# Head buried in one place, body in another. Which grave(s) do you visit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2016, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406 "2016-07-20T09:01:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/21 "2016-07-20T23:03:05Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Also, let’s assume that you would have wanted to visit this loved one’s grave again if said loved one had been buried in one piece. I know that you’ll find weird ways of fighting the hypothetical, so I won’t even ask you not to, but at least go easy on it, OK? Yeah, lots of people are fighting the hypothetical, or just totally ignoring it, in the mundane, non-weird way of saying “I don’t visit graves.” If I accept your hypothetical that I would want to visit the grave, I’d agree that > [@Eliahna](#): > > Ultimately a grave is just a place to stand and focus your thoughts on your loved one and it’s immaterial if they’re actually interred there or not and I’d base my decision on other factors involving convenience and/or aesthetics. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/22 "2016-07-20T23:15:17Z")
Well, a head stone commonly has the name of the deceased on it. But would a body stone? That lower half might not be as easy to find. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/23 "2016-07-20T23:46:16Z")
A headless zombie body would not be able to eat my brains, but it might catch me and scoop my brains out before realizing the futility of its efforts. On the other hand, a zombie head would have extremely poor maneuverability, limited to rolling downhill, guided only by eyelash-flicking and differential loss of rotting ear flesh. Thus, based on zombie risk, I would carry out a careful topographical analysis of the surrounding terrain and then visit the head. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/24 "2016-07-20T23:58:10Z")
Those who visit graves: how do you deal with the (admittedly likely rare) occurrence of a hand shooting up out of a freshly filled grave and grabbing your ankle as you walk by? Stuff like that freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/25 "2016-07-21T00:20:57Z")
Both if possible, if not, just the head. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/26 "2016-07-21T00:25:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Those who visit graves: how do you deal with the (admittedly likely rare) occurrence of a hand shooting up out of a freshly filled grave and grabbing your ankle as you walk by? > > Stuff like that freaks me out. I don’t visit graves per se, but I do attend night time movie screenings at Hollywood Forever cemetery. I deal with occurrences of hands shooting up out of the ground with anticipation and excitement. Willing it into reality with all my being. My will and/or being are as of yet not powerful enough to make it happen, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/27 "2016-07-21T00:53:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Those who visit graves: how do you deal with the (admittedly likely rare) occurrence of a hand shooting up out of a freshly filled grave and grabbing your ankle as you walk by? > > Stuff like that freaks me out. I thought that I had dealt with that issue rather comprehensively in my prior post. In fact, given the danger of a zombie apocalypse, it behooves all responsible citizens to bury only their loved ones’ heads nearby, and the bodies somewhere that we can nuke without great concern. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/28 "2016-07-21T01:51:10Z")
Think about this made me realize something: I have NEVER seen the grave of a person I was related to, nor do I even know if any graves exist. I have seen some that my wife is related to, but never one of my own relatives. It never even occurred to me to find out whether anyone who passed was buried or not. Apparently, I’m not supposed to fight the hypothetical this way… so if I assume that the pod people have compelled me to visit a grave site, I would pick whichever was closest to things I was doing that day. Might as well get some errands out of the way. The head/body distinction really has no meaning to me. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/29 "2016-07-21T02:47:45Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > . . . how do you deal with the (admittedly likely rare) occurrence of a hand shooting up out of a freshly filled grave and grabbing your ankle . . . “Templar’s Ring,” DR 5 SR 10 Divine Protection. Also, I’m a Sexton, and carry a Sexton’s Shovel. I just bury 'em again. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/30 "2016-07-21T19:38:50Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’m neither a Catholic, nor a venerator of saints, but oddly enough, I’ve actually seen both- St. Catherine of Siena’s body is in the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, while her rather grotesque head is in the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena. > > We ended up seeing the body first because we went to Rome at the start of our trip, stayed near the Pantheon, which is literally next door to Santa Maria sopra Minerva, so we walked the 40 yards over, and saw her sarcophagus. Several days later, we did a day trip to Siena from Florence, and while we were there, we figured we might as well go and check out the head that went with the body. I just want to point out that we went to Sta. Maria sopra Minerva because it was less than a block from our hotel, not because we even knew St. Catherine of Siena’s body was there. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/31 "2016-07-22T02:25:21Z")
As a practicing Catholic, I would have a Mass said for the loved one, send a mass card to the appropriate relative, and save the travel budget to visit the living. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/32 "2016-07-22T02:29:33Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > Why would you want to visit a grave? You gotta spit _somewhere_… ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406/33 "2016-07-22T03:24:11Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Well in my case my SO has very large beautiful breasts and our relationship is more physical than cerebral, however she does use her head effectively also. It would be a tough choice but I guess I would go with the head. What on earth are you doing when you visit? As for me, I’d visit the head. I suppose. If I envision talking to my departed loved one, I think of the expressions they’d make in conversation. I’d want to think of them smiling or how they’re eyes light up. It would be exceedingly weird to just visualize them putting their hands on their legs or crossing their arms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-buried-in-one-place-body-in-another-which-grave-s-do-you-visit/760406.md?page=1)