Caskets are creepy. Call them coffins and they're even creepier. But sarcophagi are kind of neat. I wonder why we don't follow the lead of the ancient Egyptians and bury our dead in beautifully decorated sarcophogi. I think it would make a funeral service much less depressing. Instead of all that pollished maple, those brass handles and those uselessly comfortable satin tufts, you would have a container of wood, stone or metal that was humanoid in shape and decorated with everything that represented the deceased. That could include family photos, album covers, Playboy centerfolds, or just the kind of things one usually puts on the refrigerator. The wealthy, of couse, might choose a sarcophagus of silver or gold, but that is very tempting to grave robbers. It occurred to me recently when I was at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts that I wouldn't find it nearly as depressing knowing I'd be buried in a colorful sarcophagus. But, then again, I did plan on being cremated. Decisions. Decisions.

Note: In case you care the word sarcophagus means "flesh eating" since early versions were made of limestone, which is considered to dispatch one's body rather quickly,