I’ve been browsing antique jewelry a lot lately and wonder about this. With jewelry specifically I think about hair, coral, pearls.
Then that extends out to animal skins, bones, human relics, etc.
What makes one thing gross but the other okay?
If it still looks like it did when it was alive: Shrimp with tails on, whole fish, that sort of thing is too far.
What about a death mask?
I’ve never eaten one, what’s that?
No need to eat it.
Okay, but all the other things I listed were foods, I thought this was a continuation on that theme.
But the fish head is the best part :c
Depends on how liquidy it is.
Skin and organs are no-no
Dried skeleton, maybe.
If its “artificial life forms” like a non-carbon based robot, I’d happily gouge its “eyes” (cameras) and put then in a necklace.
If it’s generally socially acceptable, and I’ve gotten used to it, I’ll usually be ok with it. Otherwise, I’ll probably be grossed out by it. I know that’s dumb, but at least I’m being honest.
I think human parts are a hard no for me, but I’m general good with anything, though usually much less so if the product isn’t being produced incidentally.
This means cow leather is generally a okay, but crocodile is something I’ll shy away from.
Same for human parts for me.
Weirdly enough, I still think my preferred way to dispose of my eventual cadaver is being made into a book.
I wouldn’t want to own book me, but I love the idea of being a book. Not like a gruesome one where someone could tell right off, something more boring than that.
You would have to check the legality of that in your jurisdiction. Aaaand find someone willing to do it. It would be dope tho… As for me, I would prefer a sky burial… Return to nature man, also metal as fuck.
Oh yeah, being turned into a book is unlikely to be worth the headache for anyone involved. The tree burials that are legal in some spots is a reasonable option. Or just donation to science.
Whatever is cheapest/lowest fuss is fine. If that means I get reused or recycled great! If not, just don’t let me be a bother.
Sky burial is also awesome. Hopefully there are enough vultures to keep that up in at least some places. There’s a 99% Invisible episode that talks about collapsing vulture populations resulting in issues with doing it in India.
I think human parts are a hard no for me
I’m pretty confident we still have the kids’ baby teeth stored somewhere in a box of mementos in the basement (where all our treasured family memories / water heater are stored). I think that is my personal threshold.
You might want to move your memories some place else a little safer. You know, just in case you have an incident with your water heater.
Here’s a fun story… Mark Gruenwald, the creator of the Marvel superhero team “Squadron Supreme” (a pastiche of DC’s Justice League) passed away.
As part of his will, he requested that he be cremated and his ashes mixed in with the black ink on a reprint of Squadron Supreme.
https://screenrant.com/marvel-comic-printed-creators-ashes-squadron-supreme-gruenwald/
His wife was also stamping his signature in books with the ash ink.
https://teddyandtheyeti.blogspot.com/2019/05/mark-gruenwalds-ash-o-graph-in-squadron.html?m=1
Okay, that’s quite a cool memento. I might not mind that.
If I look at an object and I’m reminded that it comes from a dead human or creature i probably wont keep it.
An old jacket is ok because i just see a cool jacked but a tiger skin rug would always remind me of a dead tiger.
What about a tiger skin jacket with the head as a hood?
Yeah i’ll pass on wearing a corpse around.
If it’s human
Does that include the ashes of people in urns?
Mostly, yes. I saw someone say something about wearing a deceased loved-one. That’s understandable. But if you somehow obtained the remains of some random person, that’s… Eugh
Although in my culture we don’t really cremate but I understand that others do
None? Owning a mummy would be dope, although the storage and care required wouldn’t be.
You just need it to be not too humid and in the dark. I have seen mummies stored like under a bench FWIW.
Really? I was assuming you’d need pretty significant climate control. Although it probably varies by type.
I have seen mummies stored like under a bench FWIW.
Was that correct, or was that one of those OMG moments?
Well I was invited to a medical museum after hours, thinking about it, the mummies in question wasn’t Egyptian “thousands of years old”, a really old one might probably need good temperature and humidity control and surveillance of other things like mold etc.
Mostly everything from an animal is gross. I still have some stuff like leather shoes or Merino Wool Underwear for hiking but that’s only because I haven’t found vailable alternatives.
I personally think keeping things that used to be part of someone else is a bit creepy at best. Bones, skin, feathers, fur, it’s all not something I need to have in my home. For example, I saw this guy had turned a family member’s bones into a guitar once and it just squicked me the fuck out.
Hello comrade 😊
Of the examples I gave pearl and coral are a hard no, but I was kind of surprised by how horrified I was at the idea of owning something with human hair in it. It made me wonder how other people draw that line.
I would also like to avoid bones, plz.
I bought a pretty shell necklace in Samoa, and then asked the seller what shells it was made from.
He said… “Dolphin’s teeth.”
When I reeled back in horror, he chuckled and said, “Yum yum.”
I have various bits of jewellery made from beef bone, I happily wear leather, but there was something intimate about teeth that made it gross, plus eating dolphins, argh.
Stuff I associate with prolonged suffering would be my threshold. I know the solemn nature of killing for food and survival. In that experience, limiting suffering is essential. It is an experience that often pushes me more towards veganism. Things that remind me of the failures to limit suffering in any being conjure great melancholic empathy that I would struggle to ameliorate.
Lampshades made of human skin. How about no.
Anything not cured because it’s sticky and stinky.
My house is basically just taxidermy, skulls, and antlers for decoration.
I mean… how far down the rabbit hole are we going with ‘once part of a living being?’ Leather/wool/down?
Limestone
Paper?
Cotton? Oil?
Plastic?
That’s a plant. Not an animal.
was once part of a living being
He did not say animal.
Well done! Rubber/latex?
I think that’s my question, but I am realizing it could be two or more questions.
Does owning/using something that was part of a living being gross you out?
Either way, what do you consider to have been part of a living being? I think this is an especially interesting question if you do say it does gross you out.
If some things gross you out but others don’t, why?
I think it’s more about presentation for me. For instance I have a turtle skull covered in snake skin on my desk. It make it look like a sick dragon head. So like a slab of human meat would be disgusting just sitting there. However if it was old skin preserved using a specific technique and presented in an artful way then I’d be down with it
I mean, what else should we expect from cryptTurtle?
