The dead aren’t as inactive as you may think. As the process of death and decay comes over a corpse, it can have all kinds of weird effects. One of the stranger phenomena reported is exploding caskets.
When a person dies, there are still a fair number of changes that can happen. There have been reports of bodies still ‘breathing’ after death. This is due to excess air being released from the body. Morticians have sometimes seen bodies twitch as the muscles relax, too.
But, exploding caskets happen way after a person has died, and it’s a messy business.
When we lay someone to rest, we do our best to hide the ugly business of decomposition. Nobody wants to witness their loved one rotting away. So, to keep our dearly departed’s dignity, we lock them away in caskets.
These are designed to be airtight for the most part. This stops smell escaping and leakage too. After death, the body releases a whole lot of fluid. We’re just a big bag of liquid after all. But, along with the rotting comes a lot of gas. In closed caskets, this builds up pressure, and sometimes results in them exploding.
An Expert Weighs In On Ewwy Goo And Exploding Caskets
An online YouTube mortician has explained the gory situation of exploding caskets for our morbid curiosity. According to her, it’s much more common than you may think, but often bodies are underground and hidden from view.
However, in mausoleums, exploding caskets are a frequent occurrence. Due to being above ground, they are exposed to much more heat. This speeds up the process and creates more gas. Also, due to the coffins being in plain sight, when they explode, it’s very noticeable.
When caskets explode, it’s a pretty nasty business. Kari the Mortician explains that, “The remains, which have now turned to that ewwy goo, run out.” According to her, it won’t always be pouring out, but it’s usually noticeable.
Thankfully, due to the nature of the caskets, exploding isn’t usually a destructive situation. Mostly, they will just pop a seal or crack in some way. Either way, when it happens above ground, it’s someone’s job to clean up those leaking human remains.
No thanks.