Bodyworlds

This morning, we went to the human taxidermy show known as Bodyworlds 2, at the Ontario Science Centre. We’ve had our tickets for some time and expected quite a crowd and there certainly was a big one. The Science Centre must be over the moon about the turnouts for this show. My Little Sister and I went to the Science Centre on a Saturday morning about a year ago and it was so empty, Dick Cheney could have fired birdshot and not struck a soul. For Bodyworlds (which ends its run on the 26th) they’re accepting bookings only. You actually have to choose a start time. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there today.

The preserved bodies were pretty much as I expected, having seen photos and the website. The way some of them are posed is a little odd. The human organs are surprising for the most part. I didn’t know a spleen was so big. The cross section of a 50 year old obese man was sickening. Fat is fat, on a cow, or a person. The show itself was fascinating, but as my brother put it, the dead people weren’t a problem – it was the live ones.

Signs everywhere say ‘please don’t touch’. These people may have donated their bodies but they still deserve a shred of human dignity. Some of the paying public didn’t think so, as they stroked, cupped, rubbed and poked the actual human parts. I thought one man was going to kiss one of the heads, the way he lovingly leaned into it and stroked its cheek. My stomach did a flip. There’s an area featuring pregnant women and fetuses that is optional. You’re warned before you enter. I popped in and then popped right back out. I found it a little much.

I’m grateful that there’s an exhibit like this in existence. Society covers up so much and makes it ‘bad’, that it’s a good sign for us as a species that we can offer Bodyworlds to those who want to see it. I say, go only if you’re really into it. I’m glad I went, but I wouldn’t put a universal stamp of approval on it for everyone.