# Question R: Embalming **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518 "2002-10-09T12:51:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518/1 "2002-10-09T12:51:07Z")
We all know the ancient Egyptians were masters of embalming-you can see 4000 year old mummies which are quite recognizably human. I understand that modern scientists have folowed the ancient Egyptain directions (for embalming a body), and the results have been quite good-all decay ceases, and the body maintains a lifelike appearance. Now, what is the state of modern funreray practice? how long will a body last , if embalmed and buried as per contemporary practice? I understand that in-ground burail is pretty chancey-if water leaks in ( a distinct possibility) you wind up with a pretty decayed corpse-nothing left but bones! Suppose you are interred in a mausoleum? How long would you last? Finally, should you wish it, are there any modern ways of making a body last forever? Can we do the egyptains one better? How much does it cost, and what kind of storage can be gauranteed for 1000+ years? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518/2 "2002-10-09T13:15:56Z")
A quick search of the archive produced [this](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_092.html), which should help. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518/3 "2002-10-09T13:19:48Z")
Just stopping in to point out that modern embalming techniques have nothing to do with ancient Egyptian embalming techniques. In ancient Egypt they removed all the organs from the body cavity and packed the corpse with a combination of dry salts, which drew all the moisture out of it (this is the same process used in making country hams, except that the salts are different, and you can cook and eat the ham). Then they wrapped the dried corpse up in linens and various preserving oils, resins, gums, etc. and voila! your basic Egyptian mummy. The reason all decay ceased was that the body was completely dried (bacteria need moisture) and that the combination of linens and gums, etc. then sealed it all up in an airtight, bacteria-proof, bug-proof package. And the dry climate of Egypt helped preserve them, too, as did the entombment in a sealed-off cave with a minimum of insects. If you had taken a freshly made Egyptian mummy to a hot, humid, insect-infested place like Florida, it wouldn’t have lasted a year. Anyway… Nowadays what they do is, they drain all the blood out of the body via an intravenous line and a pump, and replace it with embalming fluid, which is actually formaldehyde–the same stuff used to pickle that dead frog you were asked to dissect in science class. I do not have a figure offhand for how long a modern embalmed corpse will stay preserved, but I do know that Lenin’s body, embalmed in 1924, is still in pretty good condition, although the Russians evidently take it out every so often and do “maintenance” on it. [http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/bodies/case02.html](http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/bodies/case02.html) > [@](#): > > Ever since, Lenin’s body has been checked twice a week for deterioration. Every 18 months it is taken to a laboratory beneath its mausoleum to be undressed, examined and immersed in preserving chemicals. > **[Grigory Yavlinsky Negotiates With The Terrorists](https://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/1473-terrorism/)** > > Russian deputy, Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky is inside the theatre where the terrorists hold theatergoers hostages and negotiates with the attackers. Th... > [@](#): > > 01 2000-12-31 > > MAUSOLEUM OPEN AGAIN > > After another prophylactics break, the Lenin mausoleum on Red Square has reopened to visitors. “There have been no changes made,” Sergei Devyatov, official at the mausoleum’s guarding Service, is reported as saying by Interfax. Just off the top of my head, the only way to make a body last forever is to freeze it, or cryogenics. And that’s only “forever” as long as the civilization that has the freezers and the electricity to run them keeps the power turned on. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518/4 "2002-10-09T13:32:12Z")
You might want to do a search on ‘plastination’. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518/5 "2002-10-09T19:13:12Z")
[eek](http://www.kfunigraz.ac.at/anawww/plast/pre.html) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-r-embalming/131518/6 "2002-10-10T15:35:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*You might want to do a search on ‘plastination’. \*\* … > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose_ > > **eek** On the other hand, you might not! 😃