I bought some topsoil to level off a few low-spots in our yard. I figured one yard would be plenty, since the spots weren't very big. So I called a local landscape supply company and they said it would be $28 a yard, with a delivery fee of $45. So, I ordered two yards to be safe.

I noticed their website said a yard of soil weighs 1.3 tons. I assumed I was misunderstanding. How could 3x3x3 feet of dirt weigh 2,600 pounds?

They delivered it. And there it was - two yards, 54 cubic feet, of dirt - sitting on a tarp in our driveway. Didn't look very big. Didn't look very heavy. So I filled up my wheelbarrow with a load and... oof. Yes, it was heavy. Then I believed what the website said. I had 5,200 pounds of dirt in my driveway. And it's 95 degrees out all week.

That, and a summer of too many funerals, got me thinking...

Assuming a grave is six feet deep, six feet long, and three feet wide, and assuming a coffin is 6 feet long, three feet wide and two feet deep, you'll need 72 cubic feet of dirt to fill the hole after the coffin is in there (6 x 4 x 3). That's 2.6 cubic yards. That's almost 7

,000 pounds of soil. Zombies must be far stronger than movies give them credit for.

(h/t russell with the math check!)