One evening, Don Scruggs he went out with his friends for a drink and (don't ask me how) he got the idea of making a coffin in the shape of a screw, to screw it into the ground without having to do any earthmoving. I don't know if and how much he drank, but in the end the American engineer patented the solution.
Mind you, over the years I have reviewed several technological solutions to the burial problem. There are those who have created hospital beds out of cardboard which become “sustainable” coffins. There are those who have proposed placing the burials on the sides of the roads to avoid overcrowding. Who still proposes to transform them in gardens. Yet every time there is something that always surprises me. I missed the screw coffin.
A screw coffin that is planted in the ground
More than a coffin, however, to be honest the one patented by Scruggs is a full-fledged logistics system. These are low-cost burial options for a sequence of screw-on or self-burying burial containers. These screw-on containers include airtight closures, safety mechanisms, plaques with commemorative markers and built-in flower holders. As they would say in other sectors, an “all in one” solution.
The main objective of the product is to lower excavation and burial expenses, while providing dignified and respectful funeral services. Screw coffins also reduce the amount of earth required for each burial and allow access to previously unused areas of the cemetery, greatly increasing the number of potential burials available.
Obviously not everyone likes everyone, let's say
Scruggs realizes that his device isn't for everyone's needs, as he claims in the video. the screw coffin is a unique product of its kind, and it is not for everyone: this seems to be the crux of the problem.
“Many people say this is a good idea, and others say they wouldn't want to be buried that way. regular cemeteries right now, especially the older ones, have a lot of unusable space, and this solution could solve the problem.”