The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia is filled with all kinds of medical treasures, including- but not limited to- the super-colon, the torsos of Chang and Eng, the world famous conjoined twins, and the tallest skeleton in display in North America. Just think of it, rows and rows of perfectly preserved organs, neatly labeled bones, and, oh, the anomalies! I cannot wait. When I was little, my (very wonderful) mother was a social worker in a local hospital, and when she came home from work I would beg her to tell me stories from her day. These included patient's dramas, the soap-opera lives of fellow staffers, and my favorite, "Gory Stories". These were really awful stories where someone endured terrible, painful things, but they were endlessly fascinating to my 7 year old self. Similarly, I know that looking at a "specimen" that is really something it's original owner no doubt suffered greatly over during their lifetime should not interest me as it does, but there you are. Gory Stories did me in, I suppose, and now my (very wonderful) mother is taking us there as a holiday treat.
And then, of course, there is the Museum of Natural History, a place I never fail to be inspired in. I would totally live there if I could, like in The Mixed up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler. Something about all those dioramas, and all that taxidermy, and all those bones, just makes my heart thrill. I was telling my (also wonderful) father that the girl has no memory of having been there, despite having a dozen or so trips under her belt. He agreed that this was a tragedy, and offered that as his Solstice (I know, but he would never say Christmas) gift to us. I have nice parents, yes?
I would like to say that my interest in all things medical and scientific reflected some untapped genius, but the truth is my love is almost entirely aesthetic. Yup, I really am that shallow. Organs in a jar of formaldahyde, an insect trapped in lucite, robin's egg shells, nests, racoon skulls? Love. I just think they're so pretty.
Off to re-read Geek Love and At Large and at Small.
3 comments:
Torso plasters, I should say.
Or rather, plaster torsos. Jeez.
Does the giant colon belong to Cheng and Eng?
Also, Wasn't your mother violating some kind of patient confidentiality thing telling you all those juicy bits? The things I tell my shrink...;)
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