# Dark Thoughts: What to do with all the bodies?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 18, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240 "2011-08-18T22:36:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/1 "2011-08-18T22:36:34Z")
Disclaimer: Some people have always felt that “other’ people should be eliminated for the betterment of society. Who these other people are have varied throughout history. I **DO NOT** support or approve of this idea in any way shape or form. Not even for [insert lame pop culture reference]. Just so that we are clear about that. 🙂
However, I am seeing it suggested more and more in response to all sorts of societal ills on various news site & blogs. ☹
So society decides to purge the undesirable but does so humanely, no torture, no experimenting on live subjects, just euthanizing them efficiently. What do we do with all the bodies?
I see a couple of answers.
[ul]
[li]Harvest healthy parts for the more deserving members of society.[/li][li]Cadavers for research & medical schools.[/li][li]Hi Opal![/li][li]???[/li][li]Profit![/li][/ul]
What else? Soylent Green like food? Fertilizer? Building material?
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/2 "2011-08-18T22:57:08Z")
Organ harvesting is a noble idea but it is hard and expensive to orchestrate. You need lots of medical professionals involved in the process and that gets iffy. There isn’t enough demand for cadavers either. People get funny about accepting hearts or livers from those that didn’t give them willingly. It is best to pump the more traditional forms of organ drives for those purposes.
My plan has always been the simple one. Just process the undesirables through existing conventional renderings plants that are already in place for livestock. It produces some beneficial byproducts like gelatin and ingredients for glue but that is just incidental. At least school kids get some use out of both those to help them start off green. Decomposing humans are just plain nasty overall. You just need to get rid of them especially when you are dealing in the bulk we are talking and rendering plants are a good way to do that. They already process tens of millions of animals a year. A few million long pigs thrown in on top won’t even make them belch.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/3 "2011-08-18T22:59:16Z")
Let them rot. Most of the ones on my “General” list are in other countries.
Buzzards gotta eat too.
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### Author:  [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/4 "2011-08-18T23:17:58Z")
You know who else already had a plan for getting rid of the undesirables left over bodies don’t you?
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/5 "2011-08-18T23:21:48Z")
Hannibal Lecter?
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/6 "2011-08-19T00:29:03Z")
Why would you need to treat dead undesirables any different from dead desirables?
I mean, you could if you wanted to, if the whole point was to harvest their organs or something, but otherwise why not just bury or cremate - i.e., use the systems we already have in place for dealing with dead bodies?
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### Author:  [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/7 "2011-08-19T00:56:47Z")
> [@zoid](#):
>
> Hannibal Lecter?
Zing!
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### Author:  [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/8 "2011-08-19T01:06:19Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> My plan has always been the simple one. Just process the undesirables through existing conventional renderings plants that are already in place for livestock. It produces some beneficial byproducts like gelatin and ingredients for glue but that is just incidental. At least school kids get some use out of both those to help them start off green. Decomposing humans are just plain nasty overall. You just need to get rid of them especially when you are dealing in the bulk we are talking and rendering plants are a good way to do that. They already process tens of millions of animals a year. A few million long pigs thrown in on top won’t even make them belch.
You know, I could have sworn I saw a movie like this once…
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### Author:  [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/9 "2011-08-19T01:19:55Z")
i kinda lost enthusiasm after the third sentence. my best answer would be mass graves.
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/10 "2011-08-19T01:23:20Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> i kinda lost enthusiasm after the third sentence. my best answer would be mass graves.
Sadly we have evidence that this works well for getting rid of lots people found to be undesirable.
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### Author:  [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/11 "2011-08-19T01:37:51Z")
> [@Foggy](#):
>
> So society decides to purge the undesirable but does so humanely, no torture, no experimenting on live subjects, just euthanizing them efficiently. What do we do with all the bodies?
>
> I see a couple of answers.
> [ul]
> [li]Harvest healthy parts for the more deserving members of society.[/li][li]Cadavers for research & medical schools.[/li][li]Hi Opal![/li][li]???[/li][li]Profit![/li][/ul]
>
> What else? Soylent Green like food? Fertilizer? Building material?
What in the _hell_ did **Opal** ever do to you? 😉
How many undesirables are we talking about? Is it just the intersection of those who buy jacked up F-150s painted in rebel flags and those who listen to Nickelback? Wait, I guess those two groups are equivalent. Soooo, let’s assume quite a few metric ass-tons.
My first reaction was fertilizer, but the idea of eating food fertilized with compost made from my cousin Bruce (I’m just assuming he’s going to be picked here) makes me oogy, even if he is a douche.
Maybe organ transplants or cadavers, but I don’t know if that would cover the whole volume. I mean, I’ve been starting a list in my head, and it’s already **really** long.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/12 "2011-08-19T01:39:05Z")
I see no General Question here. MOved to IMHO.
**samclem** , Moderator
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### Author:  [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/13 "2011-08-19T01:41:30Z")
> [@njtt](#):
>
> Why would you need to treat dead undesirables any different from dead desirables?
>
> I mean, you could if you wanted to, if the whole point was to harvest their organs or something, but otherwise why not just bury or cremate - i.e., use the systems we already have in place for dealing with dead bodies?
Because such a system would likely be slaughtering thousands (tens of thousands?) of people. A more efficient means of dealing with all those bodies would be needed.
> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> i kinda lost enthusiasm after the third sentence. my best answer would be mass graves.
That seems a waste of potential resources.
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### Author:  [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/14 "2011-08-19T01:46:41Z")
> [@samclem](#):
>
> I see no General Question here. MOved to IMHO.
>
> **samclem** , Moderator
Well I was hoping for factual answers with what could be done with a bunch of bodies. Can human remains be used as a source of food, or fertilizer, or something else?
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### Author:  [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/15 "2011-08-19T01:56:09Z")
> [@Foggy](#):
>
> Well I was hoping for factual answers with what could be done with a bunch of bodies. Can human remains be used as a source of food, or fertilizer, or something else?
I was thinking fertilizer.
Of course, we’d need a really big grinder.
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### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/16 "2011-08-19T01:56:58Z")
They could be used for almost anything animals could be used for. Human disease could be passed from corpses to the living if used as food.
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### Author:  [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/17 "2011-08-19T02:13:45Z")
I’ve heard/read that medical schools sometimes suffer from a shortage of cadavers to train med students - can someone help determine whether this is true? I think I heard that the big issue is that a lot of people who are dying of disease or who are elderly donate their bodies, but that medical schools would benefit from more healthy cadavers.
If this is the case, perhaps the bodies could be used to further medical training.
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### Author:  [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/18 "2011-08-19T02:28:53Z")
wrap them neatly in plastic, stow them in the trunk of the car. and then wash the inside with soap and water, cover the upholstery with bed sheets, take a shower yourself.
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### Author:  [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/19 "2011-08-19T03:07:35Z")
You could use them to fill potholes in the road. Leftovers could fill sinkholes.
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### Author:  [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-thoughts-what-to-do-with-all-the-bodies/593240/20 "2011-08-19T03:08:19Z")
Put them on a boat and sink it. You get a nice coral reef out of the deal!
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