Takin' the Blog for a Walk

Satisfying my morbid curiosity

Posted by Brien Lee on Jan. 27, 2008

At the risk of sounding stupid writing about something so important and potentially controversial, I've decided to free write this one with the knowledge that it will sound stupid but still be OK.

my vist to body worlds friday by myself first thing in morning 9:00 first group to go trough avoids the crowds $21.00 ticket plus 10% internet ticket fee one week since it opened talked abnout going in blog museum docent told be admission to museum wasn't included in price of body worlds ticket but found out otherwise so I corrected him rented $5.00 audio tour to complement my experience but wouldn't do it again not necessary had two options for audio and chose basic our group was only about twenty or so goijmg in and made the right choice to avoid crowd if I went again I woundn't go at any other time I read about the exhibit and wes exposed to bodies at museum of science and industry so I saw nothing too shocking was surprised buy the amount of male genitalia as men far outnumbered women in exhibit we saw what we are made of good and bad and sometimes looked better than before as all fat is removed without skin there are no wrinkles or blemishes or body hair/ piercings/ though the last "p;lastinate was shown with skin and tatoos one of whick was of member from kiss rock band i went looking for things at the exhibit something that told their age or what they died from maybe have it pionted out what cause of death was from but not much probably to avoid controversy they weren't even called human but pp;lastinates which is ok because they aren't using bodies it wasn't physical bodies that went to heaven it makes it easier to understand if we thing of the exhibit as specimens and there were a lot more organ and bone specimens than full body there were no bike riders or archers but i enjoyed the skaters at they slowly spun an a pedestal even though ethe guy was wearing skaktes the female wasn't and so how can she be a skater there was no ordor or scent coming from the wexhibit as the plastination process uses acetone and temperature to replace water in cells then pressure and silacone to replace acetone leaving just a rubbery vein or whatever we were able to handle real organs and i found the lung very lightweight it was like a human sponge the only sound through mnost of the exhibit was from audio players and quiet talking one mom read display to young kid which interrupted my reading my reccomendation would be to find a sitter or go when they are in school the fetal exhibit was the only time i heard calming music like what might me heard at a funeral the display was sepatated from the rest by a block curtain wall so not everyone would wander in there accidentally it wasn't gruesome but probably not for everyone there were probably 20 fetuses from different stages and a full body platinate at 8 months pregnancy who's womb was disected to see the fetus enough about that there was a horse and rider that took about three years to prepair the other plastinated took about a year i was amazed by what i saw the delicate blood vesels the lab was able to plastinate just the vesels and remove everythins else through chemicals leaving such a delicate structure that it had to be suspended in water and if you look close in the water some of the tinies vesels broke off several of the alarge plastinates were nothing but vesells and bones and was amazed the concentration of vessels in the lips they are solitd vessels there are about four birds two doves a duck and a chicken that are nothing but vessels colored with red dye i guess i learned something one of the plastinates i'd seen pictures of with clamps all over and i didn't know why well the clamps show all the medical procedures they open up the muscle to expose where bones were mended with metal pins, rods, screws now did this one die in an auto accident or shortly after were all these breaks a bone condition we dont know there is a reason to keep these anonamous but at least tell us what it means several thousand people have singed the donor form and several hundred have so far died i suppose its the one change many will have to still be around when there name is finally called for the packer season ticket waiting list at the end of the exhibit just before walking out is four books for us to write in about our experience so i read a little and liked hearing what other people were seeing or feeling and they pointed out things i havent seen so before leaving i went back and took anbother look i didnt get everything i saw but learned enjoyed and got my $23.00 worth and would go again is someone needed a friend to go with after i left i went upstairs to look around the museum a little and one of the first things i saw awas a couple of wooden tubular painted containers which the exhibit told were for bones the dead person was first painted then left outside for a time and later the bones were gathered and carried around by a family mamber and i think i was more repulsed by that than the whole exhibit i just saw the plastinates freely donated their bodies and it's likkle different than donating them to science yea they put a hat on one of the plastinates and another is playing chess that probably never played chess in real life i learned that through smoking 20 cigarettes a year adds about 8 ounces of tar to our lungs a year there lungs are unever to make toom for the heart now i'm getting sloppy at any rate when i left i went to drink more beer than i'd hade in the previous year combined i think i think it numbed my brain from thinking about what i just saw i went on the miller brewerey free tour because i was so close and had time i had just three beers which arent a  olot except it was afternoon and my stomach was empty and i dont drink much i had lite and genuine draft and a dark one i'd never heard of double butt dopple bock by leinenkugels i preferred the genuine draft i learned that chicago drinks 200000 bottles of bear a day i enjoyed the smella of the brewerey really didn't see too many workers i hope you enjoyed this experiment and if i can help it i wont do it again