screw-shaped casket design prototype is the last nail in the coffin

reducing excavation labor and burial costs

one evening, don scruggs went out with his friends for a drink. at some point, his friend mentioned that he had to talk to some people about an automatic grave digger, an excavation of a huge amount of dirt and soil. “and I said, why don’t we just make a large carrot-shaped thing with threads around it and screw it in the ground?” at first, it was just an idea. now, it is a patented product of scruggs referred to as the ‘screw-in coffin.’

the coffin is a series of burial containers that can be pressed, agitated, screwed, and/or self-burrowed into the land, providing low-cost interment methods. these containers have hermetic sealing, security locking, plaque, and memorial markers, and built-in flower and flag receptacles. the product aims to reduce excavation labor and burial costs while providing respectful funeral services. they also decrease the land space required for each burial and provide for burials in normally unused areas within the cemetery, greatly increasing the number of burials possible in each cemetery.

images courtesy of don scruggs’ patent file

catering to one’s needs

scruggs knows his product does not cater to everyone’s needs, and he mentions this in the short documentary about his invention. ‘the screw-in coffin is a rare entity and it definitely is not for everyone. that seems to be the question. I get a lot of people saying this is a good idea, and others say they wouldn’t want to be buried like that. regular cemeteries right now, older ones especially, have a lot of space they can’t use around the edges, in the ponds, and near trees, and this could be used there.’ another variation the designer pinpoints is for the pets. ‘fortunately in the patent, I cover that. I cover the fact that you could have one made out of clear resin with you in the middle of it, and you could practically wave goodbye to everyone as you’re being screwed into the ground.’

an alternative coffin depending on the needs

a niche’s needs

other designs in the past have introduced a macramé coffin and pool float one, but the ‘screw-in coffin’ takes on the space and practicality worries. as for the screw’s designer, this is not his first time producing products that suit a niche’s needs. ‘I’m a mechanical engineer who designs equipment, new products, done things like car wash brushes, street sweeper brooms, and even patented a little pen. then, of course, my flush toilet device which is a dual flush toilet kit that when you pull the lever, it lifts the flapper valve and when you push the handle down it lifts the entire assembly,’ he says.

it can be screwed into the land