Different even in death

This is one of the things that fascinates me about America. In Britain, the law requires that you be buried in a pine box that will eventually rot away. This makes room for later inmates and the sexton's job that much easier. In America, the law requires that you be buried in a metal casket that weighs a ton, stuck in a concrete vault that has about as much chance of decaying as the pyramids.

The amazing thing is, I don't think anyone outside of some faceless bureaucrats ever gave any of this more than a second's thought. At one time, burial rite were the stuff of religion, status, and culture. Now they're the result of the stroke of a pen.