Dying With Laughter

In some cultures, the poor used to be called upon to serve as “sin eaters” for the rich. They ate food over the body of the deceased and consumed their sins, preparing them for the afterlife. Not exactly glamourous work, perhaps, but you take what you can get.

Too bad the custom isn’t still around. In this age of self-improvement, it could serve as a quick fix to help people banish all sorts of demons—particularly those of the kind that plague the Fishers, the family at the center of the new HBO series Six Feet Under.