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cucumber-pictures · 6 months

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Cucumber Rabbit's The House That Gave Sucky Treats

Hello there, Cucumber and his friends are doing something differently, they're all coming to your house to trick-or-treat. So, pick a treat, just like the Homestar Runner Halloween toon.

Panpipe as Humpty Hump

a. Lemonhead - Wears a lemon hat and starts breakdancing. b. Jaw Busters - Puts one into his mouth, almost breaking his jaw, saying "Thanks, but it is hurting my jaw." c. Nerds - Complements you for giving you a box of Nerds, and tells you, "I'm nerding out!"

Cabbage as Hagar the Horrible, Bagel as Helga, and Lemon as Honi

a. Butterscotch - Cabbage thanks you for giving him and his wife and baby the butterscotch, and shouts "For Valhalla!" Bagel says "Oh honey.", and Lemon giggles. b. Butterfinger - Cabbage thanks you for giving him the Butterfinger, just because it has "butter" in the name. Lemon says "Nobody lay finga on buttafinga.", and Bagel say "It's neato!" in reference to Bart Simpson on the Butterfinger commercials. c. Butter Crunch Ice Cream - Cabbages exclaims "Butter Crunch ice cream! I better have it in a dish." Lemon says "Me want ice cream!"

Tomato as Refrigerator Perry, Lettuce as Giselle Bundchen, and Peridot as Punchy

a. Rock Candy - Tomato eats one of the rock candies, and shouts "Halloween!" b. Pop Rocks - Peridot swallows Pop Rocks, and drinks a soda, and Tomato shouts "No! No! No!", and Peridot's head explodes. Lettuce is shocked. c. A rock - Tomato eats rocks and crushes a soda can, Lettuce says "What should I do with it? Use it as a paperweight or train it as a pet?", and Peridot says "I got a rock."

Princess Parfait as Joey Ramone

a. Candy Corn - Says "Candy corn? Don't you have any real corn or Indian corn?" b. Corn Flakes - Says "Corn flakes? I just like em' fine plain." c. Steak - Parfait says "Is this a joke? It's not funny!", Cosmo stuffs the bag with a lot of steak.

Almond as Laser Tag and Eggplant as Steven Spielberg

a. Astro Pop - Almond shoots a laser, and Eggplant holds a mirror, which reflects, hitting Almond. Eggplant says "Next time, phone home!" b. Tart n Tinys - Eggplant gives information on making a movie using the Tart n Tinys as people. c. Wacky Wafers - Almond and Eggplant inspect the Wafers, they think it's alien, they eat it, but there's no change. d. Pumpkin - Unlocks a secret character.

BONUS CHARACTER: Commander Caboodle as J. Wellington Wimpy (Skip this one if you haven't answered D.)

a. Shaving Cream - Sings "Shave and a haircut, two bits!" b. Saltwater Taffy - Sings "If you give me a treat, make sure that it's sweet, and I'll eeeat iiiiiit…" c. Nintendo Entertainment System - Raps "Where we at, only few have known, Go on the next level, Super Mario, I hope this works out, cardio, Till then let's fly, Geronimo."

Cosmo as Carmen Sandiego

a. Butterfinger BB's - Says "What's this crap? Giving me an old candy that's been around from '92 to '06? Sheesh, there's no way I'm eating it! You'll be seeing an ad entitled "The Raid" again, and again, and again. b. Marshmallow Bunnies - Says "Why you lazy idiot, it's from Easter! Just wait til March or April to eat that!" c. Apple - Says "That's not a piece of candy, that is fruit! Are you a dentist or something."

Bacon as Andy Warhol

a. Coca Cola - Says "Bubbly, but sweet. I think I am going to paint a series of pictures based on this. b. Banana - Golden banana comes down from the top of the screen with the "Oh banana!" jingle. Bacon says "I think I'll paint pictures of bananas if they're yellow, red, blue, purple, and green." c. Cake - Sings "It's a piece of cake to paint a pretty cake, if the way is hazy!", then says 'Oh, I have to do series on that!"

Sir Carrot as Mars Blackmon

a. Peanut M&M's - Says "These are the most valuable peanuts, but do I have to eat a lot of these?" b. Charms Mini Pops - Says "Oh these are the coolest and most-spike-ulous candy I ever seen!" c. Bubble Tape - Takes a piece of Bubble Tape, unwraps it, and pretends it's a super-long basketball shoelace. He starts dribbling it on the floor and makes exaggerated basketball moves, as if he's in a high-stakes game, all while humorously quoting Mars Blackmon's famous lines.

Cucumber as Doug Funnie and Princess Nautilus as Patti Mayonnaise

a. Sweetarts - Cucumber says 'Hi, It's me, Cuco! Today I got Sweetarts with my girlfriend, Nautilus, and she and I really like them, and here is one word I'd like to say, thank you!". Nautilus then says "Oh Cuco, you're amazing!" b. Circus Peanuts - Cucumber dances and "doots" Entrance of the Gladiators (known to most as a circus theme). The door closes, but Cucumber rings the doorbell, and when it is answered, he and Nautilus are dancing to and singing the same song. c. A big bag of candy - Nautilus says "Oh, where did you get the big bag of candy?", Cucumber answers "The person gave it to us, so we can eat a lot of candy.", Nautilus then replies "Oh, that's sweet. Let's go share some!" Cucumber answers "Okay!"

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the-football-chick · 4 months

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youtube

This month 38 years ago, the Chicago Bears team recorded a video, "The Super Bowl Shuffle." Though the Bears did go on to win that year's SB XX, the video was recorded almost two months before the game -- before they even knew they'd be in it, much less who'd they be playing.

Not all Bears players participated in the making of the video, though many big name players like RB Walter Payton, QB Jim McMahon, WR Willie Gault, LB Mike Singletary and DT William "Refrigerator' Perry did. The song was actually nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. In the end, almost $300,000 in proceeds from the sale of the record and video were donated to local Chicago families in need.

#Youtube #1985 bears #chicago bears #super bowl shuffle #walter payton #jim mcmahon #mike singletary #willie gault #william refrigerator perry #throwback thursdays

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contac · 2 years

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#okay i couldn't resist putting the whole promo up #here it is #a-team #mr. t #the fridge #william refrigerator perry #hulk hogan #vhs #gif #1986 #80s chonks #the a team #tuesday

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girlreblogger · 2 months

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also to add to my previous post, when i say blk yn go through crazy situations im exaggerating but i mean (“cause me personally!!!!!!!!!!!”) allowing the character to be treated in certain manner and be put in “awkward” positions. i also want to say that the “situations” seem unfulfilling like i wanted to say in the first place.

because of the unsavory situations she is put in she legit has to have characteristics that are straight up unnecessary if the wellbeing of her character was prevalent. and i have to say that because of blk yn stories that it applies to. (and no ian talking abt how ppl be complaining abt yn being “ghetto” 😒)

drama, comfort, or for fun, is cool and dandy but it’s the same type of thing and i’m not tryna come for the plug stories like don’t nbgaf like omg i’m so tired of hearing bout them freaking stories.

to the ppl who still decide to ignore how damaging fr CERTAIN! blk yn fics y’all remind me of the ppl who support tyler perry movies simply because it’s for entertainment and “he’s telling a story” (that not everyone has)

yep. those things are true but an impact worse than good is being produced. like bffr.

and i feel conflicted by even saying that because some ppl obviously genuinely relate or find comfort in those stories but at what cost. like is comfort worth change and progression?

me rn:

some ppl just really don’t gaf and don’t care to want better. please don’t let the ppl who don’t gaf sway you. for the ppl who do, reblog nice fics or write. blow them up so other blk girls can find them. we deserve it.

there are so many blk fics where yn is not going through those things and if there is “drama” is solved or there’s a healthy resolve. (there’s so many blk writers who need to be publishing books fuck tumblr or ao3 and tryna get reblogs. with all that talent girl MAKE SOME MONEYYYY! YALL STUFF BE GOOD.)

i’m dead serious. why haven’t you thought abt it.

but yeah. it is what it is we have to put more work in to change as people in general. but i really just want my ppl to grow. ppl find comfort in fics for a reason. i really think a good balance of what everyone is looking for and needs should be found. i know ppl gonna feel like ppl telling them what to do but they prolly the ones who don’t want the change for wtv.. reason… ahem..

ppl feeling hit by what i said:

there’s obviously a problem and as a ppl! why can’t we just fix it. like at least try.

side note:

there’s so many ways to get drama. also the smut after arguing piss me off this is off topic cause it applies to a lot of ppl who make fics but like damn. y’all ain’t gon talk it out. and it be the most weird arguments and stuff and you wanna squeeze lemons after that???

idk that annoys me like everyyyy time? and i think smut after arguments can be well written but ….

anyways the blk ff community to damn big for us to be sitting here starving acting like we don’t have food in the refrigerator to make something.

get it together yall. youn want what’s in the refrigerator go get your keys and buy something.

i’m tired of this shit that’s why so many blk writers stop writing or ppl stop reading because it’s too much going on all for some damn fake characters we wanna imagine ourselves with.

and i know for some ppl it’s abt the followers and all that which i mean to each is own i mean

sigh i was tryna be proper and cordial but i really want better for us but it’s so many ppl who go too far or do too little. and some are so sheep that they go with someone else’s opinion too. you know you tired of all the toxic fics say sumn. you know you tired of ppl constantly bringing up yn being ghetto for no reason (that shit piss me off so bad i can’t. they be so close but so farr) say sumn.

me after thinking someone finna bring up how unnecessary struggle love/toxic/extra smutty blk fics are but they end up just complaining abt yn using aave:

anyways i’m ranting. i wanted to say what i felt.

muah

#x black reader #x black reader fluff #black reader #x black fem reader #anime x black!reader #black fanfiction #aot x black reader #jjk x black reader #connie x black reader #x fem black reader #aot x black y/n #eren x black fem!reader #jjk x black y/n #eren x black reader #black yn #i love using gifs theyre so fun🤭#i said what i said again

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littlefanficprincess · 2 months

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I'll miss your pretty face

oneshot

Pair: Tord (post end) x reader

Song: This part of me (By Katy Perry)

Part 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A figure stumbles through the street, gripping this right arm. From time to time they would accidentally bump into nearby building, they felt so weak.

A trial of blood droplets follow them, dripping from their open wounds. Having not much option, they went to the only nearby safe place.

They stop at a house with a warm brown door, hesitantly they reach over to the doorbell and ring it. A tune admits from it.

Slowly, the door opens , revealing a girl with (h/c) hair. She was wearing a (f/c) hoodie that was hiding her figure "Hm? Tord!" Her happy expression dissapears when she notices his damaged form.

"Oh dear, come on!" She leads him inside, closing the door behind. She motions for him to sit on the couch, while she rushes to the kitchen for the first aid kit.

Tord silently takes a seat on the comfy couch, looking around the house. Photo frames decorate the shelves, some of them was of the girl's family while the others of him, Tom, Matt and Edd.

Even if she hadn't seen them for quite a while, but still loved them dearly.

She runs back to the living room, holding the first aid kit. She snatches the role of bandage from it, wrapping it around his injured arm.

"Are you okay?" What happened?" She asks. Using scissors to cut off the bandage and secure it.

Tord cough, swallowing the blood that was coming up his throat "I'm fine, just got in a small accident" he takes note that his sight of his right eye was barely there.

"Small? The half of your body is covered in blood" (Y/n) wraps bandages around his head, covering the wounds on his face.

"Hold, let's get you to the hospital" (Y/n) gets up to grab her phone. Suddenly Tord grabs her wrist, stopping her in place.

"Please... don't" The brunette mumbles, looking down. He knew that they would most likely regonise him there and report him the authorities. The best was to hide out with (Y/n) for now, till' Pat and Paul were able to pick him up.

(Y/n) Sits back onto the couch, with a worried expression on her face "Why? Isn't it smart to get professional help with you in this state"

Grabbing her hand, Tord thinks of a quick excuse "Um, I'd rather stay with you, yeah"

Instantly, the girl's face lights up "Oh, ofcourse!" She gets up from the couch, her cheeks somewhat warmerd up "I have a guest room, let me get it ready for you to settle in. Feel free to take anything from the refrigerator and tell me if you need something"

In an instant, she was gone to prepare the room for him. Her excitement amused him, just the same before he left for the Red army. He thinks to back when they went to a shooting ranch.

(Y/n) Holds up a gun, having one eye closed to aim. Her form was somewhat shaking, still somewhat worried with using a gun for the first time.

"Stop shaking like a leaf, you will shoot someone's eye out" Tord strolls up behind her. He stands close to her and grabs her hands, guiding them.

"Stand steady, aim, breath in, breath out and shoot" The brunette commands. (Y/n) slightly spreads her legs to stand more steady, she in- and exhales. Carefully, her (s/c) finger pulls the trigger. A bullet shoots out of it and his the target right in the middle.

She places the gun, before slinging her arms around Tord's neck "Yes! Thank you!" She hugs him tightly.

Tord was taken back by the sudden embrace. He wraps his arms around her waist "It's nothing, I had to make sure you didn't accidentally kill someone"

"Tord...Tord!"

"Huh, what?" Tord snaps out of his trip to memory lane.

"I said I have finished the room. I'm gonna head to my own, Goodnight" (Y/n) explains, poking her head around the corner. Her head soon dissapears as her footsteps become softer.

Tord sighs, traces his finger over the edges of the bandage that covered his arm. He felt somewhat warm inside, knowing that didn't change a bit since they last saw eachother.

He gets up from the couch and walks to the guest room. He opens the door and walks in. He was met with a somewhat empty room, it had a closet for clothes and a bed with red sheets on it.

The brunette sits down and pulls his half destroyed hoodie over his head and tosses it onyo the floor next to the bed. He flops onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Thought about, his old friends, Paul and Patryck, the Red army and finally (Y/n). It is the best if he leaves as soon as his comrades arrived, he didn't want her to figure out he was a dangerous person.

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Timeskip

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

(Y/n) walks into the library where she worked. Before she left, she left a plate of breakfast and a note for Tord to find.

She pauses when something catches her eye the enterance. Her (e/c) eyes scan the poster on the wall.

On it was a guy looking pretty similar to Tord, well before he got his major injuries. He was holding a gun, along with wearing a blue coat over his iconic, looking like an army uniform. There was bandage around his neck and on his right cheek. It was actually a wanted poster with a price of 1.500.000.

"That is weird" (Y/n) pulls out her phone, taking a picture of the wanted poster. She was gonna ask Tord about once she was done with work. Worried thoughts enter her brain.

'Is it real?''

Why would Tord be wanted?'

'How did he even got hurt?'

'Am I in danger?'

She decided to shake off the concerning thought that circled her head and begin her shift.

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Timeskip

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

"Hey, Tord. Can I ask you about about–" (Y/n) enters her house only to find it empty. "Tord?" She looks through the house for any sign of him, sadly finding none.

"Did he leave?" She notices an empty plate on the kitchen counter, on it was the note she left. Written underneath her message was a small sentence with red pen.

Thanks ��

To be continued...

(Insert MLP outro)

#eddsworld #eddsworld x reader #fanfic #x reader #ew tord #tord #Tord x reader #oneshot #red leader

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ebookporn · 1 year

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The Mistress of Slang

Madeline Kripke assembled what may be the largest personal dictionary collection in the world. It is certainly the bawdiest.

by Heidi Landecker

In 2020, on Perry Street in Manhattan’s West Village, there lived a woman named Madeline Kripke, and her books. Kripke was 76, and she had been collecting dictionaries, and books about dictionaries, most of her life, almost since her parents gave her Webster’s Collegiate when she was 10.

Kripke was not a collector like you or I would be. Dictionaries lined not only the shelves she had specially built for them but every surface in her sizable two-bedroom apartment. Drawers were pulled out to make more surfaces on which to stack books, which also lay atop the refrigerator and on her bed. Books stood in towers along the floor, with narrow passageways to ease through. “It’s the biggest collection of dictionaries, period,” said the lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, a history of that verb. Sheidlower is one of a cohort of lexicographers who knew Kripke and used her books, and her knowledge, to inspire their own work. Of her collection, “it’s better than what’s in the Bodleian and the NYPL combined,” he said, referring to libraries at the University of Oxford and in New York City.

Kripke wasn’t only a collector. She read dictionaries and compared them. She knew what her 20,000 volumes contained, and she loved sharing that with people who cared about what she knew. (Along with her apartment, she had at least two Manhattan warehouses, each with “more stuff in it than probably any slang collection anywhere else in the country".

#dictionaries #language #etymology #linguistics #slang #curse words #librarians #english teachers

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l00ney-m00ny · 3 months

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Refrigerator as a word is so weird. Make me think of Dr doofinshmirtz. "PERRY ze PLATYPUS, BEHOLD my REFRIGERATORINATOR!!"

#pyro speaks #memes #meme #heinz doofenshmirtz #perry the platypus

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1-1-s1ay-2-2 · 1 year

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Not surprisingly, the actor, Matthew Perry's actual birthday is August 19th, making his personality type that of a Leo/Virgo cusp. It totally shows in the character of Chandler Bing.

The warm and funny quirk that a Leo/Virgo has...it definitely shows in the Chandler character because it's probably expressive of how Matthew Perry's personality is in real life...or at least similar; according to his birth sign.

Indeed, the Leo/Virgo (Fire/Earth) cusp is one of my favorite personality types! They are down-to-earth, homely, and practical from their earth energy but also lively and active, and fun to be around (from their fire energy) with a few quirks that keep spirits high and the good times rolling. They have a mellow kinda vibe.

My dad liked to pull pranks and get a laugh out of anyone in the room. He liked to use humor to "break the ice".

There weren't any awkward moments around my dad because he knew how to mix it up by doing something silly like getting a cold soda out of the refrigerator and putting it on your back so you jumped, as you quipped...dad!

He would snicker mischievously and play it off...like what? "I didn't do anything." You couldn't get mad at him. He was like a big kid who just wanted to have the time of his life and be loved.

It made it fun to be around him. He liked to get out and go on adventures and see new sights and experience new places.

I'll tell ya why...my dad's birthday was August 18th, and he was and always will be my favorite man.

#you never quit missing your dad #explained

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rembi · 9 months

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Has anyone ever thought about how weird the word refrigerator is. Like did dr doofenshmirtz invent it or something.

Ah yes, Perry the platypus behold my latest invention: The REFRIGERATOR, a device that can freeze certain food items to allow them to not spoil for longer periods of time. When I was a boy, the ocelots that raised me would give me meat that would immediately spoil once i touched it, so I’m making this as revenge for the world

#that story ran out of steam LMAO #doofenschmirtz #doof #refrigeratorcore

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wernerherzogshave · 1 year

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Bridge Talk

Perry saw the Sex Pistols live so I hung out with him for the duration of Charles' book signing party; garbage food overcrowding refrigerator land, up in Loftland; about two hundred years ago, three or so blocks southeast, Grace Hartigan reinvented art and herself; Joan Mitchell would come back to the City from time to time--but she of course excommunicated herself from the American marrow line, left full steam ahead for France--and I read about these people and wonder;

how does life and living turn into history so easy--like high speed calcification; it's cruel but it doesn't mean to be;

I ask Perry about his day, about the party, we try to not talk about the food; six hours later, from stairwell to park to Broadway to Brooklyn Bridge, we'd been everywhere and said close to nothing--it's all the stupid people that made us talk, not our linked interests or unirrigated brains; but I

liked his company anyway; talking to older men makes more sense to me; I usually relate to the knee join hurt and the absent minded persuasion of everyday miracles.

#poetry #writerscreed #poeticstories #tumblr writers #tumblr poetry #poetblr #new york city

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xtruss · 1 year

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A shrouded mannequin demonstrates the "laying in" ceremony at Recompose, a human composting facility in Seattle. Human composting, water cremation, and green burials are gaining traction as people seek to minimize their environmental impact in death. Photograph By Mat Hayward, Getty Images For Recompose

Rest In … Compost? These ‘Green Funerals’ Offer An Eco-Friendly Afterlife.

Traditional burial and cremation pollute the ground and emit carbon dioxide. People are looking for new options.

— By Allie Yang | February 24, 2023

You may have seen the headlines: Earlier this year, New York State became the sixth in the nation to legalize something called human composting. In 2022, Archbishop Desmond Tutu chose to be cremated not by flame, but by water, in a process called alkaline hydrolysis. In 2019, actor Luke Perry was buried in a “mushroom suit” made of cotton and seeded with mushroom spores. All were part of a push to make the afterlife more eco-friendly.

Death care has remained largely unchanged in the United States ever since embalming and burial became the de facto method as far back as the Civil War, says Caitlin Doughty, mortician and founder of death care advocacy nonprofit Order of the Good Death. Most people don’t even have access to other options: burials and cremation are the only methods that are legal in all 50 states.

Traditional burial methods harm the planet in various ways. Embalming slows the decay of a person’s body so that it’s presentable at a funeral—but after burial, the chemicals used for embalming leach into the ground. Caskets require enormous amounts of wood and metal, and cemeteries often build concrete vaults in the ground to protect them. Even cremation requires a lot of fuel, and generates millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

Now, however, a variety of theoretically more sustainable death care alternatives are increasingly being offered around the country. Here’s what you need to know.

Green or Natural Burial

Green burials have been used as long as humans have been burying bodies. Both Native American and Jewish communities traditionally use green burials. But in recent generations, they have fallen out of fashion as people opted for more elaborate burials. Green or “simple” burials became more commonly used for the poor and wards of the state.

These are generally defined as burials using materials that are both nontoxic and biodegradable. In a typical green burial, the deceased is dressed in a 100 percent cotton shroud and buried in a plain pine box.

In some cases people choose to “become” a tree in death by having a tree planted over their plot. (However, the tree burial pods that kicked off this trend—in which bodies are wrapped in an egg-shaped pod that supposedly feeds the roots of a young tree—are not available for commercial use and it’s unclear if they are even viable.)

Almost every cemetery in the U.S. has an area reserved for green, or “simple” burials, according to Ed Bixby, president of the Green Burial Council (GBC), which helps educate and certify burial grounds meeting sustainability standards. On some burial properties, plots are marked via GPS and a natural stone marker—otherwise, the area is left to grow wild, becoming less like a cemetery and more like a nature preserve full of life.

Most families who choose natural burial also forgo embalming, often seeing the process as overly invasive, when refrigeration alone adequately preserves the body. Others opt for gentler embalming fluids made without formaldehyde, which are becoming increasingly available.

Adeline O'Keefe from The Natural Death Centre poses for photographs with a bamboo coffin in Clissold Park, London. The organization is one of many around the world working to help bring death care closer to families and arrange for environmentally-friendly funerals. Photograph By Abbie Trayler-Smith, The Guardian/Eyevine/Redux

But could these simple burials contribute to the spread of disease or pollution of the land? The data from existing research on traditional cemeteries “doesn't indicate that bodies are dangerous in and of themselves,” says Lee Webster, director of New Hampshire Funeral Resources and Education and former director of GBC, adding that vaults, chemicals, and non-organic containers used in traditional burial do contribute to pollution.

Further, the WHO has found “no evidence that corpses pose a risk of epidemic disease—most agents do not survive long in the human body after death.”

Still, it’s unclear if some of the newer variations of green burials are effective. For example, the brand responsible for Luke Perry’s mushroom suit claimed it would neutralize toxins and give nutrients back to the earth. Years earlier, however, the suit’s maker had hired mortician Melissa Unfred to study the suit—Unfred found there was no evidence the suit had any real effect.

Water Cremation

One cremation creates an average of 534 pounds of carbon dioxide, one scientist told Nat Geo in 2016. Toxins from embalming fluid and nonorganic implants like pacemakers or tooth fillings also go up in smoke. Water cremation—also known as aquamation or alkaline hydrolysis—produces the same result with significantly less environmental impact and for some, a spiritual benefit.

Native Hawaiians practiced a form of water cremation for thousands of years. They would use heated volcanic water to break down the bodies of their loved ones, says Dean Fisher, water cremation consultant and former director of Mayo Clinic’s donated body program. Then they would bury the remaining bones, where they believed the soul’s spiritual essence was stored.

The tradition has fallen out of practice in recent years—but in July 2022 Hawaii legalized water cremation, putting the tradition back within reach.

Water cremation machines work by pumping a heated alkaline fluid around a body for four to six hours, exponentially accelerating the natural decomposition process. Bodies can be embalmed or unembalmed and dressed in any material that is 100 percent natural. After the body breaks down, only bones and non-organic implants remain. The bones are dried, crushed, and returned to the family.

The only byproduct of water cremation is nontoxic, sterile water that can be recycled into the local water supply—270 gallons of it, or slightly less than what the average American household uses in a day. There are no emissions into the ground or air.

But water cremation does have its drawbacks. For one, traditional cremations are more readily available, faster, and usually less expensive. Water cremation also requires energy to heat the water and run the pump, although a Dutch study from 2011 showed that’s only 10 percent of the energy used in flame cremation.

Further, some critics of water cremation argue it is immoral or disrespectful to the deceased, akin to flushing your loved one down the drain. However, advocates counter that water cremation simply accelerates the natural decomposition process and is no different from the blood from routine embalming that also goes through water treatment to be neutralized.

Either way, water cremation appears to be gaining steam in the U.S. It is currently legal in 28 states—and 15 of them approved it within the last decade.

Human Composting

Human composting turns bodily remains to soil through a highly controlled process—very different from food composting that can be done in your backyard. In a sealed container, a body is cocooned in a mix of natural materials like wood chips and straw. Over a month or more, the vessel heats up from active microbes that start to break the body down. Fans blow oxygen into the container, which is regularly rotated to reactivate the microbes.

After 30 to 50 days, bone and any non-organic matter are taken out. The bones are then ground down and returned to the material. It takes another few weeks to “cure,” as microbes finish their work and the soil dries out. The end result is a cubic yard of compost that families can use or donate to environmental causes.

There are environmental costs to human composting, also called natural organic reduction (NOR). Fuel is needed to transport elements like wood chips, and electricity is used to power air pumps, fans, and the vessel rotation.

“We’re just getting started as a company tightening [those elements] up,” says Katrina Spade, founder of Recompose, the first NOR facility in the country located in Seattle, Washington. Still, she says the company’s own assessment of the process showed just over a metric ton of carbon savings per person over traditional cremation or burial.

Human composting is rare. It’s only legal in six states—most recently in New York in January. But a Massachusetts lawmaker has also proposed a bill to allow human composting, and advocates like Spade believe that a number of states will legalize it in 2023.

But even if you’re not interested in an eco-friendly afterlife, advocates say that these burial alternatives come with another advantage: Families can be more involved in the death care of their loved ones, from bathing and dressing them at home to lowering their body into the grave if they choose a green burial.

“It's not required. But it's always encouraged to do what you can, if you wish,” Bixby says, adding that most families embrace being part of the process. “You'll watch them go through the gamut of emotions… then when they're done, they'll have this genuinely serene smile on their face. They found a greater sense of acceptance of that passing through the process.”

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