Billy: Here's a story you may be interested in.
It's a thought for maybe "second place" prize.
Turning cremated remains into beads
2:12 p.m. ET (1913 GMT) November 5, 1998
SEOUL — In a country where burial is still the common method of laying out the dead, a South Korean has developed a new technology to transform the ashes of the deceased into decorative ceramic beads.
Instead of strewing the loved one's ashes over water or in the air, families can take the beads home with them or wherever they want to go.
"The beads have no smell, they don't perish and they shine beautifully. You can keep them at home, temples or funeral houses,'' said Kim Sang-guk, 44, who developed the beads after six years of research.
In Korea, it would be unthinkable to bring the ashes of the deceased home in an urn and put them on the mantlepiece.
"I figured that many people feel reluctant to choose cremation for fear that they will feel separated from their deceased families if they strew the ashes,'' Kim told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The burnt remains are heated to 2,000 degrees Centigrade and the drops of lava-like liquid are shaped into little balls. The color of the beads, with no artificial substance added, vary from jade to sky blue, he said.
Kim was motivated to develop the method by a movement in the Hanul Cultural Center, an organization committed to social services, including reforming funeral customs.
Land for new cemeteries in a mountainous country with a nearly 5,000-year-old history is getting increasingly scarce and expensive.
But the ancient Confucian culture teaches Koreans to take good care of their ancestors' graves.
Kim said he was looking for an alternative to burial and conducted a number of laboratory tests until he succeeded in transforming the ashes into beads in 1996.
Kim recently obtained a patent and said he was willing to give free service to those who donate their organs after their death.
I bet a lot of girls would love to show these babies off.
(along with the balls in the jars some of them seem to like to collect) |
