Inspired (read: "lovingly ripped off and elaborated upon") by an annotation for 'Smart Stick'. ([BrauBeaton]: //My wife likes to put everything in hermetically sealed plastic containers too. (I think she'd have herself buried in one if they made one big enough. All the loved ones could "burp" the seal.//)
Although 'burping the seal' might be slightly inappropriate, except perhaps for a bit of lighthearted fun during those long and dreary wakes, the idea of an airtight plastic coffin strikes me as not entirely impossible, or even improbable.
One could choose from a variety of colours, ranging from bright orange (my mum still has a number of those, in a very 70's kind of hue) to simple white, perhaps with a pattern printed on, or even transparant. Also, no nails would be needed to close the lid, just a good push, making sure one seals all the edges properly.
And future archaeologist could, upon digging up one of these, marvel at the fantastically well preserved body, and the simple and elegant mummification skills our society must have possessed.
Also available for the less financially fortunate: full-body cling foil.-- Trickytracks, Dec 24 2006 Smart Stick Smart_20Stick#1166817237 [Trickytracks, Dec 24 2006] I like the idea of a tupperware coffin so I'm sending you this croissant [+], but I'm afraid that it won't preserve the body at all.-- xenzag, Dec 24 2006 It would be handy to have them in nesting format, so that you could use the best size, and a little area for writing on with a marker pen (expiry date and so on).-- Ling, Dec 24 2006 "Expiry date" Ha-ha!
The town where my parents live had a couple of casket factories which recently shut down. Dad said something about the Chinese figuring out that they could use coffins as shipping containers for other goods . . .-- baconbrain, Dec 24 2006 Could allow for shallower burials since it could keep in the erm... smell....
Croissant! (In burping tupperware so it will keep a little longer.)-- kdmurray, Dec 24 2006 Uh...I did the "velcro casket" for Halloween one year around here. It's gone but the body is still missing?-- blissmiss, Dec 25 2006 If an elderly person dies on his or her couch at home, their stomach acid burns a hole from the stomach, out their rear, and into the sofa. Those future archeologists might just find puddles of acid lying under the ground.-- LockerzzZ, Dec 25 2006 I found a sandwich that had been in a tup for about six months once. Nothing but black liquid.-- nomocrow, Dec 26 2006 That's when it's the best...-- RayfordSteele, Dec 26 2006 Even though the smell of a body is not the most plesant thing in the world, I would really hate to be the guy that has to the post-mortem opening of the casket.-- Jscotty, Dec 26 2006 The process of decomposition gives off a lot of gas. Unless there is a method of releasing the pressure, the container will eventually explode. Ensure you bury it deep.-- wagster, Dec 26 2006 That would be one gnarly tupperware burp.-- nomocrow, Dec 26 2006 If the central theme here is "preserving the body" why not have them vaccuum packed between 2 sheets of plastic?-- shinobi, Dec 27 2006 It's only the first date and this zombie's getting fresh.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Dec 27 2006 Remember to seal yellow and blue make green. Yuck!-- starvedison, Feb 03 2008 random, halfbakery