DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

It sounds grisly, but it looks really cool: Body Worlds, the Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies

Gunther von Hagens’ “plastination” technique turns organic tissue into plastic. The result is life-sized, anatomically-correct cutaway 3D sculptures of skeletons, nerves, muscles, vessels, organs, etc.

The whole-body models are the most stunning. Dozens of them are on display in a 20,000 square foot Body Worlds installation in Los Angeles, at the California Science Center through January 2005.

The plastination technique replaces bodily fluids and fat with reactive polymers, such as silicone rubber, epoxy resins, or polyester: in a first phase solvent gradually replaces bodily fluids in a cold solvent bath (freeze substitution). After dehydration the specimen is put in a solvent bath at room temperature for defatting. The dehydrated and defatted specimen is then placed into a polymer solution. The solvent is then brought to a boil in a vacuum and continuously extracted from the specimen; the evaporating solvent creates a volume deficit within the specimen drawing the polymer gradually into the tissue. After the process of forced impregnation the specimen is cured with gas, light, or heat, depending on the type of polymer used.

The photos here have been provided by the California Science Center and are © 2004 Body Worlds. They have been reproduced by permission. Additional pictures — more clinical and less fascinating for it, in my opinion — can be found at the site of the Plastination Gallery of Vienna University.

Here’s an innovative yet fraudulent way to improve W’s standing in swing states:

On Tuesday, November 2, when hundreds and perhaps thousands of registered Democrats enter their polling places in Nevada, they will be in for a rude surprise: They won’t be allowed to vote. Even though they filled out their registration forms properly and they did it way ahead of the deadline, there will be no record of their being registered to vote. That’s because, according to an investigation by Las Vegas television station KLAS, a private voter registration company called Voters Outreach of America — an outfit largely funded by the Republican National Committee — has trashed hundreds of registration forms of registered Democrats.

The Environmental Working Group’s FoodNews site published a report card on Pesticides in Produce. The dozen most-contaminated and least-contaminated fruits and vegetables are listed. They’ve produced a convenient downloadable wallet guide too.

What about washing?… Washing fresh produce may help reduce pesticide residues, it clearly does not eliminate them. Nonetheless, produce should be washed before it is eaten because washing does reduce levels of some pesticides. However, other pesticides are taken up internally into the plant, are in the fruit, and cannot be washed off.

I just had my hair cut. My head looks like a Greek statue. I shouldn’t be surprised; the guy with the scissors was Greek, working part-time in a salon until he gets his sculpture business off the ground. Apparently there’s not a lot of call around here for temple architects.

In a heavy accent he quoted the rules of Greek design as he pointed at my hair, as if my head was a column in the Parthenon. “Twelve degrees rise here, you see? Classic. Thirty-five degrees in front, you see? Forty-five degrees in back. Classic! I’m a professional, thirty years experience!”

Thirty years experience doing what? I was afraid to ask. I believe it involves hammers and chisels.

“Shake your head. No, shake hard. You see? Now you look Italian!”

Tuesday morning, our house smelled like it was burning. Every flat surface was covered with ash dust. Like the rest of Sonoma county, we’re downwind of the Rumsey fire.

The solar panels were a mess too.