2006-12-18 : Body Worlds
On Saturday we went to the Boston Museum of Science. We saw Body Worlds, where I learned that plastinated peenars are NOT SEXY, and that even though we're made of soylent green, raw human beings are not that appetizing. This latter came as kind of a surprise to me. Also we saw a 3D movie about bugs, where even the grownups reached out and tried to catch the butterflies, except me, I was too cool for school, I watched the other grownups doing it with amused detachment. I hate 3D. Do the paper glasses go inside my real glasses or outside them? Either way they're uncomfortable and don't stay put and give me a headache. Also we saw an OMNIMAX movie about human bods, where I learned the unbelievably awesome fact that every morning, the first time you open your eyes, the inflood of light literally BURNS OFF yesterday's top layer of your retinal cells.
Also we did a bunch of exhibits, which reminded me that a) Foucoult's Pendulum is the awesomest ever, b) geometry is my favorite kind of math, c) people have orbited the earth in vessels about the same size as my Toyota, d) physics is my favorite sport, e) the part I like best about computer programming is teaching it, f) Sebastian is, like, breathtakingly smart, g) when we don't eat, we get angry at one another, and h) it's an affront to humanity to present any kind of science in a boring way.
Let's see, anything else cool? I imagine so but I don't recall. The weather today is like 3D, in that I can't tell whether it goes inside my glasses or outside.
Wait no. In that it gives me a headache, that's how.
1. On 2006-12-18, Larry Lade said:
Heh. A friend of mine recently attended Body Worlds before it left St. Paul, and had the same complaint about the number of flayed plasticized schlongs.
2. On 2006-12-18, Ben Lehman said:
even though we're made of soylent green, raw human beings are not that appetizing.
Most meat is pretty gross raw.
I prefer my human well-done.
yrs—
—Ben
3. On 2006-12-18, Vincent said:
It might just be that the plastination process made us seem dry and jerkylike.
I ordered a burger the other day and I asked for it rare and they brought it to me and it was lukewarm on the inside. I was a happy carnivore.
It, um, wasn't human meat.
4. On 2006-12-18, Vincent said:
Oh man, Wikipedia tells me that the hufu site is gone.
5. On 2006-12-18, NinJ said:
That is too bad!
Mm.
Manburgers.
6. On 2006-12-18, Charles Perez said:
Hmmm...
Beef: "Woof"
Chicken: "Meow"
Lamb: "Squeak Squeak"
Pork: "Hey, leggo of me, man"
Charles
7. On 2006-12-19, Matt Wilson said:
people have orbited the earth in vessels about the same size as my Toyota
Those capsules were just freaky tiny. They make vipers seem huge.
8. On 2006-12-19, pete_darby said:
Hey, that human body film? Did it have a deep, rich British voice over?
If so that's the one I went to see in the British Science Museum this year... oh, with a chat afterwards with the narrator, who happens to be Lord Winston, Professor of reproductive medicine, very nice guy to kids asking hard questions (every one he started his answer with "I really should know this..." or "That's actually one of the most interesting questions in science today, because no-one knows the answer...)
But he's a bit of an ass when it comes to assessing research: http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2006/09/no_psi_please_were.html
9. On 2006-12-19, Julia said:
What was your favotie plastinated human remains? I liked the hidden room of reproduction and the drawer man. Exploding man was neat, too.
10. On 2006-12-19, Meguey said:
My favorite was the man suspended between gymnastic rings in the Iron Cross pose. There were sections with skin still on, sections of muscle, and sections of bone. It was cool.
The ones that made the most impact on me, in terms of health, were the cross-sections of a healthy heart vs. various kinds of stressed hearts. Gotta move more!
11. On 2006-12-22, Vincent said:
My favorite was comparing the plastinated bodies with the old anatomical drawings. There was one in particular, they'd posed the hand to match the drawing, and you could see which muscles they'd drawn, but in the drawing they'd carefully detached them at the elbow and draped them on things.
Pete, rich British voiceover, yes. It was about a pregnant woman and her husband housesitting for their neice and nephew?
Mindhacks: No Psi Please, linked.
12. On 2007-01-10, Larry Lade said:
Oh Vincent, regarding anaglyph 3D glasses...
You can buy fancy clip-ons if you really expect to be doing a lot in 3D:
http://www.rainbowsymphony.com/cliponbig.html
I don't actually expect you'll rush right out and get these, but just letting you know.
Anaglyph red-blue is crap anyway. LCD shutter glasses are where it's at... if there was any worthwhile content, that is.
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