eTomb Tweets from Beyond the Grave

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Humans have marked burial spots since caveman days, and constructed wonders like the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids of Giza to commemorate the dead. But c'mon, this is 2010, and a giant pile of rocks just doesn't cut it for a generation that mostly lives online anyway.

Enter the eTomb. This concept grave, first reported by Yanko Design, would preserve all the tweets, Facebook updates, blog posts, emails and various digital detritus that has come to define modern man. Additionally, the built-in server would act as a perpetual chat room where loved ones and well-wishers could post reminiscences about the deceased.

Designed by Huang Jianbo, Zhao Ting, Wang Yushan, Ran Xiangfei and Mo Ran, the proposed headstone would incorporate a Bluetooth transmitter for broadcasting texts from beyond the grave, a solar panel to power the device and an optional key to keep info private in the hereafter.

At least for now, digital sepulcher remains purely speculative. However, with monumental architecture and ancestor worship largely passé, this kind of memorial may be the best way to remind future generations about your mighty deeds, epic life and that one time in college you got so wasted.

Stuart Fox
Stuart Fox currently researches and develops physical and digital exhibit experiences at the Science Liberty Center. His news writing includes the likes of several Purch sites, including Live Science and Live Science's Life's Little Mysteries.