Eternal Image Inc. in Detroit believes branding is forever, and has inked deals to produce licensed coffins and urns with Star Trek, Major League Baseball (we wrote about these earlier), various universities, the American Kennel Club and the Cat Fanciers Association, among others. They don’t do cars, because so many people die in crashes. (Cat- and Klingon-related deaths are fairly rare, though they might want to rethink pit bulls.) This is a variation on an ancient theme: It was common for Egyptian royalty to be buried with prized earthly possessions and images of deities—though few opted to scrawl Chicago Cubs logos on the sides of their pyramids. Fewer still might have chosen the upcoming Star Trek casket, pictured here, “inspired by the popular ’Photon Torpedo’ design seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” As for me, I’m willing to sport an Apple logo on my crypt if the company sends over some iPhone Blacks. Standing in those lines in the hot sun could kill a guy.

—Posted by David Gianatasio