I have always thought it extremely strange that we bury our dead.
edit: i find it even more strange that several people are responding as if this practice is still necessary.
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.
I have always thought it extremely strange that we bury our dead.
edit: i find it even more strange that several people are responding as if this practice is still necessary.
Leaving a carcass in the wild would attract scavengers and spread disease, which is prevented by inhumation. Cremation is also an option but requires a large amount of fuel. In early and prehistoric cultures, inhumation was the easy option.
Edit: to add to this, I read something on how the first "burials" were just piling rocks on top of the dead body, primarily to ward off scavengers. So, aside from honoring the dead, burial and cremation have a practical purpose as well.
Na, too wasteful. Instead, just cement everyone into one of those concrete arches that tunnel boring machines poop out behind them and turn those corpses into tunnels. You still get to be buried but you're also doing something useful in death!