I hope Instagram doesn’t remove this thinking it’s real… I was lucky enough to consult on ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ which is a recommendation for a horror film for spooky season if you haven’t seen it. I’ll also pop up in stories some other mortuary based films or shorts to try for Carlaween 😉 PS, I watched ‘Talk to Me’ last night and I have to say that was fairly terrifying. Some incredibly uncomfortable scenes in that, but not done gratuitously (if you know what I mean) #halloweencountdown #halloweenfilm #horrorfilm
Hmmm, I wonder if I can get the phrase “Steve the Beef” into a post? Yes I can indeed! Read on… Adipocere: This gentleman is from the Forensic Collection at the Pathology Museum, dated around 1960s/70s and was discovered in the septic tank of a housing estate. The pathologist/police posited that perhaps he was the murder victim of a London gang rivalling The Krays. A reason for that theory is his teeth were purposely knocked out, thereby making ID very difficult – typical gang MO. This is a dry skull but it’s preserved as what we call a ‘wet specimen’ in Kaiserling fluid as it has adipocere clinging to it. Adipocere – which literally translates into ‘fatty wax’ from the Greek ‘adipose’ meaning fat and ‘cera’ meaning wax – is a “soapy, waxy” substance which occurs in the deceased when the fat or adipose tissue of the body undergoes a process called ‘saponification’. That process litterally means ‘to turn into soap’, although you wouldn’t want to wash with it! I’d call it ‘caseous’ really, which means ‘cheesy’) Just as an aside, the actor Micheal Cera translated is Michael Wax, in the same way that Shia LaBeouf can be translated as “Steve the Beef” 😂 Anyway, this process usually happens if there is a high moisture content in the environment during decomposition, and can be useful to forensic investigators as it can preserve the tissue underneath. On a more serious note, and very sadly, it happens to dead babies frequently because they have a higher fat. #adipocere #forensics #forensicscience #pathology #pathologymuseum #anatomy #anatomicalmuseum #anatomymuseum #histmed #wetspecimen #conservation #pottedspecimen #michaelcera #shialabeouf
Hmmm, I wonder if I can get the phrase “Steve the Beef” into a post? Yes I can indeed! Read on… Adipocere: This gentleman is from the Forensic Collection at the Pathology Museum, dated around 1960s/70s and was discovered in the septic tank of a housing estate. The pathologist/police posited that perhaps he was the murder victim of a London gang rivalling The Krays. A reason for that theory is his teeth were purposely knocked out, thereby making ID very difficult – typical gang MO. This is a dry skull but it’s preserved as what we call a ‘wet specimen’ in Kaiserling fluid as it has adipocere clinging to it. Adipocere – which literally translates into ‘fatty wax’ from the Greek ‘adipose’ meaning fat and ‘cera’ meaning wax – is a “soapy, waxy” substance which occurs in the deceased when the fat or adipose tissue of the body undergoes a process called ‘saponification’. That process litterally means ‘to turn into soap’, although you wouldn’t want to wash with it! I’d call it ‘caseous’ really, which means ‘cheesy’) Just as an aside, the actor Micheal Cera translated is Michael Wax, in the same way that Shia LaBeouf can be translated as “Steve the Beef” 😂 Anyway, this process usually happens if there is a high moisture content in the environment during decomposition, and can be useful to forensic investigators as it can preserve the tissue underneath. On a more serious note, and very sadly, it happens to dead babies frequently because they have a higher fat. #adipocere #forensics #forensicscience #pathology #pathologymuseum #anatomy #anatomicalmuseum #anatomymuseum #histmed #wetspecimen #conservation #pottedspecimen #michaelcera #shialabeouf
Sound on 😉 and ⚠️ Warning as this may make you feel uncomfortable…. They do say “It’s what’s inside that counts!” Valentines Day is near and it reminds us we can love in all sorts of ways, any day of the year, and sometimes the most important thing is ‘self love’… While perusing some specimens in our cervix section I found this lid from Swartzkopf hairspray… It’s a specimen from the 1970s but there’s barely any information about it except that it had to be removed from a woman’s vaginal cavity and it took 3 hours to retrieve it. There is a massive crack in the lid, at the side, and I imagine that happened while she was using it, meaning that when she pulled the hairspray out the lid remained inside her as the crack loosened it. I have absolutely no problem with exploring sexuality in *any* way at all (in fact, I encourage it as it’s good for your health) but the message from me is “Safety First: Try to use items which are meant to be inside you”! I have so many of these museum things pulled from vaginas and anuses: an anti-aircraft shell, a toothbrush, pencils, hair clips, a stone…the list goes on. But I need your help! If you want to see more content like this in photo or video form, let me know!!!! Post your thoughts in the comments, or just post a black heart 🖤 and I’ll know it’s worth it. Thank you!! PS- this is a good one for radiologists 😉 #selflove #selfcare #xray #radiology #radiography @radgirlcreations
My Carlaween countdown countinues with a variant on the theme of “zombie”. This is a specimen of leprosy from our collection (apologies this is a very early photo from my path museum career!) Many years ago, according to the Catholic World Report, lepers were considered the “zombies” of the Middle East; the “walking dead” whose illness cut them off from the land of the living. Steve Parker, in his book Kill or Cure, states that because Catholic doctrine decreed lepers the Living Dead, they had no rights whatsoever. Nowadays the condition is instead known as Hansen’s Disease as that term doesn’t have the same negative religious connotations. (It’s named after the Norwegian scientist Gerhard Hansen who discovered its causative agent in 1873.) Contrary to the much earlier belief that it was a punishment from God he showed it was caused by Mycobacterium Leprae, an unusual organism that is often artificially grown or ‘cultured’ on armadillos. This leprosy specimen is from 1881: “a hand from a male native of Mauritius” and the split through one of the fingers was more than likely caused by exploratory tissue sampling. However what is visible is the shrivelliing of the fingers and spots of discolouration. Also caused in cases of Hansen’s Disease are loss of sensation (which leads to injury) and deformity #carlaweencountdown #humanremains #carlaween #remains2beseen #anatomy #pathology #zombie #zombies #leprosy #halloweencountdown #halloween #thelivingdead
❤ “I give you my heart” Absolutely phenomenal images of a Gunther Von Hagens plastinate, focusing on the heart by showing it held in the plastinate’s hands, in some angles. This plastinate is from the Body World’s III exhibition at California Science Centre (2008). I’ve discussed Gunther Von Hagens plastination technique frequently in previous posts: basically organic tissue is replaced by polymer plastic. These ‘objects’ are therefore 20% organic and 80% inorganic; all ❤️ I was a consultant at Bodyworlds London in Piccadilly Circus during 2019 and we had huge plans for events and for the future. I was absolutely GUTTED it closed down in 2020 during COVID #valloween #humanremains #anatomy #pathology #specimen #plastination #valentinecountdown #valentine #bloodyvalentine #anatomicalheart #valentinesday #bloodyvalentines #biology #physiology #mybloodyvalentine #galentines #heart #anatomicalheart #forensics #forensicscience #gunthervonhagens
❤ “I give you my heart” Absolutely phenomenal images of a Gunther Von Hagens plastinate, focusing on the heart by showing it held in the plastinate’s hands, in some angles. This plastinate is from the Body World’s III exhibition at California Science Centre (2008). I’ve discussed Gunther Von Hagens plastination technique frequently in previous posts: basically organic tissue is replaced by polymer plastic. These ‘objects’ are therefore 20% organic and 80% inorganic; all ❤️ I was a consultant at Bodyworlds London in Piccadilly Circus during 2019 and we had huge plans for events and for the future. I was absolutely GUTTED it closed down in 2020 during COVID #valloween #humanremains #anatomy #pathology #specimen #plastination #valentinecountdown #valentine #bloodyvalentine #anatomicalheart #valentinesday #bloodyvalentines #biology #physiology #mybloodyvalentine #galentines #heart #anatomicalheart #forensics #forensicscience #gunthervonhagens
❤ “I give you my heart” Absolutely phenomenal images of a Gunther Von Hagens plastinate, focusing on the heart by showing it held in the plastinate’s hands, in some angles. This plastinate is from the Body World’s III exhibition at California Science Centre (2008). I’ve discussed Gunther Von Hagens plastination technique frequently in previous posts: basically organic tissue is replaced by polymer plastic. These ‘objects’ are therefore 20% organic and 80% inorganic; all ❤️ I was a consultant at Bodyworlds London in Piccadilly Circus during 2019 and we had huge plans for events and for the future. I was absolutely GUTTED it closed down in 2020 during COVID #valloween #humanremains #anatomy #pathology #specimen #plastination #valentinecountdown #valentine #bloodyvalentine #anatomicalheart #valentinesday #bloodyvalentines #biology #physiology #mybloodyvalentine #galentines #heart #anatomicalheart #forensics #forensicscience #gunthervonhagens
♀️ For International Women’s Day, Frances Glessner Lee, someone I jokingly describe as the ‘Real Life Miss Marple’ but who’s frequently called ‘The Mother of Forensic Science’. Born in 1878 to a wealthy industrialist she was home schooled, and whereas her brother was allowed to go on to study medicine at Harvard, she was not. It therefore wasn’t until her father died and she came into her inheritance at age 52 that she followed her forensic science dreams. She financed and created 20 incredible, tiny dollhouse crime scenes called The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death c.1940s, 18 of which are still in use as a teaching tool by the police department in Baltimore. (They were the inspiration for miniature crime scenes on TV shows such as CSI and Father Brown). In 1931, Glessner Lee endowed the Harvard Department of Legal Medicine—the first such department in the country—and her gifts would later establish the George Burgess Magrath Library, a chair in legal medicine, and the Harvard Seminars in Homicide Investigation. She also endowed the Harvard Associates in Police Science, a national organization for the furtherance of forensic science; it has a division dedicated to her, called the Frances Glessner Lee Homicide School. See www.deathindiorama.com for more, or read the book “18 Tiny Deaths’ by Bruce Goldfarb. #missmarple #fatherbrown #csi #forensics #forensicscience #crimescene #crimescenes #thenutshellstudies #brucegoldfarb #18tinydeaths #internationalwomensday
♀️ For International Women’s Day, Frances Glessner Lee, someone I jokingly describe as the ‘Real Life Miss Marple’ but who’s frequently called ‘The Mother of Forensic Science’. Born in 1878 to a wealthy industrialist she was home schooled, and whereas her brother was allowed to go on to study medicine at Harvard, she was not. It therefore wasn’t until her father died and she came into her inheritance at age 52 that she followed her forensic science dreams. She financed and created 20 incredible, tiny dollhouse crime scenes called The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death c.1940s, 18 of which are still in use as a teaching tool by the police department in Baltimore. (They were the inspiration for miniature crime scenes on TV shows such as CSI and Father Brown). In 1931, Glessner Lee endowed the Harvard Department of Legal Medicine—the first such department in the country—and her gifts would later establish the George Burgess Magrath Library, a chair in legal medicine, and the Harvard Seminars in Homicide Investigation. She also endowed the Harvard Associates in Police Science, a national organization for the furtherance of forensic science; it has a division dedicated to her, called the Frances Glessner Lee Homicide School. See www.deathindiorama.com for more, or read the book “18 Tiny Deaths’ by Bruce Goldfarb. #missmarple #fatherbrown #csi #forensics #forensicscience #crimescene #crimescenes #thenutshellstudies #brucegoldfarb #18tinydeaths #internationalwomensday
🧙 It’s a necklace of genital warts for the Halloween/Carlaween post today, because many people associate warts with witches! This fascinating specimen of genital warts, strung together before being preserved in the 19th century, comes from @muttermuseum and their fantastic “Memento Mutter” website. Now, before you start wondering if this is some sort of Ed Gein precursor, or the work of a twisted weirdo, the site explains that the reason they’re strung together is simple: it’s for scientific study. It’s easier to compare the size, shape and morphology of warts if they’re next to each other rather than all at the bottom of a jar. At the museum I work in we have similar things but rather than strung together they’re mounted on a backboard, something that was easier to do when acrylic started to be used for pots – rather than glass – in the 20th century. Also according to the Mutter site, an 8% solution of cocaine would be injected straight into the genitals to dull the pain of the agonising methods used to remove the warts, such as blades and “powerful caustics”. I know @muttermuseum is worried about it’s future at the moment, so if you’d like to find out more about that and/or support them, then do check out their Instagram and @protectthemutter. It’s an issue affecting other medical museums too, so your support really matters 🙏 #muttermuseum #pathology #pathologymuseum #histmed #mutter #mementomutter #carlaweencountdown #carlaween #halloweencountdown
What could be more appropriate for Halloween than a scream? 😱 I’ve loved the 1893 painting ‘The Scream’ by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch since I was a child. There are many stories about what this painting represents including his own; Munch describes breaking away from a group of friends to watch the sunset, only to have a vision in which the sky turned to blood, the ground turned black and “nature screamed so that only he could hear it”. Most people look at The Scream and assume the figure in the painting is *screaming*, not hearing a scream. There’s also the fact the bridge depicted is a popular suicide bridge near an asylum in which his sister was resident, so experts have theorised that the area was filled with the audible screams of asylum patients. It’s also been thought that Munch was inspired by a mummy, either that of a Chachapoyas warrior discovered near Peru’s Utcubamba River who appeared to have died screaming (which became a popular attraction – pictured here) or another Peruvian mummy displayed in Florence’s Anthropology Museum. It has since come to light that Munch didn’t visit Florence until after he painted The Scream, but evidence suggests he saw the Chachapoyas warrior when it was displayed in Paris. #edvardmunch #thescream #scream #mummy #peruvianmummy #humanremains #munch #florence #carlaween
What could be more appropriate for Halloween than a scream? 😱 I’ve loved the 1893 painting ‘The Scream’ by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch since I was a child. There are many stories about what this painting represents including his own; Munch describes breaking away from a group of friends to watch the sunset, only to have a vision in which the sky turned to blood, the ground turned black and “nature screamed so that only he could hear it”. Most people look at The Scream and assume the figure in the painting is *screaming*, not hearing a scream. There’s also the fact the bridge depicted is a popular suicide bridge near an asylum in which his sister was resident, so experts have theorised that the area was filled with the audible screams of asylum patients. It’s also been thought that Munch was inspired by a mummy, either that of a Chachapoyas warrior discovered near Peru’s Utcubamba River who appeared to have died screaming (which became a popular attraction – pictured here) or another Peruvian mummy displayed in Florence’s Anthropology Museum. It has since come to light that Munch didn’t visit Florence until after he painted The Scream, but evidence suggests he saw the Chachapoyas warrior when it was displayed in Paris. #edvardmunch #thescream #scream #mummy #peruvianmummy #humanremains #munch #florence #carlaween
Let’s end the ‘Carlaween’ halloween countdown with a genuine monster: I thought I’d post about a real life monster because I get to talk about a murder case and address the issue of Halloween urban legends in one. Many people will have heard the terrifying myth that their children may not be safe while trick or treating because of blades and needles being hidden in pieces of fruit or sweets, or poisoned chocolate being handed out. In fact there was a case of a child being poisoned with cyanide-laced Pixi Stix…(an American sweet) but it was given to him by his own father. On Halloween 1974 in Pasadena, Texas, Ronald Clark O’Bryan (nicknamed ‘The Candyman’ and ‘The Man Who Killed Halloween’) murdered his 8 year old son for what appears to have been financial reasons: he had increased his son’s life insurance policy from $10,000 to $30,000 just one month before Halloween. He committed the crime by hanging back during a trick or treat outing with his children and their friends, and pretending to have successfully received some candy from an ostensibly abandoned house; candy which he had poisoned. Sickeningly he was willing to kill more than one child to achieve his goal and make it look like a ‘random attack’, by handing out these poisoned sweets to his daughter and three friends too. The reason he never succeeded in killing any other kids is that after lacing the Pixi Stix with an inch or two of potassium cyanide he stapled them closed and the other children were unable to open them. The reason his son ate the stuff is because Ronald actually helped him open it. He was executed by lethal injection on March 31st 1984, to a crowd which shouted ‘Trick or Treat!’ and showered anti-death penalty campaigners with candy. You can research more details about this case which is a brilliant example of one of the basic tenets of crime investigation: when someone comes to some harm it’s highly unlikely a stranger was involved. Most attacks and murders, sadly, are committed by someone the victim knows. #candyman #trickortreat #poisoncandy #halloween #halloweencountdown #truecrime #murder #carlaweencountdown #carlaween #thecandyman #irememberhalloween
Let’s end the ‘Carlaween’ halloween countdown with a genuine monster: I thought I’d post about a real life monster because I get to talk about a murder case and address the issue of Halloween urban legends in one. Many people will have heard the terrifying myth that their children may not be safe while trick or treating because of blades and needles being hidden in pieces of fruit or sweets, or poisoned chocolate being handed out. In fact there was a case of a child being poisoned with cyanide-laced Pixi Stix…(an American sweet) but it was given to him by his own father. On Halloween 1974 in Pasadena, Texas, Ronald Clark O’Bryan (nicknamed ‘The Candyman’ and ‘The Man Who Killed Halloween’) murdered his 8 year old son for what appears to have been financial reasons: he had increased his son’s life insurance policy from $10,000 to $30,000 just one month before Halloween. He committed the crime by hanging back during a trick or treat outing with his children and their friends, and pretending to have successfully received some candy from an ostensibly abandoned house; candy which he had poisoned. Sickeningly he was willing to kill more than one child to achieve his goal and make it look like a ‘random attack’, by handing out these poisoned sweets to his daughter and three friends too. The reason he never succeeded in killing any other kids is that after lacing the Pixi Stix with an inch or two of potassium cyanide he stapled them closed and the other children were unable to open them. The reason his son ate the stuff is because Ronald actually helped him open it. He was executed by lethal injection on March 31st 1984, to a crowd which shouted ‘Trick or Treat!’ and showered anti-death penalty campaigners with candy. You can research more details about this case which is a brilliant example of one of the basic tenets of crime investigation: when someone comes to some harm it’s highly unlikely a stranger was involved. Most attacks and murders, sadly, are committed by someone the victim knows. #candyman #trickortreat #poisoncandy #halloween #halloweencountdown #truecrime #murder #carlaweencountdown #carlaween #thecandyman #irememberhalloween
Let’s end the ‘Carlaween’ halloween countdown with a genuine monster: I thought I’d post about a real life monster because I get to talk about a murder case and address the issue of Halloween urban legends in one. Many people will have heard the terrifying myth that their children may not be safe while trick or treating because of blades and needles being hidden in pieces of fruit or sweets, or poisoned chocolate being handed out. In fact there was a case of a child being poisoned with cyanide-laced Pixi Stix…(an American sweet) but it was given to him by his own father. On Halloween 1974 in Pasadena, Texas, Ronald Clark O’Bryan (nicknamed ‘The Candyman’ and ‘The Man Who Killed Halloween’) murdered his 8 year old son for what appears to have been financial reasons: he had increased his son’s life insurance policy from $10,000 to $30,000 just one month before Halloween. He committed the crime by hanging back during a trick or treat outing with his children and their friends, and pretending to have successfully received some candy from an ostensibly abandoned house; candy which he had poisoned. Sickeningly he was willing to kill more than one child to achieve his goal and make it look like a ‘random attack’, by handing out these poisoned sweets to his daughter and three friends too. The reason he never succeeded in killing any other kids is that after lacing the Pixi Stix with an inch or two of potassium cyanide he stapled them closed and the other children were unable to open them. The reason his son ate the stuff is because Ronald actually helped him open it. He was executed by lethal injection on March 31st 1984, to a crowd which shouted ‘Trick or Treat!’ and showered anti-death penalty campaigners with candy. You can research more details about this case which is a brilliant example of one of the basic tenets of crime investigation: when someone comes to some harm it’s highly unlikely a stranger was involved. Most attacks and murders, sadly, are committed by someone the victim knows. #candyman #trickortreat #poisoncandy #halloween #halloweencountdown #truecrime #murder #carlaweencountdown #carlaween #thecandyman #irememberhalloween
The Carlaween Halloween Countdown is nearly over! This one is not strictly human remains but a pathological condition which may explain the vampire legend: Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is a rare condition which affects 1 in 17,000 people worldwide. It’s genetic, characterized by a reduced ability to sweat (hypohidrosis) and fine sparse hair. Individuals affected by HED share a similar facial appearance with thin, dark skin beneath the eye, a depressed “saddle” nose, small narrow jaw, and small pointed teeth like in the above pictures. Some sufferers also have an intense heat intolerance. Newborns may have dark circles around their eyes because that skin is thin and the underlying blood vessels create a bluish shadow. The skin also may appear to be “peeling” at birth. Infants may not be able to tolerate heat and may be irritable in warm environments. More often, the diagnosis is not made until the teeth do not erupt at the expected age or the teeth appear to be pointed when they do erupt. 🧛♀️ It’s easy to see how perhaps, many years before this condition was understood by the general populace, people exhibiting these characteristics could have been called “Vampires”. I’m going to be optimistic and assume that sort of intolerance doesn’t exist anymore, but it’s an interesting way to look at possible original stories of vampires. (Another, of course, is people being buried alive and scratching their coffin lids til their fingers bleed, eating their own tongues etc. On reopening you can imagine what the local villagers might think..!) Listen to the latest episode of @hardcorelisting for more ‘medical monster’ tales… #carlaween #monstermonday #anatomy #pathology #vampire #vampires #halloween #pathassistant #pathologytechnician #halloweencountdown #carlaweencountdown #carlaween
🫀 Thanks for sticking around while I took an extended break over Christmas! The wonderful Bloody Valentine’s Day/Valloween/V-Day is coming soon though, so you know I’ll be here for it. I’ll discuss all the specimens in this video and more. Suggestions for metal Valentine’s songs welcome!! 🫀 #pathology #pathologymuseum #valloween #anatomicalheart #anatomymuseum
Ear, grown from scratch! 👂I love this because it makes me think about how different things could be for Dr Frankenstein if he attempted to make his monster nowadays, or another 100 years in the future. No more body snatching! This is actually Vincent Van Gogh’s ear: In 2014, Italian artist Diemut Strebe began an art-meets-science project in which she cloned Vincent Van Gogh’s ear. It was genetically engineered with biological material taken from Van Gogh’s brother’s great-great-grandson Theo Van Gogh, and placed on display in the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany. It was a very lengthy process. First a plastic surgeon removed some of Theo’s ear skin as a base. To replicate the real shape of van Gogh’s ear, Strebe consulted the one historical photo of the artist available. With the help of another artist, she recalculated the angle at which the photo was taken—factoring in the supposed focal length of a camera lens from the late 1800s—and extrapolated those measurements into a 3-D printed mold in the shape of Vincent van Gogh’s ear. Then Strebe filled the mold with an organic polymer, seeded it with the genetically mutated cells from Theo, and let the matter grow. The results are, according to her, completely alive. Pretty extraordinary. #itsaliveALIVE! #frankenstein #drfrankenstein #halloween #halloweencountdown #halloween2023 #carlaween #carlaweencountdown
Ear, grown from scratch! 👂I love this because it makes me think about how different things could be for Dr Frankenstein if he attempted to make his monster nowadays, or another 100 years in the future. No more body snatching! This is actually Vincent Van Gogh’s ear: In 2014, Italian artist Diemut Strebe began an art-meets-science project in which she cloned Vincent Van Gogh’s ear. It was genetically engineered with biological material taken from Van Gogh’s brother’s great-great-grandson Theo Van Gogh, and placed on display in the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany. It was a very lengthy process. First a plastic surgeon removed some of Theo’s ear skin as a base. To replicate the real shape of van Gogh’s ear, Strebe consulted the one historical photo of the artist available. With the help of another artist, she recalculated the angle at which the photo was taken—factoring in the supposed focal length of a camera lens from the late 1800s—and extrapolated those measurements into a 3-D printed mold in the shape of Vincent van Gogh’s ear. Then Strebe filled the mold with an organic polymer, seeded it with the genetically mutated cells from Theo, and let the matter grow. The results are, according to her, completely alive. Pretty extraordinary. #itsaliveALIVE! #frankenstein #drfrankenstein #halloween #halloweencountdown #halloween2023 #carlaween #carlaweencountdown
Ear, grown from scratch! 👂I love this because it makes me think about how different things could be for Dr Frankenstein if he attempted to make his monster nowadays, or another 100 years in the future. No more body snatching! This is actually Vincent Van Gogh’s ear: In 2014, Italian artist Diemut Strebe began an art-meets-science project in which she cloned Vincent Van Gogh’s ear. It was genetically engineered with biological material taken from Van Gogh’s brother’s great-great-grandson Theo Van Gogh, and placed on display in the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany. It was a very lengthy process. First a plastic surgeon removed some of Theo’s ear skin as a base. To replicate the real shape of van Gogh’s ear, Strebe consulted the one historical photo of the artist available. With the help of another artist, she recalculated the angle at which the photo was taken—factoring in the supposed focal length of a camera lens from the late 1800s—and extrapolated those measurements into a 3-D printed mold in the shape of Vincent van Gogh’s ear. Then Strebe filled the mold with an organic polymer, seeded it with the genetically mutated cells from Theo, and let the matter grow. The results are, according to her, completely alive. Pretty extraordinary. #itsaliveALIVE! #frankenstein #drfrankenstein #halloween #halloweencountdown #halloween2023 #carlaween #carlaweencountdown
Had a great time listing top 5 medical origins of “monsters” for the @hardcorelisting podcast with Chris & Stu, just in time for Halloween. We chat about: 1) vampires 2) werewolves 3) parasitic “evil” twins 4) Frankenstein’s monster 5) the living/walking dead. And that’s my list! It’s always so fun and easy to chat with these guys so we naturally touch upon all sorts of other things: Joseph Merrick (“The Elephant Man”), uses of dead body parts, fear of being buried alive etc etc. Listen wherever you get your podcasts! 🎃 #carlaweencountdown #carlaween #halloween #halloweencountdown
I absolutely love jigsaw puzzles 🤩 Thanks so much @laurencekingpub and @officialagathachristie x
From my @morticult shop (link in bio ⤴️) – freebies include ‘kiss of death’ sticker, limited edition mini postcard and chocolate hearts, while stocks last. Head to @morticult or linktree 🖤🥀