# Where Are All the Dead Bodies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031 "2004-01-18T01:15:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/21 "2004-01-18T08:42:37Z")
I have just done a quick check on Google and found out that 70% of people in the UK are now cremated. Even so there are problems in finding land if people want to be buried. The UK Government are proposing changing the law to reuse burial plots. This news article gives more details :- [http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk](http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk)…-name\_page.html If you can work it so Cindy Crawford is buried on me, and you never tell my wife, I’ll make sure your grandkids have full college tuition. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![august9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@august9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/august9)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/22 "2004-01-18T10:06:39Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Is it allowable in Denmark to have ashes scattered at sea? It is - you’ll have to get permission, but that should generally be quite easy to obtain. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/23 "2004-01-18T10:18:49Z")
Just curious about Danish law. I think we can safely assume there aren’t armies following private citizens around in thier boats. Should you dump the remains in the sea, how do the Danish authorities know about it? And what is the punishment? Of course, being American and guessing they aren’t videotaping this, I don’t see how they could prosecute without evidence. I can’t see them skimming the sea since this would open the bereaved to suits from England, Sweden, Norway, France and Germany. Wouldn’t it be a tax issue? ---
**Author:** ![Ozymandius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/258eb7/32.png) [@Ozymandius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ozymandius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/24 "2004-01-18T10:44:47Z")
> [@august9](#): > > It is - you’ll have to get permission, but that should generally be quite easy to obtain. Why does the govenrment require you to get permission for burial at sea? You’re just dumping some dirt overboard. ---
**Author:** ![august9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@august9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/august9)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/25 "2004-01-18T11:33:05Z")
> [@Ozymandius](#): > > Why does the govenrment require you to get permission for burial at sea? You’re just dumping some dirt overboard. I haven’t been able to find out exactly _why_ - I think the keywords here is “burial of remains” - whatever way it’s done, in a churchyard or at sea, etc., you’re not “dumping some dirt”, you’re burying af person. According to danish law you can only bury someone in places where the authorities (in this case the Department (Ministry) of church affairs) have given permission to do so. That’s, in almost any case, church yards. So if you want to bury someone somewhere else (than a church yard), you’ll have to get permission from the Department of church affairs. Also, according to the law, you can only bury someone outside church yards if they are cremated. > [@duffer](#): > > Just curious about Danish law. I think we can safely assume there aren’t armies following private citizens around in thier boats. Should you dump the remains in the sea, how do the Danish authorities know about it? And what is the punishment? Of course, being American and guessing they aren’t videotaping this, I don’t see how they could prosecute without evidence. I can’t see them skimming the sea since this would open the bereaved to suits from England, Sweden, Norway, France and Germany. Wouldn’t it be a tax issue? I’ve no idea what the punishment is - possibly a fine? If you’re ever found out, that is. I don’t think anyone would see this as a serious crime 🙂 duffer: what do you mean about it being a tax issue? ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/26 "2004-01-18T12:46:17Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > I wonder about the “small percentage” part, as cremation’s the norm in my experience. Does anybody know what the buried v. cremated figures might be? According to the book “The Secret Life of Dust”, 25% of Americans opt for cremation, and by 2010, it’ll be about 40%. Not at all a small percentage, though the author did note that in some parts of the US, it’s less popular. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/27 "2004-01-18T20:21:49Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Remember, dead people don’t really take up a lot of space. They don’t need a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. They don’t need another whole set of rooms to go work in to earn money; no offices, factories, or shops. They require no acreage of farmland to grow them food. But in Chicago they still vote! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![extendidwarranty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@extendidwarranty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/extendidwarranty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/28 "2004-01-18T20:52:25Z")
In Rome, Paris, Berlin, and San Francisco, among other places, the bodies are gathered up every few centuries and moved to catacombs, mass graves, or just out in the countryside where it won’t become city for a hundred years. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/29 "2004-01-18T21:44:48Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Remember, dead people don’t really take up a lot of space. They don’t need a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. [Some do.](http://hudson.acad.umn.edu/surprises/images/pyramids.jpg)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/30 "2004-01-18T22:22:56Z")
What about the ~50,000 people who died in Iran? ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/31 "2004-01-19T11:25:24Z")
San Francisco? What year was that done in? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/32 "2004-01-19T11:51:38Z")
In Japan, cremation’s pretty much required, and even then it seems like a lot of useful land is being taken up by cemeteries. As for the cremains, if you’re doing anything other than keeping them at a cemetery, a temple, or your own home, you need a special permit to do so. Reasons for this are just speculation on my part: 1. Funerals and the regular spiritual upkeep ceremonies are a _huge_ source of income for Buddhist temples, and I can imagine them lobbying the government to forbid people from taking a DIY approach. 2. It’s kind of like the rule in the US about declaring income from illegal activities. There have been a number of cases where the police couldn’t get enough evidence for a murder conviction, but were able to get a conviction with a stiff sentence for “improper disposal of remains”. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/33 "2004-01-19T11:58:42Z")
I like the phrase _Stiff sentence for improper disposal of remains_😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031/34 "2004-01-20T04:15:00Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > San Francisco? What year was that done in? [Around 1914-37](http://www.colma.ca.gov/briefhis.html). The city of San Francisco banned further burials in municipal cemetaries in 1900, and a while later, had all the cemetaries evicted, and the bodies moved to the city of Colma, further down the penninsula. Hey, at least we didn’t make frigging _hallways_ out of the corpses, like in Paris. Ranchoth (“It’s great to be alive in Colma!”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-dead-bodies/225031.md?page=1)