From the website…

The Mütter Museum was founded to educate future doctors about anatomy and human medical anomalies. Today, it serves as a valuable resource for educating and enlightening the public about our medical past and telling important stories about what it means to be human. The Mütter Museum embodies The College of Physicians of Philadelphia ’s mission to advance the cause of health, and uphold the ideals and heritage of medicine.

The Mutter is filled with medical oddities. When I told Luke about it, he expressed a great deal of interest. Not only is it interesting, creepy and icky; but it is very educational.   I’ve always wanted to visit the Mutter, but even when I lived in PA I never went.

Thanks to Sherwood, Luke and I did not have to pay admission which was nice. The only disappointment regarding the museum was this:

No photography allowed :(

Despite the bitter temperature, I did want to get some photographs outside and in the lobby.

The entrance to the Mutter Museum.

Jam outside the Mutter Museum. It was so cold. There was also a smell. A horrid smell.

Luke outside the museum. He was not only cold, but overwhelmed by the "smell of the city".

The lobby of the museum was beautiful, marble everywhere!

I wish I could have take this chair/loveseat thing home with me!

As I mentioned earlier, photography is strictly prohibited in the museum itself. That said, I am rather ninja like in my photography skills and managed to snap a few photos…

The Soap Lady

The Soap Lady

In a process called human saponification, a woman’s body was discovered to have turned into soap. Sometime in the 19th century, a woman who was rather fat died of yellow fever. After her burial in a Philadelphia cemetery, the fat of her body turned into adipocere. This is a fatty wax composition similar to lye soap.

She became saponified in this way when her body fat reacted to the combination of chemicals in the soil. She has been on display at the Mutter Museum since 1874 when Dr. Joseph Leidy, a prominent University of Pennyslvania anatomist, donated her body to the museum. According to Dr. Leidy, the “Soap Woman” died in 1792 in Philadelphia. Her body was uncovered by workmen removing bodies from an old burial yard.

In 1942, the museum curator, Joseph McFarland, determined that the “Soap Woman” actually died much later. Eight pins and two four-hole buttons of the clothing she was wearing when buried were dated as being from the early 19th century.

The brain of a cat (in the middle)

I am fairly certain that this is what my spine looks like.

 

The brains of epileptics.

 

The tracing of Rayford Lee Johnson

Rayford Lee Johnson, a timber cutter from Lauderdale, MS stood at 7′ 3/8″ tall at 22  years old. Some websites state that Johnson was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters as well however finding valid documentation has proven to be a challenge.

A 9 week old fetus and 9 week old twins.

 

A 16 week old fetus.Conjoined twins

 

The first slice in a series of thin slices of the human head.

 

Carcinoma of the penis

After we were finished reviewing the museum’s collection, Luke and I made our way back to the entrance. There was a guest book that we signed, documenting our thanks for Sherwood.

I wanted to take a photo of that as well, but given that the pedestal was directly in front of the security desk.

Being the rule abiding person that I am; I went over to the security desk and asked oh so sweetly if I could take a picture of the the guest book.

As the ninny behind the counter tried oh so hard to make my big words fit in her tiny little brain the maintenance guy who was chatting her up said “Sure, you can do that.”

He proceeded to walk over to the pedestal that the guest book sat on, picked it up and moved the entire thing into the lobby so that I could take a picture of it without violating the rules of the museum. I took my photos and thanked him profusely. That was very sweet of him.

A photo of our signature in the Mutter Museum guestbook.

With our Mutter Museum experience at it’s end, we prepared ourselves to walk back to the Jeep and head to Mom’s house. Earlier, I mentioned that we had passed a titty bar on the way…

Boobies!

The guy behind the glass in the outdoor booth knocked on the glass and waggled his finger at me. Hahaha….I took the damn picture anyway.

Back to the Jeep and warmed up, we drove around a bit more before heading to the frigid frigid temperatures of Andreas, PA.

Downtown Philadelphia

Drexel University Science Center

Pink Food Truck

Fruit Truck

We headed out of Philly towards Mom’s house. The realization that I had no way to charge my phone forced us to go off course to find a store. After spotting an Utz truck, we also realized that we were hungry. We spent a few minutes devising a plan to hijack the truck but then realized it would be easier if we just bought some damn chips.

An Utz truck. This truck contains the most delicious potato chips in the known universe.

 Plotting….

I know we can get those chips...

We stopped at a store and picked up some of the world's best chips. It was easier than hijacking the truck.

These transformer things are fantastic.

We also picked up some gloves, scarves and hats because it was FREEZING.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. The Jeep had satellite radio, so we listened to NPR and the comedy stations for most of the drive.

Luke was looking for something here...I can't remember what it was but he was getting pretty pissed at me for taking pictures of him.

Luke. Decidedly unhappy.

Once we hit 309, we were almost to Mom’s house….

Almost home!

We stopped to get gas, some Guer’s Iced Tea and Tatsykakes and then got to Mom’s house…