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This company sells real human skulls. It claims all of its skulls are ethically sourced. How do you ethically source a human skull for sale to a random buyer? (www.skullsunlimited.com)

submitted 2 months ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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No, I don't want to buy one. This came out of a discussion about my brother, who is so much weirder than me if you can believe it, who owns a real human skull.

I don't know how he got it. I don't know where he got it from, maybe this company, more importantly, I don't know why he would want such a thing. He is not a scientist, he works in IT. He did get an MFA in theater, wanted to be a professional theater director and loves Shakespeare, I can't believe the reason was because he wanted Hamlet to be super authentic.

We're not all that close, so it really hasn't come up in conversation. I only know about it because he posted elsewhere a while back that he was on a Zoom meeting at work and he showed it off and couldn't understand why everyone stopped laughing and got silent. So obviously he thinks it's cool to own it.

It used to be a person. I'm an atheist and I don't believe in an afterlife, but that's just basic disrespect.

Anyway... how can you ethically source a skull and then sell it on the open market?

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 37 points 2 months ago

Donating your body to science is not the same as donating it to be sold on the open market. If it's just sold on a website, sure, a scientist could buy it. But also a guy could buy it so he can fuck the eye sockets.

[-] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 12 points 2 months ago

…fuck them for science, I hope.

[-] harrys_balzac@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 months ago

To paraphrase Adam Savage: the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down

[-] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

He talked about the guy who gave him that quote in a q&a this week. It was the show's crime scene analyst Alec Jason.

https://youtu.be/EEuhyrqpwWw?t=9m25s

[-] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 8 points 2 months ago

The answer to OP's question gets pretty obvious when you ask a different question: how can I ethically donate my corpse to some guy who wants to fuck my eye sockets? What do I have to do to ensure my wishes are upheld?

What if I want my children to take possession of my corpse? It's not a part of my estate; creditors can't take it from them. Once the probate process has been completed and my estate is completely disbursed, they can auction my corpse to the highest bidder, and keep the proceeds that would have otherwise gone to some filthy fucking financier.

Scientists and medical practitioners aren't the only people who might want a human skull, nor should they be the only ones with access. An actor may wish to continue performing on stage as Yorick after their death, for example.

Whatever means available for me to monetize my corpse after my death would be an answer to OP's question.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

You are assuming the skulls this company sells were donated. They do not make that claim. They just say they were ethically sourced.

[-] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 8 points 2 months ago

And why should eye care if eye'm dead?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

It's not just about you. Your partner or parent or child or sibling might care.

[-] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I can recommend the Last Week Tonight Episode about just this topic. At least in the US, there's basically no difference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn7egDQ9lPg

[-] Dasus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Donating your body to science is not the same as donating it to be sold on the open market.

In the US, it pretty much is the exact same thing though.

this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024

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