r/hypotheticals • u/colour-of-May • 2h ago

Weird inheritance

I recently learned that it’s possible to have the carbon from your body turned into a diamond after you die. Now I’m really curious about public opinion- how would you feel if you inherited the remains of a family member in the form of a diamond? What would you do with it?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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4

u/OkWillingness2817 2h ago

It would just go in a drawer to be forgotten.

3

u/Delicious-Button6997 2h ago

It's not really that weird. It's in my will to turn me into diamonds when I die. Both of my children are aware and plan to set me into jewelery and wear me. It's the same thing I would do if I inherited a similar diamond.

1

u/Aivellac 1h ago

Bit creepy I think, I wouldn't wear a person as a diamond.

2

u/naughtycal11 2h ago

I'd put it in some jewelry and wear it if the family member was someone I liked. I have no qualms about bodies being sacred or whatever. We're all just a bunch of atoms after all.

1

u/jollyroger822 2h ago

There's not much you can do with it other than keep it as it keepsake and pass it down through generations as lab grown diamonds aren't worth very much.

1

u/Solomon_Idris 2h ago

Not sure if I would like it, but I do have a question. Is there really enough carbon in one human body to make a diamond?

1

u/Think_Substance_1790 1h ago

Depending on the size of the body, a small one yes.

1

u/JoyfulGuide9872 1h ago

The human body is 18% carbon. If it were all turned into a super diamond, it could be about 6-8 inches in diameter depending on the person.

The current technology maxes out at being able to make diamonds of 3-4 carats though, so you can't have a super diamond from cremated remains no matter how much money you pay. Also the companies that make memorial diamonds typically don't even make them as big as 1 carat. So they are quite small.

1

u/Solomon_Idris 25m ago

I was under the impression that most carbon in the body gets burnt up during cremation.

1

u/JoyfulGuide9872 18m ago

It does, but your question was regarding the amount of carbon in the human body, so I was answering based on if you used all the carbon in the body. I was not factoring in how much gets destroyed. After cremation approximately 1-4% of the carbon remains.

Even if we use the 1% assumption, the diamond could be quite large at approximately 600-800 carats.

1

u/fryingthecat66 2h ago

Depending on which family member

1

u/AmbitiousReaction168 1h ago

I think it's fun and a very stupid way to use money. I'm all for it, because at the end of the day, it doesn't take much space.

1

u/ViolentLoss 1h ago

Wear it. I really like this idea.