A company in Taiwan has an even bolder dream of sending remains into space on rockets.
In Britain, a company called Heavens Above Fireworks, sends remains into the sky in "a spectacular fireworks display".
Ife's influence on surrounding states is evident in the fact that all the monarchies of Yoruba states claim descent from Ife as a way of establishing legitimacy, sometimes borrowing regalia from Ife to use in coronation rites and sometimes sending remains of deceased rulers to Ife for burial.
While Martinez is now sending remains directly to labs, each county determines its own protocol.
Families can simply send the remains to Mr. Brawley to incorporate into the concrete balls, which he supplies free to seven state agencies to help rebuild reefs.
EARLIER this year Giuseppe Favaro, a Venetian-born dealer, was arrested in central Africa for trying to send human remains from Burundi to Thailand; he was found in possession of over 40 Congolese skulls.
What often happens in airplane crashes is that the medical examiners choose a cutoff weight — they'll test every sample that weighs one pound or more, in addition to any recognizable body parts, and send those remains back to the families.
Many Albanians left the country in search of work; the money they send home remains an important source of revenue.
