Jumping the Shark
Jun 8th 2007
Nicole JordanGoddess Grins
I admit I was a little shocked when during my recent trip to Las Vegas, my friends started telling about an exhibit at the Tropicana Hotel called “Bodies,” where real, human bodies were put on display like mummies at a museum, only without the protective wrapping. At first I thought my friends were joking. I couldn’t believe they would think up something that icky. When I learned the exhibit was real, my reaction was Eeewe. Yech. How gross!
Even more surprising, all my friends wanted to go see the bodies – and pay 24 bucks for the privilege!
Not I. I can think few things less appealing. I mean, if I were in advanced biology or a pre-med class, seeing the human body in that level of detail would be great. But I got nauseated just dissecting frogs in high school. So I declined to attend the exhibit and had my friends report back to me on what they’d seen.
For the “Bodies,” they took real cadavers, then stripped away certain tissues and organs and injected the leftovers with a polymer so particular functions would be highlighted. For example, a black cancerous lung is shown next to a healthy one. And you get to see how remarkable the human circulatory system is (did you know your legs are like sponges, you have so many veins and capillaries?)
To be honest, most of my friends found the exhibit fascinating. I guess there’s no accounting for taste! I still think the whole “Bodies” thing is, if not gross, then tacky. And if I ever get the chance to see it again, I think I’ll pass, thank you very much.
In fact, I still can’t believe they did that. If that exhibit was 
on TV, it would likely be called “jumping the shark.” I remember Boston Legal did a skit/subplot about this very thing (a guest character’s father was put on display and she stole the body back). At the time I thought the writers (i.e. David E. Kelly and company) were making it all up.
So was I being too squeamish? Would you go see the “Bodies” exhibit if you had the chance? Have you run across things/behavior/objects in real life or on TV that you thought “jumped the shark”? That you found absurd, startling, gross, over the top, or just plain tacky? That made you say “I can’t believe they did that!”
30 Comments »
30 Responses to “Jumping the Shark”
ladydawgfan on 08 Jun 2007 at 11:18 pm #
I don’t think you were too squeamish. It clearly wasn’t your cup of tea, and it wouldn’t have been mine, either. So you would have had company in the “I’ll meet you in the gift shop” department.
As for stuff that I think is tacky or gross, OH yeah, I’ve seen plenty that fits that!!! Howsabout the traveling “Gross-ology” exhibit that they sell to kids, which explores the grossest parts of the body human, including smells, fluids, and assorted noises (yeah, even THOSE noises!). And then there are the “Harry Potter” jelly beans in flavors like vomit and dirt. Dis-GUSTing!!! :p
Kay on 08 Jun 2007 at 11:39 pm #
I can understand why this was not for you, but I hope that anyone thinking about seeing the exhibit will consider a different point of view:
I saw “Body Worlds” (www.bodyworlds.com) at the Science Museum of MN on Mother’s day with my kids. It was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. We looked at the ones with the arteries highlighted, and then proceeded to find our major pulse points. Everyone around us took off their shoes when we did.
My Dh and I have medical backgrounds, and it was like Christmas for us. We would have loved to have had an exhibit like this when we were in school.
My M-I-L had a hip replacement a few years ago, and the kids thought it was cool to see what her joint looked like.
The mother in me LOVED the exhibit of the “smokers lungs” next to the healthy ones, and the cirrhotic liver. Future lectures will begin with “Do you remember the black lungs we saw at the museum…”
Maybe we’re just weird. LOL
MJ on 09 Jun 2007 at 1:00 am #
Well… if you are (weird) than so am I….
I saw a similar exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre last year (can’t recall the name = bet it’s the same one, though)….and it was fascinating. I’d always wondered what was ‘in there’….and what certain organs etc really look like (I had plastic models when I was a kid, but it’s not the same).
I wanted to be a doctor for my entire childhood, so perhaps that’s why….
But I’m fascinated when they tear walls of houses apart, because I always wondered what was inside them too.. and I have no desire to do construction work…..
Did you see the Oprah show where Dr. Oz showed ‘unhealthy’ body parts? I think it would have shocked me into quitting various bad habits, except that I’d already eschewed them…. I think it’s on her website, actually.
Still Nicole - I can understand why this would gross you out….or at least not be to your liking. What are friends for, but to describe these sights to you in graphic detail?
diamondlil on 09 Jun 2007 at 3:34 am #
I think this is on here at the moment….I briefly thought about going and then thought eeewww…no!
Claudia Dain on 09 Jun 2007 at 7:33 am #
Nicole, I find the human body so intensely fascinating that I’ve found myself tempted to go. I have a very high ick factor on human functions and had no trouble dissecting stuff in high school, BUT my problem with the Bodies exhibit is that I can’t forget that these are REAL people. Someone’s son, husband, wife, grandma. It just saddens me to the point of tears.
This object of someone’s devotion and affection is now the object of curiosity and on public display.
I feel like bawling right now!
Jessie on 09 Jun 2007 at 7:44 am #
That exhibit came through my home town several months ago. I meant to go see it, but never got a chance. I’m a little glad because, like Claudia, it made me sad they they weren’t just models but actual people.
Most of the new reality shows this summer are “Jump the Shark” worthy. I mean, Age of Love? Seriously. Too tacky for words.
CNDb.com comes to mind as well. It’s a take off on IMDb (Internet Movie Database). This is the Celebrity Nudity Database. Also too tacky for words.
DebMarlowe on 09 Jun 2007 at 9:23 am #
Nicole,
Like you, I saw that episode of Boston Legal and had no idea it was based on life. I’m with you and Claudia. Even though I come from the medical field, I just cannot remove the human factor. That person had a life, loved ones. I can’t bear to think that such a thing could happen to one of my old patients, let alone someone I love.
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 9:40 am #
>>Howsabout the traveling “Gross-ology” exhibit that they sell to kids,
Is there truly such a thing, Ladydf? I knew about the Harry Potter jelly beans, but I can at least justify that cause it’s making vast numbers of kids read and use their imaginations. But I fail to see the point of highlighting gross body functions, lol.
>>My Dh and I have medical backgrounds, and it was like Christmas for us. We would have loved to have had an exhibit like this when we were in school.
Kay, that makes perfect sense! When we lived in Cinci, the local public high school had a pre-med biology class that let senior students disect real cadavers, which would be a huge advantage if you’re going into medical fields. I don’t think I could ever do it, though! When my horse’s leg was badly injured a few years ago, I turned green as the vet sewed up the wound and wanted to pass out. But I do sooo admire people who can be doctors and nurses and vets and med-techs, etc. Thank heavens not everyone is a squeamish as I am! My dh’s family have med backgrounds and they don’t think anything about talking about blood and gore over the dinner table.
Nicole
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 9:49 am #
And I truly think it’s great when people donate their organs and body parts to save lives, and their whole bodies to science. But admittedly the sadness issue was part of the ick factor for me with the Bodies exhibit. It’s the “public display” element that got to me. And to have it at a hotel/casino, of all places.
On the other hand, I suppose it could do a lot of good if it encourages folks to give up smoking or not become alcoholics. Or if it inspires youngsters to go into the medical field.
Maybe I’m looking at it the wrong way! Maybe I should start thinking about the positives. It would be really nice if I could find my own pulsepoints like Kay’s kids learned to do. I never can find mine, so I sometimes wonder if I’m not even alive *G*. Come to think of it, does that have anything to do with low blood pressure? Mine is on the low side.
NicoleJ
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 9:57 am #
>>>Age of Love? Seriously. Too tacky for words.
CNDb.com comes to mind as well. It’s a take off on IMDb (Internet Movie Database). This is the Celebrity Nudity Database. Also too tacky for words.
Oh, my word. I agree, Jessie, TTFW!
But then I have a very low threshold for TV shows. I can’t even get into THE BACHELOR. I mean, women parading themselves before a man like that? Even though that’s what a lot of the Regency ladies did with the noblemen we write about.
What do people find appealing about those shows? Is it the gawk factor? Like not being able to look away from a car accident?
NicoleJ
Claudia Dain on 09 Jun 2007 at 10:10 am #
Oh, Nicole, I’m so glad someone else finds THE BACHELOR ick worthy. It’s so degrading! And, as a writer of Regencies, the women in *my* stories don’t crawl into a hot tub with the guy and…well, too much ick to actually describe what they do there! In front of a camera, no less!
ladydawgfan on 09 Jun 2007 at 10:44 am #
Nicole,
Yes, there actually IS a “Grossology” exhibit for kids. Details can be found at http://www.grossologytour.com/ for what it’s worth. Yet another thing that is DEFINITELY not my cup of tea!!!!
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 11:07 am #
Ladydf, as Sabrina said in a recent post, that is TOO MUCH INFO! LOL.
And I know THE BACHELOR is very popular, but what is it that makes audiences watch and come back week after week?
NicoleJ, shaking head in perplexion
Patty L. on 09 Jun 2007 at 11:15 am #
I agree with you, EWWWWW. I am not a doctor and I don’t want to know what I look like on the inside, that’s why I go to them because they have to know what is going on.
I like The Bachelor. I must say that I only begin to watch once they get done to the finally five or so and I do have a tendacy to change the channel with the women go all “trashy”. The girl the guy picked this year was one of the woman who held herself back, and I appreciate him all the more for showing some brains and thinking with the head above his shoulders and not below.
Kay on 09 Jun 2007 at 11:50 am #
How about the reality show “Dirty Jobs?” I love it, but I know some people who hate it.
I had no idea how gross some jobs are that I take for granted.
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 12:50 pm #
>>How about the reality show “Dirty Jobs?”
I’ve never heard of that, Kay. What’s it about?
I confess I’ve never actually seen The Bachelor, just the trailers. So maybe I’m maligning it unjustly and it has some redeeming qualities. *g*
>>>I appreciate him all the more for showing some brains and thinking with the head above his shoulders and not below.
You’re a woman after my own heart, PattyL!
NicoleJ
epfeiffer1 on 09 Jun 2007 at 2:48 pm #
Claudia - I completely agree with you that those bodies were someone’s loved one and now they are up for public display. I did not pay the $24+ dollars to visit the show when I was living in Denver. However they still had some of the bodies displayed outside of the pay-section and so I got a very good glimpse of some of the bodies (which were arranged as a soccer player and some other poses.) I felt that it was a total invasion of privacy. But - that’s just me and I know the people had given permission to be displayed like that. But I’m a much more private person. Just like I refuse to watch any reality TV show. I feel so humiliated for those people, especially The Bachelor. Oh - and don’t get me started on the people that volunteer to go on a talk show….
-Beth
Wilma Evans on 09 Jun 2007 at 3:07 pm #
We have Bodies 3 here in Portland (OR) right now & they’ve been talking about it in the paper. It’s some German who came up with the way to preserve the bodies & most of them are Germans. I’m with you about having no desire to see the “show” and about being sad for their relatives. According to the people the newspaper talked to, after every show they have more people signing up to have their bodies displayed. That says something about us today, but I’m not sure what. Wilma
Kay on 09 Jun 2007 at 5:11 pm #
Nicole–Dirty Jobs is a Discovery Channel reality show. The host does a day’s work in a job that most people would run away from. One involved hauling logs, with mules (dirty & danger One was working in a recycling plant. They are smelly, diry jobs that most of us never think about, but someone does them every day.
I find it fascinating, but some people think it is very gross.
Kay on 09 Jun 2007 at 5:17 pm #
Wilma–I can easily understand why somone would feel uncomfortable attending the exhibit, but I am very glad that this German physician has created it, and people willingly donated their bodies for it. For people who want to see it, the educational opportunity is unsurpassed.
Many of the people who attened the “BodyWorlds” exhibit fill out a guest book at the end. The comments are amazing. Most people who go throught the exhibit (granted, this is a self-selected group) are more willing to donate their organs for transplantation, donate their bodies to science (like a medical school, or BodyWorlds) and are more willing to give blood. Most of the people state that they will take their health more seriously, like exercising more and quitting smoking. As of October, 2004, more than 15 million people had seen the exhibit.
It isn’t for everyone, though.
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 5:23 pm #
>>>Most people who go throught the exhibit (granted, this is a self-selected group) are more willing to donate their organs for transplantation, donate their bodies to science (like a medical school, or BodyWorlds) and are more willing to give blood. Most of the people state that they will take their health more seriously, like exercising more and quitting smoking. As of October, 2004, more than 15 million people had seen the exhibit.
Ok! I take back all the derogatory things I said! This is really cool, so if the exhibits truly have had this kind of positive effect, then I’ll shut up about it. Thanks very much for posting, Kay.
But do I still get to pan TV shows, lol? Or do those have some positive effect I’m not aware of, other than putting money in the networks’ pockets?
I do think the Dirty Jobs show could be worthwhile and educational!
NicoleJ
Karen Rose on 09 Jun 2007 at 7:05 pm #
My opinion - I saw the BODIES exhibit with a doctor and his explanations made me feel as if I were getting a first class guided tour through the body. Fascinating - truly. The exhibit was tastefully done and as Kay says, unsurpassed in educational opportunity. I wanted to be a nurse for most of my childhood and this exhibit was absolutely wonderful.
Dirty Jobs is sometimes too icky for me, but the host, Mike Rowe, is very handsome and rugged. I have to say he’s less handsome covered in some of the disgusting things he gets himself covered in, but clean, the man is hot. I’ve heard he’s on the up and coming list of sexiest men in America. Women think he’s hot and men think his show is cool. The man has cornered the market.
Brandy on 09 Jun 2007 at 8:10 pm #
I prefer my mummy’s wrapped, thanks. Bodies isn’t something I’d enjoy, but I am sure that my Hubs would have liked it.
As for the icky jobs, well, I know someone has to do it, but funeral homes and the person who prepares the body. *shudder” Just not my thing.
Sabrina Jeffries on 09 Jun 2007 at 11:24 pm #
If the person donated their body to further science, my feeling is, why not? I guess I just don’t think bodies are worth fussing over. It’s the spirit, soul, mind, whatever you want to call it, that makes a person what they are, and once that part is gone on, what is left is the housing. For me the housing doesn’t matter that much. The BODY wasn’t someone’s mother or whatever–their soul was. So, hey, you want to use my body and put it on display, go right ahead. I’m done with it.
But I do understand the ick factor for a lot of people. I don’t really have it (those of you who read my TMI blog now KNOW that I don’t), but I know that plenty of people do. I was one of those people who thought dissecting the frog was fascinating, but I can see that it isn’t for everybody.
Nicole Jordan on 09 Jun 2007 at 11:38 pm #
I’ll have to check out that Dirty Jobs show!
And I laughed at your post, Sabrina. You are MORE than welcome to have all my frogs to disect. I’ll take my creatures alive, thank you. BTW, we have the cutest family of baby quail in ouir garden/beneath our house. Just gives me warm, fuzzy feelings all over to see those tiny chicks with all that down.
NicoleJ
Julia London on 10 Jun 2007 at 11:42 am #
Fear Factor. I hope that show is finally off the air. I couldn’t even watch the ads for it.
Nicole Jordan on 11 Jun 2007 at 9:17 am #
>>>Fear Factor. I hope that show is finally off the air. I couldn’t even watch the ads for it.
Ditto that! The commercials were pretty disgusting.
NicoleJ
Sonja Foust on 11 Jun 2007 at 9:23 am #
“Bodies” is, in fact, on display at my local mall right now. Even the pictures on the ads make me go “ew!” and gag a little. So I won’t be seeing it. (I’m with the contingent that had to run out of the room to puke when watching VIDEOS of frog dissections.)
Tracy on 13 Jun 2007 at 9:04 pm #
I’ve been to the exhibit and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, honestly. We walked in and at first, I felt a little queasy but it’s not gory or bloody or anything. It’s definitely an interesting sight. Honestly, the bodies don’t look that real, or maybe I was just telling myself that for comfort! Either way, it was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen - there’s hundreds of different things to view, and to my surprise, it wasn’t smelly in the room at all! I don’t blame you for passing on the exhibit, though. It’s definitely not for everyone! As interesting as it was, I don’t think I’d go again. Once was enough for me!
As for the comments about Fear Factor that I saw above - YUCK! That show is just sick. You couldn’t pay me enough money to eat the stuff that they do! A live bug belongs squashed under my shoe, not being digested in my stomach!
Nicole Jordan on 14 Jun 2007 at 8:58 am #
Wow, thanks for the report, Tracy! Your reaction is a lot like what my friends felt upon seeing it. I still don’t think I care to see it, but I’m not gonna diss it any longer, either. *G*
Nicole