Here is a concise summary of the transcript:
**Title:** Unconventional Post-Mortem Options: Preserving Your Body
**Summary:**
* The video explores unusual alternatives to traditional burial or cremation, including:
1. **Space Burial** (via cremation and launching ashes into space)
2. **Taxidermy** (complicated and rarely done on humans due to specificity required)
3. **Mummification** (preserves skin, but not always successfully, e.g., Jeremy Bentham's case)
4. **Embalming** (can preserve bodies for display, but not forever, e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Mao)
5. **Freeze-Drying** (used for pets, but not practical for humans)
6. **Plastination** (a viable, long-lasting method used in exhibits like Body Worlds, but with limited control over the process)
* **Key Takeaway:** Options are limited by law; corpses are not considered property, except in cases where they've been specially prepared for scientific or educational purposes, potentially making taxidermy for medical science a unique loophole.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, each with a number and in short sentences, excluding opinions:
**Space and Cremation**
1. 300 humans have been buried in outer space.
2. With the right connections and budget, a portion of ashes can be launched into space.
3. The first space burial occurred in 1997, with 24 people's ashes in orbit around Earth.
4. In 1999, human remains were first buried on the Moon (Eugene Shoemaker's cremated remains).
5. Clyde Tombaugh's ashes were launched aboard the New Horizons probe in 2006.
**Taxidermy and Skin**
6. Human skin comprises 12-15% of total body weight.
7. Taxidermy preserves skin, but not internal organs.
8. Animal taxidermy typically involves mounting skin on a generic mannequin.
**Mummification**
9. Jeremy Bentham's body was mummified in the 19th century, but the process wasn't perfect.
10. Galileo's mummified middle finger is on display in Florence.
**Embalming**
11. Not all corpses are embalmed before burial.
12. Embalming can preserve a body for a longer period, even for display.
13. Abraham Lincoln's embalmed body remained recognizable after 17 coffin moves and 5 openings.
14. Mao and Lenin's bodies are still on display, requiring regular special treatments.
**Freeze-Drying**
15. Freeze-drying involves freezing and then vaporizing water from the body, leaving a lighter remains.
16. This method is popular for preserving pets.
**Plastination**
17. Plastination preserves bodies by replacing fluids with polymers, allowing for flexibility and long-term preservation.
18. The Institute for Plastination accepts body donations for scientific use.
**Legal Aspects**
19. Corpses are not legally considered property.
20. Mortuaries often have the final say in how a body is handled, even if the deceased or their family has other wishes.
21. In 1994, a court sided with a mortuary against a deceased person's wish to be skinned and turned into leather.
22. In a 1998 UK case, a judge ruled that specially prepared anatomical specimens can be considered property.