Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals the science of why he wants to be buried instead of cremated |
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is seemingly driven by an endless amount of curiosity. Whether it’s about the tiniest sea quark or the biggest black hole, he wants learn more. But that’s not enough. He not only wants to understand the science around us, he wants to make us understand too.
In a recent YouTube clip from Tyson’s popular podcast StarTalk, Tyson gives a quick rundown of where “energy” goes when we die. With a chyron reading, “You don’t disappear. You transform. Some of you returns to Earth. Some of you travels the universe,” Tyson leans in and speaks directly to the camera. “In death, you’ve got pretty much two choices in modern society.”
He makes a case for being buried, as we see a traditional coffin being lowered into the ground. “You can be buried. That’s my choice, so that the energy content of my body—which is still there when you die—your molecules were built up from your lifetime of eating and exercise, and the building of your organs and your muscles and other tissue. In death, those molecules still contain energy.”
The clip cuts to a graveyard as Tyson continues. “If I’m buried and I decompose, all that energy gets absorbed by microbes, by flora and fauna dining upon my body the way I have dined upon flora and fauna my whole life. And that way, giving back to the Earth.”
We then see a fire moving in warm yellow, orange, and red tones. Tyson explains what happens during cremation. “If you’re cremated, the energy content of those molecules doesn’t go away. It gets transferred to heat that then radiates infrared energy that was once the molecules of your body. It radiates it out into space, moving at the speed of light.”
He adds a most intriguing thought: that one could conceivably track that energy after cremation. “After somebody has been cremated, you can keep a timeline,” he says. A photo of an AI-generated video of a milky, gaseous star system swirling around a bright light is shown. Tyson continues, “Where has their radiant energy been by now? If they were cremated four years ago, they would have reached the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. So that, in a way, you’re still a part of the universe, just in a different form.”
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What are our ashes made from?
In his piece, “What Happens to Your Atoms After You Die?” chemical and mechanical engineer Arvin Ash gives a specific step-by-step rundown on happens to our atoms after we pass. In cremation, he explains, “What are these ashes composed of? Phosphate and calcium make up your bones, so that’s where these atoms come from. What happens to these ashes? These ashes are likely to make their way eventually to soil, where they will be incorporated into the structure of plants. These plants will be eaten by animals and humans, and end up back in your body. Eventually, tiny bits of you will end up in your great-grandchildren’s morning cereal or hamburger.”
He, too, believes that some of our atoms will reach the farthest corners of the universe. “Your body also has a tiny amount of radioactive elements. Tiny amounts of thorium and uranium will eventually become lead. But along with this decay, some atoms of helium will also be formed. Earth’s gravity isn’t strong enough to hold helium to our planet, and so tiny bits of what once was you will float off into space. So some of your atoms are in for a fantastical and exciting journey, forever floating to the farthest reaches of the universe until the end of time.”
On Facebook, this clip received over 3,000 comments, many from viewers who seemed fascinated by the cross-section of science and spirituality.
Many had their own two cents to add. “Cremation, but then the ashes are used in a bios urn to plant a tree. You get a twofer… radiant energy from cremation to travel the universe, and then your ashes are used as nutrients for the tree,” says one commenter.
Others note that even though the video clip showed a coffin, they believe Tyson was most likely referring to a “green burial.” After one commenter asked, “How does your ‘energy’ get out of that sealed coffin to feed flora and fauna?” another answers, “That is exactly the point—in a traditional sealed casket and concrete vault, it doesn’t… at first. It actually delays that natural cycle for decades. That’s why there is such a growing interest in green burials or human composting; they remove those barriers so our nutrients can actually rejoin the ecosystem and support new life immediately. Over a long enough time, the coffin will probably decay too. Most things do.”
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60 countries where we work around the globe
Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
There you are at the grocery store check-out, tempted to buy a bouquet of roses. They’re beautiful and cheery and so easy to grab and go. Only, you opt out. Sure, they’re beautiful, but they don’t usually last more than a week, making it tough to rationalize the spending.
But what if that weren’t true? The popular social media handle known as Jeff & Lauren (@Jeff&Lauren) have a clip making the rounds wherein Jeff shows that something magical can be done with a single “store-bought” rose. By simply using a few household food items, he is able to turn one rose into an entire rose bush.
Honey, potatoes, and water
In the clip, we see Jeff dipping a bright pink rose into a jar of honey. The top chyron reads, “I did this for my wife.” He then takes the honey-dipped flower and sticks it firmly into a pre-cut hole in a russet potato. He takes the entire potato/flower hybrid and buries it into a potted plant. Lastly, he cuts the bulb and leaves off, leaving just the stem, and waters it heavily. In time (at least according to the simulated video), it re-grows into a rose plant.
On the YouTube account My Garden Channel (which is self-described as a channel that “focuses on houseplants and gardening, run by a team of experienced gardeners and horticulturists”), they note a super interesting tidbit. The flowers and the spores of the potato are in direct competition with one another. In other words, sometimes the experiment yields, well…potatoes instead of flowers.
To avoid this, the expert in the video suggests shaving the skin off the potato. “The skin of the potato is where the shoots will most likely develop. You’re not trying to grow a potato. You’re simply trying to feed the rose cutting, as it tries to root.”
Under the clip, they explain how it’s done, and they spare no detail. “Rooting roses in a potato is an unconventional yet intriguing method of propagation. The idea is simple: the moisture and nutrients from the potato can help nourish the rose cutting as it develops roots. To try this, you start by selecting a healthy rose cutting, about 6-8 inches long, with at least a couple of leaf nodes. After trimming the bottom of the cutting at a 45-degree angle, remove any leaves near the base.”
Now it’s time for the potato. “Next, you poke a hole in a medium-sized potato, just large enough to insert the cutting without wiggling. Push the drill bit through the potato to make sure the stem comes out of the bottom of the potato just a little bit. The potato acts like a natural nutrient sponge, keeping the cutting hydrated. After placing the cutting into the potato, you can plant the entire potato in soil, burying it a few inches deep in a pot or directly in the garden. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged, and cover the cutting with a plastic bag or bottle to create a humid greenhouse effect.
Over the next few weeks, with care and patience, roots may form as the rose cutting absorbs moisture and nutrients from the potato, potentially growing into a new plant. While not guaranteed, this method combines natural elements in a creative attempt to root roses in a novel, supportive environment.”
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In an article for The Spruce, author Ashlyn Needham explains why, in fact, a potato is used. “In essence, you’re using the potato to speed up the rooting process, which is crucial for producing established roses. It’s important to note that you won’t actually be growing roses in potatoes, just starting the process.”
Commenters have weighed in. Under Jeff&Lauren’s Facebook post, there are over a quarter of a million likes and thousands of comments. One shares, “My grandmother did that. Back in the seventies, she came for a visit. I had many different rose bushes. She cut stems from every bush. She wrapped them in damp paper towels and then wrapped them in plastic. She flew home to Oregon and planted the stems. She had rose bushes the next year.”
Another wound up with what we knew could happen: “I tried this… and I wound up with potatoes.” This comment alone got a lot of support.
This Facebooker gives the surprising tip that, perhaps, you don’t even need the potato, writing, “I just cut off part of a stem and stuck it in the dirt. Then watered it regularly. I have several new rose plants........