, 4″ x 6″, but the bigger the better). They’ll also do portraits of your cremated pet.

If you prefer something less literal, you can send a bit of your ashes to Art in Ashes. Their staff painter creates colorful modern abstract art mixed with cremated remains. You can choose one of their pre-made compositions or let them know what colors you want to see.

7. You Can Be Launched in a Helium Balloon

Scattering cremated remains by airplane is fairly common these days, but it can be expensive and difficult for family members to participate. The Eternal Ascent Society makes aerial ash scattering more accessible and affordable by placing the ashes inside a large helium balloon and launching it into the clouds.

The balloon itself is 5 feet wide and comes in red, green, blue and yellow. About 6 miles up into the sky, the atmosphere gets so cold that the balloon will freeze and shatter, and your ashes will disperse into the clouds. It’s biodegradable, so you don’t have to worry about damaging the environment.

8. You Can Be Stuffed Into a Teddy Bear

Huggable Urns are stuffed animals with a lined velvet compartment inside to hold a person’s cremated remains. You can choose from a number of teddy bears, plush dogs and cats or just a simple, soft pillow.

You can send in a loved one’s clothing or special blanket to have a small outfit or accessory made for your Huggable Urn. They also make customized stuffed animals, if you’d like one that looks just like a deceased pet.

9. You Can Be Mounted to a Vehicle

Some people are happiest when they’re behind the wheel, and now you can be there permanently after your demise. A Mobile Cremation Urn can be mounted on a motorcycle, motor home, car, truck, police cruiser, cruise ship or pretty much anything else that moves.

You can personalize your mobile cremation urn with engraving, and add your picture to the mobile urn with your name or a favorite quote. You can also choose a commemorative disc for the end cap based on your religion, profession, military service or social organization.

10. You Can Be the Sand in an Hourglass

An interesting twist on the typical urn is the Hourglass Keepsake Urn. This hourglass is filled with cremated ashes instead of sand, creating a lovely symbol of the passage of time in every person’s life.

If you and your spouse or loved one would like to share an hourglass, your ashes can be mixed into a single urn.

11. You Can Be Turned Into a Box of Pencils

With this project, artist Nadine Jarvis is exploring the idea of turning a deceased person from “ashes to ashes.” She estimates that about 240 pencils could be made from the carbon of human cremains.

The pencils would be stored inside a specially designed box, with a sharpener in its side and a viewing window on top. When the pencils are sharpened into the side of the box, the pencil shavings turn into a new kind of ash, and the box becomes a kind of urn.

12. You Can Be Built Into a Pyramid

In ancient Egypt, the pyramids were built to hold the remains and worldly goods of the royal deceased. Unfortunately, these “permanent” monuments have deteriorated under the stresses of time, weather and incessant grave-robbing.

In modern times, a company called PYRA Development wants to build pyramids out of a high-impact polymer that would last over a million years. Each building block of the pyramid would contain the remains and memorabilia of a deceased person.

There’s no evidence that this project ever got off the ground, but it’s a fascinating idea nonetheless.

It’s never too early to start planning for the end of life … especially if you’re considering something a little out of the ordinary. A life insurance policy can provide your loved ones with the funds they need to carry out your last wishes.