It was pretty great. I went with my father (he's a doctor) and my 91 year old grandmother (we could have chosen to go with my mother as well but she did not want to see it).
My grandmother seemed to really love it. She was very interested in everything. She took a long time with everything (for that matter, so did I). Then again, she is 91 and she isn't usually Speedy Gonzales under normal circumstances.
My father was a bit grumbly at first (I've seen better nerve dissections than this, blah, blah, blah...) but in the end I believe that he was very impressed. He did have mixed feelings about the appropriateness of the "artsier" displays that these Bodyworld exhibits are known for. I think he basically felt that they were okay but should never be seen outside med school. He said something about how in his days showing any disrespect for a body in med school constituted grounds for being expelled and I think that he felt that lay people might not understand this or some such thing.
I could not see that people were disrespectful at all. Most people were mostly quiet. A lot of people would seem make comments when one part of an exhibit (displaying a certain pathology, a prosthetic device or whatever) might have been relevant to them in some way. Most people also seemed very interested in all of the less showy anatomical displays. The truth is that the flashy, weird displays draw people in but they end up looking at everything with great interest even though a similar exhibit without the showy pieces would probably draw 1/100 of the crowds that this draws. So, in a way, whatever Gunther von Hagen's motivations are or have been, the whole exhibit really is educational and really does serve to bring science to the masses, I believe.
As to your "how" question, if you saw the exhibit that would be the least of your questions because a lot of the stuff in there (with the flashier displays that this is known for) is amazingly bizarre and had to have been technically extraordinarily difficult to produce.
There was actually one piece which I did find to be disgusting and that was a section of a fat man. It should be seen by anyone who needs motivation not to become fat.
Some of the pieces which impressed me the most were the arterial endocasts (that's probably not what it was called in the exhibit but I can't remember what they called it in there and so I am calling it "arterial endocasts" because it seems descriptive). These were pieces where body parts (such as a human head or an arm) or whole organisms (such as a rabbit, a chicken, a duck and even a "blood vessel family" consisting of a man, a woman and a small child) had been prepared by injecting the arterial system with Guther's red dyed monomers and then degrading away everything else through mainly enzymatic methods. The end result is that you get an incredible picture of what the arterial network looks like.
Sounds fascinating. I was thinking I couldn't stomach it, but perhaps it'd be worth a field trip. Thanks for the review!
Holy shit! I can delete other people's posts! I had no idea! Let's just hope the power doesn't go to my head!
Oh yeah, one of his exhibits is coming to Boston this July, isn't it?
I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps the people who think they can't stomach it are the same people who cannot stomach it.
On the one hand, something like an open casket funeral is something that I find very creepy and a bit disturbing.
On the other hand, I did not get that feeling at this exhibit at all.
On the third hand I'm pretty scientifically oriented and (although I really don't know how I'd react to it and what my feelings would be) I think I would find a human cadaver based human anatomy class quite interesting (I've never had one of those --it's always been with the kitties).
On the fourth hand, in some ways you get the feeling that you were looking at plastic. Don't get me wrong, I was constantly thinking about how that used to be someone and that made it all the more amazing and strange --but I don't think it was the sort of thing that would make many people queasy.
Awesome! My husband and I are going to Minneapolis on July 8 and that show is one of the reasons (the other is to see the Walker - I've never been to the cities so I'm pretty stoked). How long did it take you to see the exhibit? We are going to buy our tickets online and I need to pick an entry time. They suggested going later in the evening to avoid crowds, so I'm trying to figure out when we should go.
You are member 1243 at bodyrecomposition, right? How long did it take you to see the exhibit? We are going to buy our tickets online and I need to pick an entry time. They suggested going later in the evening to avoid crowds, so I'm trying to figure out when we should go. Anyway, if I recall this correctly, if you go by the times suggested when you get the tickets, seeing it takes something like 90 minutes. Despite that suggested time span, it is very easy to spend three hours there (and I think that we did) or possibly even more (I think that if I had been alone I might have spent even longer there).
Indeed. I miss it over there. I had to quit for grad school. ;) Also, I've been a total couch potato and so visiting br makes me feel guilty. Happy to see you, though ... I friended you. How the alcohol testing coming along?
I thought it might take longer than 90 minutes, so I'll plan accordingly. I'm stoked! I've been wanting to go since krustukles wrote about it.
You are member 1243 at bodyrecomposition, right? Indeed. I miss it over there. I had to quit for grad school. ;) Also, I've been a total couch potato and so visiting br makes me feel guilty. Happy to see you, though ... I friended you. How the alcohol testing coming along? I friended you back. It seems like the thing to do.
I hope that everything goes well with the grad school program. You mentioned it in your training log (I just checked to find out if it was on an interesting field) but I wasn't really following it so I missed that bit.
My last drink was on the 4th of this month (I just checked my drinking log and Shaf seems to think that I need to try Jesus --I wonder what's up with that?). In between I have tasted (I don't call it having a drink because it's been a bottle capful or less just to know what it tastes like) some sort of Vermouth (pleasant enough, I guess) and some Tequila (I found it interesting --which surprised me because, for some reason, I expected to find it either insipid or nasty like the Jim Beam). I thought it might take longer than 90 minutes, so I'll plan accordingly. I'm stoked! I've been wanting to go since krustukles wrote about it. Really, 3 hours will probably not be too much time. By the way, is krustukles Krista Scott-Dixon of the stumptuous website? If so, I must friend her!
Thanks! I'm really enjoying grad school, actually. I was a little stressed out my first semester, because I didn't quite realize how much work two classes would entail, and also I had a lot of anxiety that I wasn't smart enough. But I got an A+ in one class (and a suggestion to expand my final paper into a longer article/maybe even a book) and a B in the "statistics for dummies" class that I thought I bombed. So I've decided to give up the anxiety! ;)
Good drinking log! I like the lambics, too, even though I'm not usually one for sweet drinks - I don't think I've tried as many as you have, though. I also like tequila, but I don't like to drink it in a mixed drink (I've only had one margarita that I enjoyed). I think it has a very interesting taste.
You got it, krustukles is the Mistress you know and love, sharing fitness tips, intellectual discourse and fart jokes ... and the occasional recipe!
My grandmother seemed to really love it. She was very interested in everything. She took a long time with everything (for that matter, so did I). Then again, she is 91 and she isn't usually Speedy Gonzales under normal circumstances.
My father was a bit grumbly at first (I've seen better nerve dissections than this, blah, blah, blah...) but in the end I believe that he was very impressed. He did have mixed feelings about the appropriateness of the "artsier" displays that these Bodyworld exhibits are known for. I think he basically felt that they were okay but should never be seen outside med school. He said something about how in his days showing any disrespect for a body in med school constituted grounds for being expelled and I think that he felt that lay people might not understand this or some such thing.
I could not see that people were disrespectful at all. Most people were mostly quiet. A lot of people would seem make comments when one part of an exhibit (displaying a certain pathology, a prosthetic device or whatever) might have been relevant to them in some way. Most people also seemed very interested in all of the less showy anatomical displays. The truth is that the flashy, weird displays draw people in but they end up looking at everything with great interest even though a similar exhibit without the showy pieces would probably draw 1/100 of the crowds that this draws. So, in a way, whatever Gunther von Hagen's motivations are or have been, the whole exhibit really is educational and really does serve to bring science to the masses, I believe.
As to your "how" question, if you saw the exhibit that would be the least of your questions because a lot of the stuff in there (with the flashier displays that this is known for) is amazingly bizarre and had to have been technically extraordinarily difficult to produce.
There was actually one piece which I did find to be disgusting and that was a section of a fat man. It should be seen by anyone who needs motivation not to become fat.
Some of the pieces which impressed me the most were the arterial endocasts (that's probably not what it was called in the exhibit but I can't remember what they called it in there and so I am calling it "arterial endocasts" because it seems descriptive). These were pieces where body parts (such as a human head or an arm) or whole organisms (such as a rabbit, a chicken, a duck and even a "blood vessel family" consisting of a man, a woman and a small child) had been prepared by injecting the arterial system with Guther's red dyed monomers and then degrading away everything else through mainly enzymatic methods. The end result is that you get an incredible picture of what the arterial network looks like.
http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/images/hand.jpg
https://ssl.koerperwelten.de/images/shop_produkte/0096tn.gif
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Holy shit! I can delete other people's posts! I had no idea! Let's just hope the power doesn't go to my head!
Oh yeah, one of his exhibits is coming to Boston this July, isn't it?
I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps the people who think they can't stomach it are the same people who cannot stomach it.
On the one hand, something like an open casket funeral is something that I find very creepy and a bit disturbing.
On the other hand, I did not get that feeling at this exhibit at all.
On the third hand I'm pretty scientifically oriented and (although I really don't know how I'd react to it and what my feelings would be) I think I would find a human cadaver based human anatomy class quite interesting (I've never had one of those --it's always been with the kitties).
On the fourth hand, in some ways you get the feeling that you were looking at plastic. Don't get me wrong, I was constantly thinking about how that used to be someone and that made it all the more amazing and strange --but I don't think it was the sort of thing that would make many people queasy.
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How long did it take you to see the exhibit? We are going to buy our tickets online and I need to pick an entry time. They suggested going later in the evening to avoid crowds, so I'm trying to figure out when we should go.
Anyway, if I recall this correctly, if you go by the times suggested when you get the tickets, seeing it takes something like 90 minutes. Despite that suggested time span, it is very easy to spend three hours there (and I think that we did) or possibly even more (I think that if I had been alone I might have spent even longer there).
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Indeed. I miss it over there. I had to quit for grad school. ;) Also, I've been a total couch potato and so visiting br makes me feel guilty. Happy to see you, though ... I friended you. How the alcohol testing coming along?
I thought it might take longer than 90 minutes, so I'll plan accordingly. I'm stoked! I've been wanting to go since krustukles wrote about it.
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Indeed. I miss it over there. I had to quit for grad school. ;) Also, I've been a total couch potato and so visiting br makes me feel guilty. Happy to see you, though ... I friended you. How the alcohol testing coming along?
I friended you back. It seems like the thing to do.
I hope that everything goes well with the grad school program. You mentioned it in your training log (I just checked to find out if it was on an interesting field) but I wasn't really following it so I missed that bit.
My last drink was on the 4th of this month (I just checked my drinking log and Shaf seems to think that I need to try Jesus --I wonder what's up with that?). In between I have tasted (I don't call it having a drink because it's been a bottle capful or less just to know what it tastes like) some sort of Vermouth (pleasant enough, I guess) and some Tequila (I found it interesting --which surprised me because, for some reason, I expected to find it either insipid or nasty like the Jim Beam).
I thought it might take longer than 90 minutes, so I'll plan accordingly. I'm stoked! I've been wanting to go since krustukles wrote about it.
Really, 3 hours will probably not be too much time. By the way, is krustukles Krista Scott-Dixon of the stumptuous website? If so, I must friend her!
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Good drinking log! I like the lambics, too, even though I'm not usually one for sweet drinks - I don't think I've tried as many as you have, though. I also like tequila, but I don't like to drink it in a mixed drink (I've only had one margarita that I enjoyed). I think it has a very interesting taste.
You got it, krustukles is the Mistress you know and love, sharing fitness tips, intellectual discourse and fart jokes ... and the occasional recipe!
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