One British town has come up with a splendidly Gothic way to generate electricity. From the burning of dead bodies:
Durham Crematorium wants to install turbines in two of its burners, which would use the heat generated during the cremation process to provide the same amount of electricity as would power 1,500 televisions...
The turbines would be powered by steam produced from cooling the extremely hot gases – at temperatures of at least 1,500F – that are used to cremate bodies....
Why not just use the electricity to keep the building's lights on?
Alan José, the crematorium's superintendent and registrar, said: "We calculate that we will have far more electricity than we can possibly need so we would be feeding a reasonable amount into the grid."
It's not quite The Matrix, but could clearly disturb folks. It triggers our anxiety over dead bodies. José is "anxious not to upset people over the plans."
"the same amount of electricity as would power 1,500 televisions": there's something beautifully techno-gothic about that comparison. Imagine the blue light of tvs shining at night, flickering in shadows. Televisions powered by the dead.
(thanks to Peter Naegele; photo by Mark Fischer)
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