1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Hey, you welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck, 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: Jerry's floating around out there somewhere, and Dave c is 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:11,880 Speaker 1: here in spirit. So the gang is all ready to 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: go with short Stuff. Let's talk about funerals, baby, Let's 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: talk about you being dead. Let's talk about all the 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: good things and the bad things happened to your head 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: after you die. Yeah. Man, we should just stop and 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: in this episode because it will be the best episode 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: in the history of the show. All right, Well that's 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,160 Speaker 1: it for short Stuff. Everybody, Short Stuff is out. Oh wait, 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: we gotta stop for an head break. Oh yeah, that's right. 12 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: Uh yeah. So we're talking about funerals, and we've talked 13 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: a little bit about this stuff over the years in 14 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: our Death Suite, and I think we actually did one 15 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: on things to do with the dead body way back 16 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: in the day. Oh yeah, we've talked a lot about 17 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: this kind of stuff. But the notion that we're tackling 18 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: today is that since the nineteen sixties and up until 19 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, Americans, uh and especially American Christian people 20 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,960 Speaker 1: had one kind of funeral and that was largely dictated 21 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: um a k A. Shoved down our throats by the 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: funeral industry. If you wanted to fit in in America, 23 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: you had to to be presented upon your death in 24 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: a certain way. That meant being embalmed, put in a 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: suit or dress, whatever your preference was, um, and be 26 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: presented in a casket usually open for like your friends 27 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: and family to dress in black and come kind of 28 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: grieve over you. And it's very solemn, unhappy affair. What 29 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: was it When was the last time, not to get 30 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: too personal, but that you had to go to an 31 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: open cast it cast GT scene. I I don't remember, honestly. Um, 32 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: it's been a while for me. Yeah, I genuinely don't 33 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: remember because it is kind of like old school, you know, 34 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: but you know, it still happens every once in a a while. 35 00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: I don't remember, Chuck, But I mean I have been 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: ever since I was a little kid. My mom was like, 37 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: it's time for you to learn about death, and I 38 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: was like, I'm only two. She's like, yeah, it's a 39 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: little late. Frankly. Yeah, all I know is the last 40 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: few that I've been to, and in fact, most that 41 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: I've ever been to, which I haven't been that many. 42 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: I have always just been like, you know, like, do 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: you want to go up and take good by to 44 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: your grandmother? And I've always been like, no, I've done 45 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: that in my head in my heart, so I do 46 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: not need to go see that weird, powdery, waxy figure 47 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: that looks nothing like her in real life. Do you 48 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: want to go smell Grandma's hair one last time? God? Yeah, 49 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: I've never been into it, and we're both kind of 50 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: on record with that over our shows over the years. 51 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: But uh, this whole thing started to kind of change 52 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: with a book in nineteen sixty three that I kind 53 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: of want to read now from Jessica Mitford called The 54 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: American Way of Death, where she really kind of exposed, um, 55 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:56,639 Speaker 1: the US funeral home industry is being not so great. Yeah, 56 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: Basically she she portrayed it as an entire industry built 57 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:06,279 Speaker 1: around taking um advantage of people in a really predatory 58 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: way during a really um vulnerable moment, when they're grieving, 59 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: when they're at their weakest. These these skills come in 60 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: and start being like, well, of course you need this, 61 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: and the deceased would want that, and the platinum packt 62 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 1: ching cho ching cho ching, right, they got like the 63 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: the cash registered dollars signed cartoon wolf Eyes. Um. That's 64 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: basically how she portrayed and it was a really UM. 65 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: I think she wrote an article at first and it 66 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: got very little attention, and then it was turned into 67 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: a book. I think she went on TV and it 68 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: ended up becoming a book and really had a huge 69 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: effect on how people viewed funerals from that point on. Yeah, 70 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: and I guess maybe we should just caveat this now 71 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: and say, if we have listeners that work in the 72 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: funeral industry, we're not coming after you. Here. This was 73 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: a book that was written in the nineteen sixties, and 74 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: we realize it's a business for profit business, and up 75 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: selling is part of that business, and it takes on 76 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: a bit of a I guess, sort of an untoward 77 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: feeling when it's dealing with people while they're grieving. But 78 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: that's also the business you're in. So I'm not just 79 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: I'm not slamming you if you work for If I 80 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: have one across the street, they're very nice people. I 81 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: live across from a funeral home. That's lovely. But um, 82 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: having said that, stop it. No, things have changed a 83 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: lot over the years. In the nineteen sixties, the cremation 84 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: rate was three percent and which is astounding. And now 85 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: it's fifty one percent, and it's going to go up 86 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: to about fifty seven or fifty eight percent by two. 87 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: It seems like yeah, and that that was a big 88 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: effect that Mitford had with her book The American Way 89 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: of Death. It was like like, you just did not 90 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: get cremated before then, and then all of a sudden 91 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: and she by the way, she she had a very 92 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: cheap funeral, including being cremated. UM. I read that she 93 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: spent less than I think eight hundred dollars in today's 94 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: dollars um on her own funeral role um. But but 95 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: because of this, it kind of made it like okay 96 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: to not go through all this rigm roll and to 97 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: not even like preserve the body. And I was reading 98 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 1: about that preserving the body, like there's this idea that 99 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: um that had been around for a really long time. 100 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: Like I don't know if it was so that you 101 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: looked your best when when God teld told everybody's staying 102 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,799 Speaker 1: up in their graves and be judged or apparent Yeah, yeah, okay. 103 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: But apparently it was Abraham Lincoln that really kicked off 104 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 1: the American trend for embalming. UM. He had his son embalmed. 105 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: He was a big devotte of embalming. And then when 106 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: he was embalmed and he made a whistle stop tour 107 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: after death, that was like the first time a lot 108 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: of Americans ever saw an embalmed body, and like it 109 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: basically started this trend that lasted for a good century 110 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: or more. Yeah, so let's take a break and we'll 111 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: talk about kind of how this cultural shift fit in 112 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: with all the other cultural shifts that were happening in 113 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties right after this. Now I'm not large 114 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: sk alright, so nineteen sixties come along. This book is 115 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 1: written in the early sixties, the countercultural counterculture arrives, People 116 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: start doing drugs, start exploring different kinds of spirituality, uh, 117 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: including what they think about the afterlife, and sort of 118 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,239 Speaker 1: one of the natural things that happened was funerals started 119 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: to change a little bit to compare, you know, to 120 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: kind of lean towards more what we think of them 121 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: uh today in today's terms. Yeah, that was a big 122 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: part of it. You know, this this idea of um, 123 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: you know, taking acid and thinking about being embalmed is 124 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 1: not they don't really go hand in hand, you know 125 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,479 Speaker 1: what I'm saying it's a really easy way to decouple 126 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: yourself from the traditional ideas of funerals is to take LSD. 127 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: I only inject heroin into my body band exactly. So UM, 128 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: that was a big part of it. In addition to 129 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: Mitford's book, I think her book came at a really 130 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: like good time. I think it had an impact because 131 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: the general um awakening of people in the movement away 132 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: from religion in a lot of ways, not necessarily away 133 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: from spirituality. But um, you know, there's this guy that's 134 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: interviewed in this house Stuff Works article who is the 135 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: UM I think, the dean of religious studies at Emory University. 136 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: So he's like, big Wood, you know what I'm saying, 137 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: Gary Lotterman, And he points out that, UM that if 138 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: you are talking about religion, like religions bread and butter, 139 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: it's basic business is death in the afterlife. So it 140 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: has all sorts of UM ideas and and um very 141 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: clear guidelines about how you're supposed to behave upon death 142 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: and how your body is supposed to be treated upon death, 143 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: and if you're religious, you follow those. But if as 144 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: a country America started to get less and less religious, 145 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: those kind of constrictions fell away too. Yeah, and you 146 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: know the idea that, um. The other thing a big 147 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: thing that's changed and changed things funeral wise, is it 148 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: used to be very vague in your will, Like funerals 149 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: were just kind of done one way, so when you die, 150 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: that was expected. And starting in the sixties and definitely 151 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: in the past couple of decades, people have gotten way 152 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: way more specific and they're what they want, like for 153 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: their own funeral arrangements, and it's leaned more toward and 154 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: they've even changed the nomenclature from funeral surface uh to 155 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,719 Speaker 1: memorial service and then eventually the celebration of life, and 156 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: things have just gotten a lot less rigid, a little lighter, 157 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: and more celebratory. I don't wear black, I want you 158 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:04,719 Speaker 1: to lay you know, uh, craft work, and I want 159 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: alcohol served. And I wanted to be outdoors and scatter 160 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: my ashes in my favorite dog park and then chuck. 161 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: So if you're if you're running a funeral home these days, 162 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: you're trying to keep up with this crazy changing wacko 163 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: time um for how funerals are carried out or sorry, 164 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: celebrations of life are carried out. Um, you you have 165 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: to kind of get more creative now than you you 166 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: did before. And I came across a blog post on 167 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:38,079 Speaker 1: funeral one dot com or funeral alone dot com, depending 168 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: on how you want to say it, and it's I 169 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: think like twenty something creative ideas for a funeral, and 170 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: one of them, number ten, really sticks out to me. 171 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: They now they point out, as long as it wasn't 172 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: a tragic death, you can insert a bit of humor 173 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: by um passing out mad libs for people to creative 174 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,439 Speaker 1: out the about the deceased. And I think it's smart 175 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: of them to caveat that as long as it was 176 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,839 Speaker 1: a tragic loss, because that definitely does kind of change 177 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 1: the tone of something even today, even in today's you know, 178 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: whacked out alcohol fueled celebrations of life, if it's a 179 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: tragedy that that led to the death, it's it's still 180 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: going to be pretty somber. This is typically for things like, um, 181 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: you know somebody who, um, I don't know where their 182 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: death wasn't wasn't a tragedy. I don't think there's really 183 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: any other way to put it or create create Number fourteen, 184 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: create a memorial hashtag. Okay, so they give an example 185 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:45,199 Speaker 1: hashtag remembered Grandma Smith, but they've shortened Grandma to g 186 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: M A so it could also be remembered good Morning America. 187 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 1: I think it we settled on. I know you've changed 188 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: your mind since then, but you were going to be 189 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: shot out of a cannon or something. Yeah, And then 190 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,199 Speaker 1: I was always into this guy Burial, and Emily was 191 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: just like, I'll make you into a tree, but I 192 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: don't want to want vultures eating you. For God's sakes, 193 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: Guy Burial is pretty hardcore man for sure. Um. Yeah, 194 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 1: I used to to really be into myself, so I 195 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: wanted to be shot out of a can, and now 196 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: I'm like, I think I just rather be cremated and 197 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: spread somewhere nice. Okay, So I've got one more for you. 198 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: What you got um Number seventeen Celebrate Life fun with bubbles. 199 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 1: So you know, basically, what they're saying is the funeral 200 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:37,200 Speaker 1: industry has gone into the wedding industry, wedding reception industry, 201 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,959 Speaker 1: and said we could translate a lot of these to 202 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 1: these celebrations of life because they're both celebrations, and that's 203 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: kind of where we're at with funerals right now. That's right, 204 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: there's no wrong way to do it. If you are 205 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: still into an open casket and that traditional funeral service, 206 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 1: there certainly um businesses that can accommodate that. And we're 207 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: not gonna yuck anyone's yum even in death. No, we're not, 208 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: unless unless you fall for number eighteen, which is to 209 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: host icebreaker games, which it doesn't matter whether it's a 210 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:11,559 Speaker 1: corporate function, a wedding or funeral. Icebreaker games are horrible. 211 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,720 Speaker 1: Everybody across the board just don't do that. No one 212 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: wants you to go out like that. Well, since Chuck 213 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: said we'll judge you for that, that means that short 214 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: stuff is done and short stuff is out. Stuff you 215 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: should know is production of iHeart Radios How stuff Works. 216 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 217 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 218 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: favorite shows.