Life is just a theory

Ever thought, “Gee, what this museum could use is more skeletons in glass cases and body parts floating in jars”? Well, have I got the place for you! I had the great good fortune to visit the Hunterian Museum when I was in London, and it was grotesque, beautiful, disgusting, and awesome all at once.

The collection of 18th century doctor John Hunter fills case after glass case, from floor to ceiling, and includes half of Charles Babbage’s brain, the skeleton of Irish giant Charles Byrne, old surgical implements, lizards cut open and sewn back up to display their guts, fetuses in jars, the lacey hole-ridden bones of syphilis victims, and tons of other preserved organs and animals. When I visited, a hush hung over the room and made everything seem mysterious and oddly peaceful—very unlike the mad scientist’s lair that the specimens evoke.