Cannibalism: We Can Make it Taste so Much Better

I went to the Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the California Science Center yesterday and brought up an interesting, poignant question. But first, a little background: the Body Worlds exhibit is of plasticated humans (and some animals). Dead humans are put in this plastic shit, and the shit gets into the cells and fills up the insides, thus destroying the shit inside the cells. The shit hardens enough so that the tissue becomes pliable enough to reshape. Then, scientists and doctors form these people into poses--one person kicking a soccer ball, and all the muscles are exposed; another of a man sitting at a desk thinking with his blood vessels exposed. Exciting, eery shit.

A man was even there lecturing, describing the process in detail. The plastic they use works to preserve the tissue for a very long time. Also, the plastic keeps the original color of the tissue. It is a time-consuming, and yet somewhat simple process.

But then I asked a very profound question: What about fudge? The lecturer was holding a hip bone in his hand and was pointing out how it was basically fossilized without the millions of years of waiting. He stopped lecturing, though, and looked at me. Obviously, I'd thrown him a curveball. "What?" he asked.

I repeated my question. Plastic's great, but what about fudge? This could really revolutionize the entire established dessert ideology. Instead of plastic replacing the insides of the cells, what about hot fudge? Then, it'd be a sort of dessert exhibit. There was a long pause. The other people listening to the lecture sort of looked at each other with great curiosity (which I saw as agreement that this was a profound idea). "Son," he asked, "Did you just ask me if we could use fudge?" I nodded, and explained that it would really take the social stigma out of eating other people. Plus, it'd be cool to fudgicize deceased family members, and then there'd be no need for burial; just large tubs of ice cream and shitloads of spoons.

At this point, he stopped his lecture and walked away. People seemed to avoid me in the museum. Even though it was jam-packed (it's the last weekend it's open), there was always about a ten-foot bubble of space around me. I feel I struck these people in a strong way. Fugde rather than plastic--that's not a bad idea.

Meanwhile, at the end of the exhibit, I bought a bunch of beef jerky in the gift shop. These were the rejected pieces from the construction of the exhibit.

Love,

Ryan