Where do all the dead people go?

[ChicoFromThe305]

Dead people don't add up to the amount of bodies in cemeteries, in the US an estimate of 8000 people die daily, which in a year adds up to over 2 million people a year, cremation is more popular than traditional burial in the US so if you do the math, counting the 60% that choose cremation that's still 800,000 people a year that prefer burial, I know there's not that much cementary land to plot down 800,000 holes without using none cementarial land every year so where all the dead people going?

[WindAtMyBack]

They are spread out over a very large area.

One square mile is 5280 * 5280 = 27,878,400 square feet.

If each grave averages 25 sq ft, then a square mile is over a million graves. That's nothing compared to the size of the US.

You can think about it when they are alive. Each person does not take up much space. Even if you count the entire area they use on a daily basis, it's a tiny fraction of the area of the country.

In big densely populated cities, it can become a problem, but not in the US overall. In big cities sometimes they have vertical cemeteries - like a wall with stacked tombs. Or the cemeteries are outside the city.

As far as I know, the graves last forever. State and local laws regulate it, so you'd have to check locally. I think where I live that when you buy a plot and are buried, it lasts forever. The cemetery must maintain it. The initial fee you pay for the plot is invested. The maintenance comes from the investment income. They must maintain the cemetery, but the family may be responsible for cleaning the gravestone, removing old dead flowers, etc.

[ChicoFromThe305]

That's if you put them side to side but they always have spaces, and congratulations, you just solved the grave problem for just one year and a half, now where do the rest go, that's my question, I'm not talking about city wise I'm talking about worldwide, or at least in the US there's far more bodies than there are gravestones lol

[WindAtMyBack]

I was just making a point that the space they use is nothing compared to the size of the country. Even after a couple hundred years it's still nothing. There is tons of room.

[ChicoFromThe305]

There's a ton of room but it's not part of cemeteries tho that's my point 😂

[WindAtMyBack]

They can make new cemeteries any time they want. Plus there is probably a lot of room left in most cemeteries. My parents bought their plots in the 1960s. They weren't buried until the 2000s. There are still a LOT of empty plots left there.

Also, like you said, more and more people are being cremated. But cremation doesn't always mean they don't get buried. I don't know if it's nationwide, but the VA cemetery near me requires cremation. They still get buried with a marker. It's just a very small plot.

[ChicoFromThe305]

So it's more than 800,000 burials a year, that doesn't help, if you live in a small town or city then it's possible there's plenty of room for your cemeteries but I'm speaking about the majority like big cities that have a high populations, I know the cemeteries around me are far too small than the deaths I hear everyday on the news, id imagine there's other places that are worse

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Depends on current laws and contracts, from what I know, they pull out the corpses constantly because a cemetery's plot is expensive and expires if no descendant pays anymore. Which ultimately happens after a couple of generations. I had a buddy in this line of work, specifically digging out bodies to put them in a common hole instead, once no one pays anymore for the slot.

[boggboss]

From what I understand and could be wrong but I'm pretty sure u less u pay for special fees cemetery alots are not forever lasting and having dates on them to when they can be reused as even the coffin will deteriorat

[ChicoFromThe305]

So they reuse the land? I thought they maybe did this but aren't these plans for years tho? Even if it was one year that's 800,000 bodies more that year, are they keeping them in freezers or something lol

[ChicoFromThe305]

I searched it and it says on average a body in a casket decomposes for an average of 10 to 15 years and it can take longer depending on what the casket is made of so do they just pull out the bodies? 😂

[boggboss]

No I think slots last for about 70ish years so I'm not really sure what they do with so many bodies again could be completely wrong but for people that don't have loved ones and or people to pay for a funeral I always thought they just use like mass burial places but no real idea lol

[ChicoFromThe305]

They probably go in the mc Donald burgers or something 😂

[Sunrising]

In the film Logans Run they were recycled and turned into biscuits. The ultimate recycling, but nobody knew what they were eating.

[ChicoFromThe305]

Maybe the do the same with the McDonald's meat or something 😂

[ChicoFromThe305]

They*

[Sunrising]

I'll think about what you said everytime I have a McDonalds burger 😃

[Hellraiser1984]

There's cremation and people who are missing and are declared dead.

[ChicoFromThe305]

Interesting 🤔

[Anonymous]

Some of them are maybe frozen, to be revived in the future?

Others are probably mummified.

In some cultures, they give them to animals as food (members of Zoroastrian religion).

[DryGermanGuy]

Soylent Green? 😱😱😱

[ChicoFromThe305]

The idea had to come from somewhere 😂

[Apulu_backagain]

In your basement?

[ChicoFromThe305]

Damn I'm exposed

[EmmiL]

To your basement