Win your own funeral from German radio station
A German local radio station which is offering a cheque to cover your funeral costs as a competition prize has come under fire from a bunch of undertakers.
The lucky winner of Radio Galaxy's competition in Aschaffenburg, north Bavaria will receive €3,000 (£2,578; $4,195) which has to be spent on death insurance - money that will cover funeral expenses.
More than 600 contestants have already sent in their own epitaph for their headstone. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday.
An association of undertakers calls it "tasteless" and is suing Radio Galaxy.
One of the radio's presenters, Jens Pflueger, defended the competition, saying it was aimed at breaking society's "taboo" about death and getting young people to talk about it.
"We wanted to raise awareness about this difficult topic among young people," he told the BBC.
In a statement on its website, the Association of German Undertakers condemned the competition.
"This activity is not just impious and tasteless, it is also immoral as regards the law against unfair competition," it said.
An Aschaffenburg funeral director, the Erich Kraus Institute, is sponsoring the competition.
The radio station's Mr Pflueger said a court ruling on the competition was expected on 17 March - after the winner has been announced.
"We want people to send in their own epitaphs. If they send someone else's quote that's OK, but for me that's not creative enough," he said.
"We want to demonstrate that it's good to get death insurance. Older people say it's tasteless, but we're not joking - we're discussing this on air."
He said some epitaphs may be amusing, but "people can express themselves how they like".
Contestants can easily find some inspiring examples of famous epitaphs.
Winston Churchill never lost his sense of humour, even on his deathbed, saying: "I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
Comedian Spike Milligan's epitaph said: "I told you I was ill."
Crooner Frank Sinatra chose the title of one of his songs: "The best is yet to come."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12663460
