I worked at one of the most high end restaurants in my city for a few years. It felt wonderful when someone stacked plates, because the majority of customers expected every little thing to be removed as soon as they finished. I always stack my dishes now, and put all the garbage on the top plate (never in a cup, cause the ice gets dumped in a different place)

I’m a mortician/postmortem scientist, who used to run the WSU Funeral History Museum. Based on my research, I don’t think humans could exist without some type of religion/code/customs. As long as there has been death, even in ancient/prehistoric times, humans have been doing specific procedures, to say goodbye to their fallen loved ones.

There’s writings in almost every culture that teach us about what these civilizations believed, and some are beautiful, while others are kindof terrifying, but it all wrapped around people trying to cope with death.

Even if we found out complete proof for what actually happens when you die and after death, some people are still going to prefer their religion’s ideas because it brings them more peace. Death seems to be the clinch pin for all religions, and I honestly don’t think we’d have religion, if we didn’t understand the concept of death. People just want something to believe in.

Now, the garbage parts of religion are created by people seeking power, money, and control, and as long as there’s those who desire to conquer others, religion will be made up and used as a scapegoat, as to why certain people deserve power.

You’re correct, I should have chosen the words better. I had the same classes as doctors for years and had to compete with them for grades, but my courses veered once the classes went onto curing people. (It’s a bit too late to cure them, by the time they get to us 😅)

After that, was 4 semesters of postmortem science classes revolving around pathology, chemistry, embalming, biohazard protection, forensics, facial reconstruction; and the weird ones like funeral law/insurance, history of death, customs and religions, psychology of death and dying. I love doing reconstructions and creating prosthetics to match a photo when a person is too decomposed or injured. Giving people the chance to say goodbye and have closure is really rewarding.

I get what you’re saying, but I respectfully disagree. I don’t think you understand the course load/requirements for this degree. It might be different for different schools, so I’m happy to elaborate. First of, ignore pre-reqs, like math/english/computer/etc. and let’s just talk science. My university was one of the top in the nation and I was required to take the same courses as doctors for years; I had to compete with them for my grades (bell curves suck); the only difference was that my courses changed direction when it got to classes regarding curing/treating people. You don’t need that for a postmortem science degree, so the next 4 semesters went into strictly death related education.

My university had us thoroughly trained on any potential medical risks, biohazards, and hospital procedures. We were dissecting, helping with autopsies, learning forensics and pathology, training in everything regarding the heart and vascular system, and don’t get me started on all the chemistry/physiology… yes, the courses veered, to avoid teaching us how to cure someone, but that does not take away that we go through medical school.

We are trained to be the last line of defense for catching crimes and doctor’s mistakes; we have continuing education alongside doctors, nurses, and pathologists; we have to work with people who’ve died of dangerous diseases and protect the public… we just don’t have to worry about curing a corpse. If you’ve actually read this, please start your reply with the word autopsy.

My university required 2 years of medical courses; as well as 2 years of mortuary science curriculum. Multiple states I’ve worked in require continuing education in the medical field with exams every year. But every state and university is different. When I was stationed and worked in Colorado, I learned you don’t even need a degree to be a mortician. Any person can shadow a Funeral Director and start embalming. That’s terrifying.

I’ll happily concede that things may have changed. I was in college 10 years ago.

Lawmakers rarely update laws. Disability(SSI) hasn’t changed since 1974. The medicaid asset limit is $2,000. If you EVER have more than $2k in your bank, you lose your medical insurance and food. You can’t even pay rent/bills for that small amount. If adjusted for inflation, that $2k would be $13k. That’s enough to pay bills, that’s enough to put a deposit down on a home, that’s enough to do some of the things you could do in 1974 with $2k.

I contacted a Michigan representative about this, and was told they keep the asset limits so low so that only the severely destitute get it… but even the severely destitute can’t afford their bills. SSI pays a whopping $11k a YEAR if you’re permanently disabled, even though they can’t work and paid taxes to protect themselves.

I’m a disability advocate, so very passionate about this.

That’s awesome. It’s nice to read that some places are doing away with stupid things.

If you want an interesting read, look up cadaveric spasms. I’ve been slapped by a dead body.

We have to take additional courses and pass every year, as well as take pandemic response training and mass death psychology/procedure. I even got trained for the ebola outbreak 10 years ago. 2 years of pre-med, 2 years of medical and postmortem science, and a residency which is a minimum of a year, but often longer as it’s based on tasks you have to do. A specified amount of autopsied cases, military cases, decomposition, etc. Then you have to pass your state and LARA exams.
The curriculum included classes for psychology, reconstructive cosmetology, and business law too. I’m a Jill of all trades 😅

I’m a mortician and posted something similar. Morticians go through 4 years of medical school, including pathology and forensics, because it falls on us when the coroner screws up… and they have. The case that hits me the hardest was an infant being given SIDS as the cause of death, but postmortem bruising and broken bones told a different story. The owner had to call police and fake a funeral arrangement while he waited for them to arrive.

The county coroner is an ELECTED position.

I’m a mortician who’s worked substantially with autopsies. To be the county coroner, you do not need a degree, you do not need experience in mortuary science, postmortem science, forensics, pathology, NOTHING. All you need to be the county coroner, is to be popular.

Meanwhile, funeral directors in the USA need to go through years of college and continuing education, because we’re literally the last line of defense when coroners/doctors screw up. I’ve caught dozens of mistakes the coroner has made and I’m sick of it. The most recently was a shaken and bruised baby having cause of death listed as SIDS.

I no longer blindly trust autopsies for accurate cause of death. If the mortician needs 4 years of medical school, the freaking county coroner would should be required for at LEAST that to be elected.

I was part of this crazy thing called A Simple Walk into Mordor, where a group of guys from Rooster Teeth walked from the real Shire to the real Mount Doom (and Erebor in the sequel) in New Zealand. Finding an actual bathroom to use was a luxury. A sink is much nicer than hand sanitizer, digging a hole when you have to poop is not fun, getting an upset tummy is nerve-racking. When you’ve gotta go, you’re gonna have to use what’s available, not what’s nice. Don’t take what’s nice for granted.