Obese Coffins
The “growth”
In the United States, the increase in the obese population has come to the attention of individuals, the media, businesses, and now, coffin makers. Many say that nowadays people live larger, which explains innovative oversized items that cater for the oversized population. With “larger” deaths, coffin makers would also have to wake up to that demand, so now we can see obese coffins available for those who are in need of them. Seats are getting wider, attires are getting larger, and now, it is time to upsize coffins.The need for obese coffins
Obesity has been prevalent in the United States for decades now, and continues to increase over the years. Decades ago, when obesity much less common than it is now, a small fraction of people will require a large size coffin for their oversized demised kin. Back then, when these customers turn up at the undertakers, they will be recommended to order custom-made coffins. However, nowadays there are way too many obese individuals in the United States, hence the need for special obese coffins to accommodate them in cases of deaths. Now, you can find these special obese coffins being offered by almost every coffin dealer in the United States in adaptation to the situation.
How big are they actually?
The standard size for coffins are around 24 inches, but the population of the United States have grown way past this size, and nowadays, most coffin companies have altered the size of their standard sized coffins to 27 inches. For coffins catered for the obese community, most measure around 40 inches of width, and the largest ever casket made was 52 inches by Goliath, around the size of a double bed.
The process of coffin manufacturing is also complicated, as to sustain the weight of the coffin plus the weight of the deceased, the obese coffins will need to be specially reinforced, with steel reinforcements and extra padding, plus more durable material, so that the obese coffins will not bend or buckle in any case.
What else?
Apart from having non-standard obese coffins, if the deceased is obese, special funeral arrangements are needed. First and foremost, for obese coffins, the standard grave plots may not be able to accommodate them, so you will need to acquire larger plots or in some cases, purchase two plots instead. Even when opting for cremation, the oversized bodies in the obese coffins will not fit into the cremator, so it poses a great problem and will incur more costs, as the crematorium will need to invest a larger cremator or send the body to other crematoriums that are able to handle it. Also, sometimes the coffin and the body together are too heavy for workers to carry, and will require special transportation and even cranes to lift them into the grave. In some cases, the coffins may be too wide to pass through doorways or arches, so special measures will also be required. All these will be billed, resulting in a hefty bill for funeral expenses.
So, as people grow wider and bigger, they struggle to fit into things all their life, and do not stop doing so even in death. Fortunately, there are now obese coffins to meet this demand.