Saturday, September 26, 2009

Don't Wait Until You Die!


Coffins aren't just for dead folks anymore. There's something undeniably classy about a well-polished casket, and many Colorado residents can't wait to close the lid. 

The Emma Crawford annual coffin races (an event which I had the good fortune to attend last year) have been held since 1994 in Manitou Springs, CO. Every year, attendants gather to memorialize Miss Crawford, a 19-year-old woman who died of tuberculosis at the turn of the 19th century. Her body, buried high on Red Mountain, was sent shooting down the cliffs when they eventually eroded. You can probably infer the rest of how the tradition began. If you're interested, the 2009 races will take place in downtown Manitou on October 24th. You can read more about it on the chamber of commerce website: http://www.peakradar.com/org/detail/187

However, if you don't live close enough to be a part, there are others ways to enjoy that new casket smell without all the downsides of being a corpse. The "Coffin Kart, For Your Budding Little Undertaker" is a brilliant D.I.Y. project for a rainy day in the garage. Made from a child-sized coffin and the parts of riding mower, the mostly self-explanatory building process is depicted here: http://jalopnik.com/399448/the-coffin-kart-for-your-budding-little-undertaker


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