Hacker News Reader

Comment by MiddleEndian | Hacker News Reader

In theory if tombstones are to last forever, the whole world would eventually become graveyards.

Permanent individual graves is a modern anglosphere thing. In Europe, grave plots are normally rented, and if the family stops paying, the remains are moved to a mass grave or cremated and the plot is re-used.

“cemetery associations often are required to establish and fund perpetual or maintenance trust funds”

Graveyards are hardly subsidized, they are for-profit businesses, and even if they run out of space, could survive through two major depressions before bankruptcy.

> Graveyards are hardly subsidized

How much in land taxes do they pay?

I ran those numbers: 51.08 million square miles / (4 ft * 8 ft) = 44.5 trillion.

Estimates are for 100 billion humans have ever lived, plus (currently) 255 human births per minute (and falling) = 331,017 years

Well hopefully we're space faring by then!

Burial at C it is then.

Home, home on Lagrange...

“Permanent” tombstones are often limited to 30 years. It’s probable I will lay in my grand parents cemetery, but probably not alongside them.

If there’s a 30 year limit, why are tombstones that are >30yrs still standing in most cases?

One of the oldest cemeteries in my town has dates going as far back as mid-1800s and I don’t think they go through periodically and dig bodies up.

It depends very much on which country you are from. US/UK seem to have burial plots forever. Many European countries have a rental/lease system where you get the plot for 30-50 years, and that can be extended if wanted by the family/estate/descendants, or the plot is re-used.

They won't bother unless they start running out of space.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com