The Cellar Image of the Day

Despite appearances, what you see here is not your basic softcore goth porn (well, at least not intentionally.) It is, in fact, a promotional sales item. Not for the lingerie, not for the shoes... for the coffin! The Italian undertaker firm Cofanifunebri has released their 2008 corporate calendar, featuring sexy models draped across their merchandise.

"Coffins are consumer goods like any other things, so I sell in the same way as any other consumer goods are sold," said owner Maurizio Matteucci. "The calendar is very popular."

"It is good marketing, but it is also a way to play down such a serious subject and to smile."

If I had a terminal illness, and was making all the final arrangements for myself in order to not be a burden on my family, I can see getting a kick out of this advertising. But if my loved one died and I was frantically trying to line all the stuff up on short notice, I would be less receptive.

The whole thing reminded me of Six Feet Under. During the first couple of shows they had some spoof ads that imitated the Gap ads of the time--about a dozen young people in khakis and white shirts doing a well-choreographed song and dance about mortician tools and funeral home supplies.

Am I the only one reminded of the scene in the movie "Saint Elmo's Fire"? Where the guy has a coffin in his room, just in case a hot chick is around to have sex on the coffin? A veritable chick magnet. Ever since that flick I've fantasized about having sex with a hot chick on a coffin. Not all the time, just every now and then. I made out with a hot chick in a grave yard once, it was coooool.

Don't do it, Zen, it's a plot by classic to get us inter trouble. I understand, I bereaved him before, too, but the fact remains he does not urn our trust. Inquest for a really good guy, I aspired to good but cot evil. Disinter evil is the marker of our demise.

After Zen + Shawnee I want one so long as it revolves by itself and the occupant doesn't have to.

LOL @ Zen & Shawnee!!!

I thought maybe the yellow ones were for the pimps. It ain't easy burying a pimp.

When you get cremated, the coffin goes up in smoke too, and you still need one for the service.

I would imagine that the coffin maker sells his wares to funeral homes, so the calendar is for people already in the industry. Probably not intended for the end user at all, unless you happen to be one of those freaky people who like to plan out their funeral way ahead of time (like my recently passed grandmother-in-law).

Quote:

A body ready to be cremated is first placed in a container for cremation, which can be a simple corrugated cardboard box or a wooden casket. Most casket manufacturers provide a line of caskets specially built for cremation. Another option is a cardboard box that fits inside a wooden shell designed to look like a traditional casket. After the funeral service the interior box is removed from the shell before cremation, permitting the shell to be reused. Funeral homes may also offer rental caskets, which are traditional caskets used only for the duration of the services, after which the body is transferred to another container for cremation. Rental caskets are sometimes designed with removable beds and liners, replaced after each use.

In the UK, the body is not removed from the coffin, and is not placed into a container as described above. The body is cremated with the coffin, which is why all UK coffins that are to be used for cremation must be made of combustible material. The Code Of Cremation Practice forbids the opening of the coffin once it has arrived at the crematorium, and rules stipulate it must be cremated on the same day as the funeral service. Therefore, if a corpse is to be cremated in the UK, it will be done so in the same coffin as it is placed in at the funeral parlour. Jewellery is strongly advised to be removed before the coffin is sealed, as the coffin cannot be opened once it has been received at the crematorium. After the cremation process has been completed, the remains are passed through a magnetic field to remove any bits of metal, which will be interred elsewhere in the crematorium grounds.

In Australia, the deceased are cremated in a coffin supplied by the undertaker. Reusable or cardboard coffins are unknown. If cost is an issue, a plain, particle-board coffin known in the trade as a 'chippie' will be offered. Handles (if fitted) are plastic and approved for use in a cremator. Coffins vary from unfinished particle board (covered with a velvet pall if there is a service) to solid timber. Most are veneered particle board.

Cremations can be 'delivery only' with no preceding chapel service at the crematorium (although a church service may have been held) or preceded by a service in one of the crematorium chapels. Delivery-only allows crematoriums to schedule cremations to make best use of the cremators, perhaps by holding the body overnight in a refrigerator. As a result a lower fee is applicable. Delivery-only may be referred to by industry jargon such as 'west chapel service'.

Heh!
Check out the wiki link above. In each picture of the guy doing the cremation he has a cig in his mouth, even when above open ashes of the persons remains!

Very cool... if you leave out the GW bit of putting it on a plane to fly it to the States.

I'd like a tube of good soil with an apple tree growing out of the top. That should be easy to pull off.