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Secrets of the Day For June 28, 2006

The spell of formaldehyde

Celebrating the tenth (or twelfth) anniversary of my exercising the right to abstain from animal dissection in high school biology class, I present to you a discussion at the Weisman Art Museum called "Why We Dissect." All right, all right... The expert panel won't be talking grasshoppers and frogs here. (I still gag.) Rather, they'll specifically tackle the ethics of the Body Worlds exhibition. Is it cool with you that human corpses be sliced like loaves of bread? And what about those fetuses who haven't filled out consent forms?

Comments

Many (many) years ago I saw two human bodies that had been sliced, one vertically and one horizontally, then mounted between panes of glass and hung up to page through like large books at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

On the same trip my friend, a pre-med student at the University of Chicago, showed me a restricted entry room containing literally hundreds of deformed fetus in glass jars.

Those are the only two things I remember about the trip.

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Secrets of the Day Comments

i know this guy he rocks!

I enjoy tearing Max Ross a new one as much as the next guy, but I have to give him props on the Junot Diaz piece. After reading his interview and subsequently buying and reading the first 35 pages of "A Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao", it really is one of the best (and funniest) books ive read in some time. If i wasnt stranded in Queens, id be at Coffman lapping it up with Mr. Cracking Spines himself

If any of you tries the hotdish, will you please comment and let us know how/what it was?

...so our free champagne comes with a rainbow trout garnish. So what?

As one of the five loyal readers, I'll never divulge which of these pics (both?) discloses the true identity of Max Ross. Nice digging, Max 2.

For the humble readers of the Rake, who: 1) have never heard of Cracking Spines, 2) the five people who have read Cracking Spines, and know scores of egomaniac pseudo-writer hipsters and cant tell them apart, I am here to help you identify Mr. Ross, so that you can know who to properly throw your virgin mary at. After Image-googling "Max Ross" the below are the first two photos that come up. While I cannot be certain which one is the true Max Ross, I am sure you will be able to spot him. Enjoy! http://waxekphrastic.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/bum.jpg http://www.seabirdsportfishing.net/20060715_max_ross_fish_dock.jpg

Pretty much my all my blogging activity now revolves around trying to get The Deuce to notice me.

Wow. You are really trying to lure Max 2 with this one...

Don't forget -- you have the opportunity to get served by real Rakemag staff members when you drop by Hell's Kitchen tonight. Yeah -- we writers serve edgy internet content AND spicy, tomato-based vodka drinks. Ever thought to yourself, Man, I'd really like to tip some extra cash to that 'Cracking Spines' Guy? Now's your chance. He'll be the one with the inflated sense of self importance. And a rose between his teeth.

Eraserhead is a classic and still one of my favourites. I hope some clever artist creates a fitting depiction of that creepy baby. In grainy B&W of course.