Flooding the grave

When a grave is opened, the earth becomes loosed from its normally compressed state so that when the earth is replaced on top of and around the vault, it needs to be compacted to prevent uneven settling. To assist in this recompression process, the grave is flooded with water. This makes the dirt settle better around the vault. It freaked me out until I learned that the vaults are sealed air (and water) tight. It just sounds creepy.

Just a spoonful

So, have you heard about the garden gnome campaign that Travelocity uses? People take pictures of the gnome in various vacation spots and email or send postcards to friends. http://www.nbc5i.com/travelgetaways/2746610/detail.html

Well, I thought that would be an interesting way to dispose of my ashes after my death. My kids could portion out a couple of tablespoonsful in a ziploc bag when they went on vacation to the Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Disneyworld, Calgary, London, Copenhagen - wherever they thought I might enjoy being for eternity and sprinkle me in some inconspicuous flower bed or something.
Well, it turns out that the Catholic Church is opposed to "ash scattering". The policy is that you should treat the ashes with the same respect that you treat the body. Since you wouldn't dump a body in the Oahe Reservoir, you should not dump ashes there either. And you definitely can't distribute the ashes in numerous locations anymore than you would cut off an arm or a finger and take it to Europe. Party Poopers.

I wonder if a metal urn containing human remains would pass the NTSB airport guidelines for carry on items?