Remains of the Day
November 2, 2007 10:14 AM Subscribe
From a short distance the male figure almost appeared to be napping among the hummingbirds and squirrels, draped as he was over the pebbled ground. But something about his peculiar pose evoked a sense of grim finality– the body language of the deceased.
Needs more Precious Moments.
posted by hermitosis at 10:21 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by hermitosis at 10:21 AM on November 2, 2007
Thanks; I have heard and read about the Body Farm but this write-up gave me the best glimpse inside.
posted by misha at 10:29 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by misha at 10:29 AM on November 2, 2007
See also. But don't bother reading those books; they aren't good.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:32 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:32 AM on November 2, 2007
Are decaying corpses really a biohazard? (What does constitute a biohazard?)
posted by small_ruminant at 10:35 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by small_ruminant at 10:35 AM on November 2, 2007
To be honest, I only read one of those books. The one that's anecdotes from the farmer might be OK. Flesh and Bones isn't.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:43 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:43 AM on November 2, 2007
Affectionately referred to as the Body Farm,
They sure didn't use the term 'affectionately' at my trial, that's for damn certain.
posted by quin at 10:47 AM on November 2, 2007 [3 favorites]
They sure didn't use the term 'affectionately' at my trial, that's for damn certain.
posted by quin at 10:47 AM on November 2, 2007 [3 favorites]
Pretty deathfilterish around here lately, innit?
posted by miss lynnster at 11:01 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by miss lynnster at 11:01 AM on November 2, 2007
Gruesome, but damn interesting. Who said dead men don't leave tips?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:30 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:30 AM on November 2, 2007
the acrid, syrupy tang of human decay which hung in the air
You mean the stuff that Astronauts drink?
posted by ColdChef at 11:53 AM on November 2, 2007 [2 favorites]
You mean the stuff that Astronauts drink?
posted by ColdChef at 11:53 AM on November 2, 2007 [2 favorites]
So if you 'leave your body to science', this is one of the possibilities, to be left out in the forest until you're gravely mouldering? Has anyone done a more general FPP on the fates of research cadavers?
posted by pracowity at 11:55 AM on November 2, 2007
posted by pracowity at 11:55 AM on November 2, 2007
Yay! I love reading about this stuff. Thanks for the link.
posted by agregoli at 12:17 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by agregoli at 12:17 PM on November 2, 2007
NOTE: Explicit pictures of decaying corpses
See, this is why I need to make a point of reading the comments first.
posted by maryh at 12:23 PM on November 2, 2007
See, this is why I need to make a point of reading the comments first.
posted by maryh at 12:23 PM on November 2, 2007
yes, read Stiff. Double your fear of death. It's horribly fascinating.
posted by blue_beetle at 12:25 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by blue_beetle at 12:25 PM on November 2, 2007
I was not previously aware of Damn Interesting. Thanks, punkfloyd--lots of good stuff on that site.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:26 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:26 PM on November 2, 2007
Yeah, true, MrMoonPie. Tomorrow's my birthday & it's been Dia de los Muertos themed more than a few times (Every year I do something... went to Oaxaca once, had a full DDLM fiesta de cumpleaños last year, going to the celebration on Mission tonight). As I get older, I guess it gets to be a more & more appropriate theme... sigh.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:32 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by miss lynnster at 12:32 PM on November 2, 2007
You want to know appropriate? Today's my anniversary.
posted by ColdChef at 12:56 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by ColdChef at 12:56 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
Mine was also two days ago. Are we married, quin? If so, could you please empty the dishwasher.
posted by maxwelton at 2:32 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by maxwelton at 2:32 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
NOTE: Explicit pictures of decaying corpses
Not so very explicit. My first year anthropology professor had been a student of Dr. Bass's and had many many body farm slides showing hour by hour and day by day progression of particular corpses, and spent one class period showing us, as he termed it, the 'best' of them and gleefully expounding at length upon every swollen face and every change of hue. I am proud to say I was not one of the students who got up and left in the middle of it, as many did. But I really wanted to.
posted by frobozz at 3:25 PM on November 2, 2007
Not so very explicit. My first year anthropology professor had been a student of Dr. Bass's and had many many body farm slides showing hour by hour and day by day progression of particular corpses, and spent one class period showing us, as he termed it, the 'best' of them and gleefully expounding at length upon every swollen face and every change of hue. I am proud to say I was not one of the students who got up and left in the middle of it, as many did. But I really wanted to.
posted by frobozz at 3:25 PM on November 2, 2007
Anthropologists used to say the thing that set humans apart from animals was tool use. Then they saw chimpanzees and crows using tools. Now they are looking at burial practices in a similar vein, to differentiate between humans and earlier evolutionary iterations. The fools at the body farm are using tools but that doesn’t make them human.
posted by Huplescat at 3:45 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by Huplescat at 3:45 PM on November 2, 2007
The fools at the body farm are using tools but that doesn’t make them human.
Something against the body farm, have you? Hundreds of people, at least, have reason to thank those fools for providing the knowledge and procedures that made it possible to shed light on what otherwise would probably have been the unsolved murder of a friend or relative.
posted by frobozz at 4:39 PM on November 2, 2007
Something against the body farm, have you? Hundreds of people, at least, have reason to thank those fools for providing the knowledge and procedures that made it possible to shed light on what otherwise would probably have been the unsolved murder of a friend or relative.
posted by frobozz at 4:39 PM on November 2, 2007
Oddly, my in-laws don't live too far from the 'body farm' (by 'not too far' I mean about 3-4 miles cross country in the same woods).
posted by UseyurBrain at 4:40 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by UseyurBrain at 4:40 PM on November 2, 2007
frobozz, so the ends justify the means?
Yes, they do in this case, certainly; and I'm not sure what it is about the means that you don't like. What exactly about forensic anthropology is it that you find so objectionable?
posted by frobozz at 5:36 PM on November 2, 2007
Yes, they do in this case, certainly; and I'm not sure what it is about the means that you don't like. What exactly about forensic anthropology is it that you find so objectionable?
posted by frobozz at 5:36 PM on November 2, 2007
A dead body is just a bunch of meat and bones; there's nothing magical about it. Deserving of a bit of respect? In memory of the deceased, sure. But folks who donate their bodies to science want this sort of stuff to be done.
posted by maxwelton at 5:59 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by maxwelton at 5:59 PM on November 2, 2007
frobozz, so the ends justify the means?
you do know that people volunteered their bodies to be studied in this manner, don't you?
their bodies, their choice
posted by pyramid termite at 6:32 PM on November 2, 2007
you do know that people volunteered their bodies to be studied in this manner, don't you?
their bodies, their choice
posted by pyramid termite at 6:32 PM on November 2, 2007
A living body is just a bunch of meat and bones; there's nothing magical about it. Deserving of a bit of respect? In memory of the sure. But folks who donate to torture want this sort of stuff to be done
posted by Huplescat at 6:39 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by Huplescat at 6:39 PM on November 2, 2007
Huplescat, I may be missing something here, but are you actually trying to draw a parallel between victims of torture and people who have donated their bodies to forensic science research?
posted by imbecile at 6:48 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by imbecile at 6:48 PM on November 2, 2007
But folks who donate to torture want this sort of stuff to be done
how does one torture dead people?
posted by pyramid termite at 7:03 PM on November 2, 2007
how does one torture dead people?
posted by pyramid termite at 7:03 PM on November 2, 2007
In memory of the sure. But folks who donate to torture want this sort of stuff to be done
Oh, no. Huplescat's been taken over by the markovfilter.
posted by frobozz at 7:12 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
Oh, no. Huplescat's been taken over by the markovfilter.
posted by frobozz at 7:12 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
That’s one of the things that’s wrong with me I guess. But who am I to say?
posted by Huplescat at 7:32 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by Huplescat at 7:32 PM on November 2, 2007
Maryh: The bolded warning that graphic content was to follow and squeamish users should not continue on the actual article before the gross stuff didn't tip you off?
Also, a fun read. I'd like to hear the explanation behind the intro, where he mistakes a civil war era corpse for being fresh. How could it have still been that fresh?
posted by lazaruslong at 7:49 PM on November 2, 2007
Also, a fun read. I'd like to hear the explanation behind the intro, where he mistakes a civil war era corpse for being fresh. How could it have still been that fresh?
posted by lazaruslong at 7:49 PM on November 2, 2007
Lazarus, it was because the lead in the coffin basically embalmed it/made bugs shun it. It's mentioned in one of the last paragraphs.
I took several forensic anthropology classes as an undergrad, and body farm research was the subject of several of our labs. We were supposed to go on a field trip there, but my professor ended up taking us to the forensic lab in Decatur, Georgia instead (which we thought was a bummer, even thought it too was cool). Their work is really important, and has been invaluable in homicide and other investigations involving human remains.
My professor sometimes worked as a freelance with the State of Georgia on identifying remains, particularly smaller pieces. I remember vividly going to see him in his lab, and being hit by the smell emanating from a container he had just opened... I had entertained thoughts of going into the field at that point, but that smell sealed the deal and drove all thoughts of that out the window. I ended up doing archeology instead - bones at least don't smell!
posted by gemmy at 10:40 PM on November 2, 2007
I took several forensic anthropology classes as an undergrad, and body farm research was the subject of several of our labs. We were supposed to go on a field trip there, but my professor ended up taking us to the forensic lab in Decatur, Georgia instead (which we thought was a bummer, even thought it too was cool). Their work is really important, and has been invaluable in homicide and other investigations involving human remains.
My professor sometimes worked as a freelance with the State of Georgia on identifying remains, particularly smaller pieces. I remember vividly going to see him in his lab, and being hit by the smell emanating from a container he had just opened... I had entertained thoughts of going into the field at that point, but that smell sealed the deal and drove all thoughts of that out the window. I ended up doing archeology instead - bones at least don't smell!
posted by gemmy at 10:40 PM on November 2, 2007
Huplescat, your statement made no sense. Living creatures are more than meat and bones, there is also that spark inside that moves the meat and bones around.
We're not going to read about you in the news, are we?
posted by maxwelton at 10:44 PM on November 2, 2007
We're not going to read about you in the news, are we?
posted by maxwelton at 10:44 PM on November 2, 2007
Note that one of the links at the end is by Dr. Arpad Vass (not to be confused with Bass), who is also a crackpot of the highest order.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:57 PM on November 2, 2007
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:57 PM on November 2, 2007
Maryh: The bolded warning that graphic content was to follow and squeamish users should not continue on the actual article before the gross stuff didn't tip you off?
Well, yeah, lazaruslong. I can soldier through a nasty description, but I guess I didn't realize how squeamish I would get at the sight of a decomposing body. It came as an unpleasant surprise to me. And so I've learned something new and lame about myself today. Thank you, Metafilter!
posted by maryh at 11:31 PM on November 2, 2007
Well, yeah, lazaruslong. I can soldier through a nasty description, but I guess I didn't realize how squeamish I would get at the sight of a decomposing body. It came as an unpleasant surprise to me. And so I've learned something new and lame about myself today. Thank you, Metafilter!
posted by maryh at 11:31 PM on November 2, 2007
Corpse being observed in this post brings to mind another group who for centuries have been watching corpses decay, albeit for a much more spiritual understanding. Buddhist monks use corpses decay to contemplate on the transitory nature of life.
The Buddhist Sutra of Mindfulness speaks about the meditation on the corpse: meditate on the decomposition of the body, how the body bloats and turns violet, how it is eaten by worms until only bits of blood and flesh still cling to the bones, meditate up to the point where only white bones remain, which in turn are slowly worn away and turn into dust. Meditate like that, knowing that your own body will undergo the same process. Meditate on the corpse until you are calm and at peace, until your mind and heart are light and tranquil and a smile appears on your face. Thus, by overcoming revulsion and fear, life will be seen as infinitely precious, every second of it worth living.
posted by Rancid Badger at 12:19 AM on November 3, 2007
The Buddhist Sutra of Mindfulness speaks about the meditation on the corpse: meditate on the decomposition of the body, how the body bloats and turns violet, how it is eaten by worms until only bits of blood and flesh still cling to the bones, meditate up to the point where only white bones remain, which in turn are slowly worn away and turn into dust. Meditate like that, knowing that your own body will undergo the same process. Meditate on the corpse until you are calm and at peace, until your mind and heart are light and tranquil and a smile appears on your face. Thus, by overcoming revulsion and fear, life will be seen as infinitely precious, every second of it worth living.
posted by Rancid Badger at 12:19 AM on November 3, 2007
Today's the Day of the Dead eh? Time to play Grim Fandango again!
posted by JHarris at 12:40 PM on November 3, 2007
posted by JHarris at 12:40 PM on November 3, 2007
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posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:15 AM on November 2, 2007