X-Message-Number: 14351
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2000 10:33:01 -0400
From: "Raphael T. Haftka" <>
Subject: slump in the death industry

Number of deaths per year stabilizes at 2.3 million.

I have just come back from vacation, and I am catching up on reading the 
Economist. In case this was not posted before, they had an article a couple 
of weeks ago about a slump in funeral home business. Apparently, the number 
of deaths in the US has been rising at 1% per year, but it has leveled off 
at 2.3 millions in the past year or two.

Even 1% per year is encouraging because that is approximately the rate of 
growth of the population, and a constant death rate with an aging 
population is a good sign. I am hoping to see substantial gain in life 
expectancy as a result. I believe that accelerating life expectancy is the 
phenomenon that will make the public pay attention to cryonics.
Raphael (Rafi) Haftka, Distinguished Professor          
University of Florida                                   phone:352-392-9595
Department of Aerospace Engineering,                    fax: -7303
Mechanics and Engineering 
Science                       http://www.aero.ufl.edu/~haftka
Gainesville, FL 32611

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