So the other day I noticed this giant poster of some dude with no skin hanging on the bus stop near my office. At first I thought it was a "Wanted" poster for Mel Gibson, but alas it was an advert for a Body Worlds exhibit at the Franklin Institute. It is surprising to learn that this pile of plastic guts is back in town; when I walked through it back in 2006 I wasn't really impressed and I found it quite soul-crushing to learn we do not look like RoboCop on the inside. But I guess the 'tute figures it will be a success this time around. Perhaps the review I wrote after I visited the exhibit in 2006 will also be a success this time around? Only time and the dismal lack of readership will tell.
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Last night I attended the Body Worlds (or is it called Body Works?) exhibit at The Franklin Institute, a fine museum for children and ramp-lovers of all ages. Body Worlds is a collection of really real dead people and their body parts that have undergone the process of plasticization, a procedure that horrifyingly preserves the deceased in positions you wouldn't be caught dead in. (Obligatory pun intended). I particularly enjoyed the plastic dead guy with the filleted muscles and white cabana hat, appearing to be in the middle of a soft-shoe routine.
Up until last night, I thought I was made of sugar and spice and everything nice. But alas that is not the case. Apparently my body is filled with sea urchins (aka arteries), DMC threads (aka blood vessels), and pulled pork (aka musculature). I believe I also have something they referred to as "skeleton" and "intestines," but I really hope that's not true. That stuff's just weird, weird, weird!
What is even weirder than having intestines and walking around for 2 hours looking at plasticized versions of them, is that people actually sign-up to become a plastinate (or "plasties" as the guys in Dr. von Hagens's laboratory in Heidelberg like to call them). And the numbers are quite disturbing--there are approximately 6,000 living and 300 deceased body donors that are either now or will be showcased all around the world to curious-minded museum goers (aka carnival freak-show elitists). I just don't get it, but then again, I don't even like to be in public in anything less than a 3-layer full-body suit.
So WHY? According to The Franklin Institute web site, "the purpose of Body Worlds is to educate the public about the inner workings of the human body and to show the link of causality among poor health, good health, and lifestyle choices. It is also meant to create interest in and give insight into the anatomy and physiology of the human body that, prior to this exhibition, only physicians had visual knowledge of."
That's great. I walked away glad I wasn't born inside-out.
http://www2.fi.edu/bodyworlds2/
