The tombstone is one of those things that have gone unchanged for centuries due to the static underlying religious principles. However, with technology advancing as fast as it is, someone was bound to redesign the tombstone, and who better than the Russian mafia? The above image is a laser etched tombstone from a graveyard in Yekaterinburg city, a mafia hotbed in the 90s.

I like it. While I’m not sure if I would want a picture of myself on the stone, when I die, I would want something more than my name and a few descriptive words. It could provide so much more insight into one’s life than what is displayed now, and going to cemeteries would actually be interesting.

It looks like there are companies in the US that provide this service too. Maybe I should start designing my memorial now.

Labels: death, redesign