http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,532934,0
0.html
Looking for an unusual gift or that perfect ornament for your
living room? How about a cross-section of a preserved corpse,
courtesy of "Body Worlds" entrepreneur Gunther von Hagens --
a snip at €12,000.
Just when you thought the "Body Worlds" exhibition couldn't
get any more gross, Plastination pioneer Gunther von Hagens
(more...) comes up with a stomach-churning new idea: selling
slices of human bodies.
According to the mass circulation daily Bild, von Hagens,
famous for developing the patented Plastination technique for
preserving corpses, has come up with a new business model
involving selling cross-sections of bodies prepared in his
"Plastinarium" workshop in Guben on the German-Polish border.
Until now, he has only sold cross-sections, where plastinated
organs are clearly visible, to universities as teaching
materials. But now private individuals will be able to buy
slices of corpses too. Von Hagens' assistant Nadine Diwersi
told the newspaper: "We are able to quickly produce large
quantities with high quality and for a good price."
A cross-section down the length of the body will cost €12,000
($17,800), while a cross-section across the body will be
priced at €250, or €1,600 for a 16-slice set. A typical
corpse can produce eight vertical cross-sections or 230
horizontal cross-sections.
However, only a minority of the donated bodies will be
available for purchase by private individuals as 80 percent
of donors, who make their bodies available free of charge to
von Hagens, stipulate that they can only be used "for
scientific progress."
There's another hitch: the German law against "disturbing the
peace of the dead" which makes it illegal to commit
"insulting mischief" with the body parts of the deceased.
Diwersi told Bild that their lawyers were currently
investigating the conditions under which corpse slices could
be sold to private individuals. However, she expressed
optimism that "in three or four months, anyone will be able
to buy the slices on the Internet or in our Plastinarium."
Around 25 million people have viewed von Hagens' "Body
Worlds" exhibitions, which show preserved human specimens in
a variety of poses, in cities across Asia, Europe and North
America over the last 10 years, according to the "Body
Worlds" Web site.
--
Rob Cypher
http://robcypher.livejournal.com
aka "Ben" from A&E's Intervention
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE - YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED
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