Today in Philly was a visit to the Mutter Museum which focuses on 19th Century specimins of medical abnormalities such as gigantism, dwarfish, and various other ailments. Reminder one to be appreciative for reasonably good health and to live in an era with top notch medical science. Seeing the skeleton and story of a dwarf who worked as a prostitute and died during child berth sure makes one think that life has to be much better today than in the 1880s.
Interestin items were a piece of John Wilkes booth flesh, the "Soap Lady" skeleton, and a cast of the famous Siamese Twins.
I especially liked the display on medical issues that presidens have faced. I knew about FDR's wheel chair, but hadn't realized the JFK had Addison's deasease (adrenal problems) as well as an addication to pain killer's due to his back pain---both conveniently glossed over by the media. But there was a long history of keeping presidential ailments secret---William Taft had a secret operation on a boat to remove a growth in his thoat. Good ol' Dwight Eisenhower was open with his three serious health threats: heart attack, surgery for Crohn's Disease, and a Stroke ; in fact Ike was close to being considered medically unfit for a second term.
http://www.muttermuseum.org/
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1 comment:
Whoa, that's some bizzare stuff. What kind of souvenirs does that gift shop have?
D
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