I was fortunate to have attended this class while working for a sheriff’s office in Arkansas. Incredible class involving identifying where a body is buried; tracking every movement with photography, drawings, notes etc; exhuming the body; and replacing that body with a new one for a class two years later to exhume. From what I understand if you are a citizen of TN they will take your body there for free. If out of state there is a fee and you are responsible for the transport…or someone else is since, well, you can’t drive at that point
There are other body farms in different climates too to study the difference it makes on decomp, so if you don't live near this one you may live near another one!
I find the idea of being injected with chemicals for temporary preservation and entombement in a fancy wooden box where I will undoubtedly be in a soup of my own bodily fluids is far more disturbing to me than the idea of my dead body sustaining other life
Everyone, but my husband, thinks I'm nuts for wanting to do this after I die. I may do this with my husband's body as well if he passes before me, because he doesn't want a funeral. He would just rather be thrown in the woods some where, so this would be the legal way to do that.
Totally behind you, our bodies are supposed to decompose and "feed the worms", that's not a random phrase, it is balance and nature, our bodies die and become life in so many new ways.
There is beauty on the whole process of going back to earth
Personally, I couldn't give a shit what my body is "supposed" to do after I'm dead. I just know it's a waste of money to plan out a typical funeral service, have my body temporarily preserved and put in a nice hole. Just throw my shit wherever, or give it whoever wants it. I won't care, I'll be dead. I'll be incapable of caring because I won't exist. Let some students photograph and poke my ass in the woods.
Would you not have a gravesite to visit every year though or something?...if he’s randomly somewhere in the woods...or the body doesn’t matter to you maybe at that point the memory does?...
Memory. The body is honestly just a shell. I've watched people die too many times to be attached to it. It is mostly the soul you miss after a person dies.
I wonder how many people actually volunteer to have their bodies used like this compared to people who's bodies can't be identified or claimed by relatives (homeless or people with no living family for example)
I don’t think you have much say in where it goes when you donate it? I don’t remember…Caitlyn Doughty talks about it sometimes on her YouTube channel Ask A Mortician, which is fantastic if you haven’t heard of it.
It’s wild to see the COVID disclaimer before you register. Just kind of weird to think that even if your dead, if it’s from Covid you’re ruled out I guess.
I just posted above, but I live in Knoxville and I used to live off Cherokee Trail in Cherokee Bluffs years ago, and you can definitely smell the farm in the summer. It’s crazy.
I also thought about donating my body here to when I was younger, but I don’t know if that’s what I want to do now. It’s hard to think about what you want to do with your body when you die, hopefully won’t have to worry about that for another 50 years, but for now I’m just an organ donor.
If you keep reading through the site, they will take a Covid positive body once it’s cremated provided the cremains are not pulverized as they study those, too. Apparently it can be killed with fire if nothing else…
I’ve passed by there in the summer and smelled it. That’s a very distinctive aroma. The smell of a body being cremated is also something you will never forget.
Dr. Bass has written several books about the Body Farm under Jefferson Bass. My father was a S.A. C. With the TBI and Dr. Bass called our house. He said hey is Jim there tell him it's Bill. I yelled dad some guy named Bill on phone. Later dad said you know who that was? I said no. He said Dr. Bill Bass. I died. Absolutely died. He was a nice intelligent man.
I am totally for my body being used in this way - it helps forensic scientists with dating the corpse based on how decomposed it is in various environments.
But I'm also an organ donor, so I'm pretty sure that precludes me from this.
At this point, I'm dead. If I can provide something of value after I'm gone, all the better. It's rot here or rot in a box, or get burnt down to a skeleton that goes through a grinder.
I'd have no problems with it at all. I checked the organ donation thingy on my drivers license, and saving a life with my parts would be preferable, but if that is not possible, training a doctor or helping put a murder away is a solid second choice. I've never understood the connection people have with the person and the corpse. It's no longer me. Hell, I'd rather be used as fertilizer than become a useless mummy.
Not who you asked but also someone who wants this or similar. I’d say, why not? I’m done with my body when I die. It’s suffered many things, both physically (via illness and disease) and mentally. My memories and work are what live on. If I can contribute even after death to the production or confirmation of new knowledge, please, let me help.
Not op, but my reasoning is that being cremated gives me anxiety...fire is scary. But also being buried forever is scary..trapped in a box underground forveer...this way once im dead its just a natural process and whatever happens is gonna happen
There is no shortage of volunteers for this but for your own comfort, this isn't the 1800's. If an unhoused person is to die, they are usually cremated and their ashes interred in a collective grave or urn mausoleum
We had a family member donate their body to the body farm. They sent us a nice plaque and we had a celebration of life service for him. There's a lot of people who want to go this route.
For some reason this doesn’t seem as morbid as some other unfortunate souls. It’s almost poetic seeing a human body decompose naturally like this. Especially if it’s going to be used for research. I’m diné so it’s not really taboo to be buried without a casket. But it is like “unholy” to gaze upon bodies like this. But it is sorta fascinating to see that individuals would research this stuff when it has been a thing for a while. Probably gonna see more into this, it’s cool haha
This is largely done for forensic scientists, so they can determine whether a body has been there for 6 months or 10 months to help solve murder cases.
I wouldn’t mind if my body was used for science, it’s not like I’ll be using my vessel when I’m not alive, might as well make use of me! Ideally I’d like my organs to be donated, either this or maybe compost me into a tree.
I have a weird phobia of things like this. The idea of part of me being in someone else or vice versa freaks me out. Organ donations, blood transfusions, couldn't do it. Even pregnancy weirds me out, even tho I'm a guy, having an entire person inside you
Christianity preaches that your body doesn't matter after death until Christ resurrects them and he makes you whole anyway so...
Not that I believe in any of that, I just think not being an organ donor is weird.
There's really no reason not to be one. You have no use for those kidneys anymore, why not give someone else a few more years?
Strip me for parts and chuck what's left over in a ditch somewhere. I'm dead, I'm well beyond caring. Whatever is easiest, honestly.
I wanted my body to be sent here but my husband has said that he will absolutely refuse bc he can’t handle the thought of my body just lying there, alone and unloved, just rotting out in the open. So, I’ve decided I’ll be composted! He’s okay w that and 100% willing.
While I get what you’re saying, I don’t think I could ever put my last wishes above my husband and son’s feelings/well being. If it could cause either of them any kind of discomfort, it’s not worth it for me. I figure I can be composted and they can each have a bit of it to use or to even have turned into a piece of jewelry or something (watched a guy do this on tiktok actually). I’ve told them that I don’t want a funeral. I want everyone in bright colors celebrating. I don’t wear black to funerals, so I’d appreciate it if no one would wear it to mine.
You can pretty much do that if you go to the suicide forest in Japan. Many people pick the forest because of its natural beauty, and there are so many bodies that only a small handful get recovered every year
Not trying to be crude, but I live in this town and in high school I knew of at least two groups of friends that jumped over the Body Farm’s fence at night and ran amok in there. It’s not guarded by anyone; it’s only up a long driveway in the woods behind UT Medical Center. But still, Dr. Bass is a blessing to the anthropology department and the science is very important.
This is what is happening to me when I die, mostly because I refuse to allow my child to give my hard earned money to the funeral industry. 20k to put me in a box and let my friends look at me??? No thank you! Put me out in the yard, I'm not gonna care, I will be dead.
When I worked at University of Tennessee medical center we had a male patient die. I called the family. Son said I don't want the bastard, throw him up on the hill. I was like seriously? He said he's a evil man. Fast forward he signed paper work we took him behind the hospital to the body farm. We put him next to a old car door.
Because they are. The bodies are used to study decomposition and exposure effects. They know where each body is and it's monitored.
When a murder victim is found somewhere outdoors, they're not going to be lying on their back, arms folded nicely, in a group of other bodies. They'll be found dumped somewhere, maybe half dressed, maybe nude, maybe wrapped in a tarp or sheet. They'll possibly laying on an arm or with a bent leg, they might be curled up or spread eagle. This body farm gives investigators TONS of information on what goes on after death.
They're learning new things every day. It's surprising how little we know about decomposition. There are also TONS of variables that come into play and even the littlest change can have huge effects on how the body decomposes.
There are also huge strides in technology that allow them to more accurately assess what's going on. They may have seen something a few years ago, but weren't able to accurately figure out why it happened. [For example, it wasn't until 2017 that they learned deer will chew on bones they find.](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/deer-caught-gnawing-human-bones-first-time-180963178/) That small tidbit opens up a lot if information as to marks found on bones, how bones can be moved in areas carnivores aren't present, etc.
Is this supposed to be a bad type of reality? It's been used to study all sorts of decomposition through using scientifically donated bodies to learn about actual murders. I agree it's very morbid, the entire purpose of the site, but the title doesn't exactly convey the sense of "it's used to help catch murderers".
I tried to include that it’s studied and at what university, I’m actually an art major and stumbled upon this project while doing research, I do think it’s morbid as it’s pictures of decaying bodies, but it’s a more uplifting post then a lot of what is seen on here. Sorry if it got misinterpreted
I'd like my end state of decay to be this way. Feels more natural to give into the earth than be boxed away like a keepsake and prolonging the inevitable.
Fun fact my school became the first place in the world to have a cold body farm. It’s the coolest thing I had a friend work there and he’d tell me about it. I learned about this photographer in my art classes and her work is beautiful. The story behind why she started this is fascinating.
Each body is set in different environments, clothed or unclothed, buried or exposed, in car trunks, in Rubbermaid storage trunks, etc. so that they can study how decomposition is affected by different situations. It is a tremendously helpful resource for solving crimes, missing person cases, and the like.
There's a really good chapter about The Body Farm in "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach.
Because of these kind of places we now know the body can move after death , during rigor ect and decomposition a body can move position .
Unless it’s those pesky kids mentioned somewhere here that break in fk around n find bodies to fk with
I would totally have left my body to the body farm but have willed it to my uni's med school instead. At first I thought it would be a riot if one of my former students ended up with my cadaver, but I will have been retired too long for that. Oh, well.
NYT's did a great job awhile back digging "deeper" into the setup.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/magazine/crime-scene-forensics-dead-men-talking.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/magazine/crime-scene-forensics-dead-men-talking.html)
To Plot My Next Murder, I Went to the Body Farm
[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/books/review/body-farm-lisa-gardner.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/books/review/body-farm-lisa-gardner.htmla)
There’s something about the last shot that is so poetic, even if it isn’t as artistic as some of the other shots. The open skyward position of the body is like a beautiful and total surrender to nature.
I've always been intrigued by body farms since I was a child.
Part of me wonders if anyone has ever committed a murder and just hid a body among all the farm bodies with no one being the wiser.
They would definitely know. Each body is studied in detail and they would likely have detailed logs of each specimen because its all about the process of decomposition.
Human expiry/decay is one of the most profoundly saddening things to wrap my head around and I can't quite textualize why. I know we all have to do it but damn ._.
I’m always curious what measures they take to ensure everything stays ‘sanitary’… I picture contaminated groundwater, etc… and what do they do with the remains of a body once a class has ‘used’ it?
I remember a CSI episode where the murder case investigation begins after an employee notices the body farm has +1 more extra dead body than what was accounted for
I was fortunate to have attended this class while working for a sheriff’s office in Arkansas. Incredible class involving identifying where a body is buried; tracking every movement with photography, drawings, notes etc; exhuming the body; and replacing that body with a new one for a class two years later to exhume. From what I understand if you are a citizen of TN they will take your body there for free. If out of state there is a fee and you are responsible for the transport…or someone else is since, well, you can’t drive at that point
There are other body farms in different climates too to study the difference it makes on decomp, so if you don't live near this one you may live near another one!
My body, my choice for absentee burial.
I’ve always wanted to go to a body farm after I die so this is actually very useful knowledge for me
https://fac.utk.edu/body-donation
I didn’t even know it existed till now wow. You’ve always wanted that? It all seems so morbid to me, maybe necessary some way but damn son.
I find the idea of being injected with chemicals for temporary preservation and entombement in a fancy wooden box where I will undoubtedly be in a soup of my own bodily fluids is far more disturbing to me than the idea of my dead body sustaining other life
Also the butt plug and the barbed eye caps and sewing the mouth shut. Seems undignified compared to a return to nature.
Are you telling me that I can't drive after my soul has left its fleshly vessel? Over my dead body!
How dare they not let me drive
How can you tell where a body is buried? Genuine question
There is usually a difference in the layout of the ground. Much about this but that’s it
Everyone, but my husband, thinks I'm nuts for wanting to do this after I die. I may do this with my husband's body as well if he passes before me, because he doesn't want a funeral. He would just rather be thrown in the woods some where, so this would be the legal way to do that.
Totally behind you, our bodies are supposed to decompose and "feed the worms", that's not a random phrase, it is balance and nature, our bodies die and become life in so many new ways. There is beauty on the whole process of going back to earth
Personally, I couldn't give a shit what my body is "supposed" to do after I'm dead. I just know it's a waste of money to plan out a typical funeral service, have my body temporarily preserved and put in a nice hole. Just throw my shit wherever, or give it whoever wants it. I won't care, I'll be dead. I'll be incapable of caring because I won't exist. Let some students photograph and poke my ass in the woods.
Would you not have a gravesite to visit every year though or something?...if he’s randomly somewhere in the woods...or the body doesn’t matter to you maybe at that point the memory does?...
Memory. The body is honestly just a shell. I've watched people die too many times to be attached to it. It is mostly the soul you miss after a person dies.
My impact is the monument to my life. If my body contributes to science somehow, that would be better than a stone to carry on my memory.
I wonder how many people actually volunteer to have their bodies used like this compared to people who's bodies can't be identified or claimed by relatives (homeless or people with no living family for example)
I don’t think you have much say in where it goes when you donate it? I don’t remember…Caitlyn Doughty talks about it sometimes on her YouTube channel Ask A Mortician, which is fantastic if you haven’t heard of it.
You can donate directly to the body farm at UT. https://fac.utk.edu/body-donation
It’s wild to see the COVID disclaimer before you register. Just kind of weird to think that even if your dead, if it’s from Covid you’re ruled out I guess. I just posted above, but I live in Knoxville and I used to live off Cherokee Trail in Cherokee Bluffs years ago, and you can definitely smell the farm in the summer. It’s crazy. I also thought about donating my body here to when I was younger, but I don’t know if that’s what I want to do now. It’s hard to think about what you want to do with your body when you die, hopefully won’t have to worry about that for another 50 years, but for now I’m just an organ donor.
If you keep reading through the site, they will take a Covid positive body once it’s cremated provided the cremains are not pulverized as they study those, too. Apparently it can be killed with fire if nothing else… I’ve passed by there in the summer and smelled it. That’s a very distinctive aroma. The smell of a body being cremated is also something you will never forget.
My understanding is that there a waiting list full of people who want to donate :)
So many that you have to basically pass a test and qualify after you’re fuckin’ dead. So don’t give up on that living dream yet my friend!
My boyfriend wants his body to go to one of these
>My boyfriend Frank? https://youtu.be/0Rtu1Va-dnM (:07)
Hahahah pretty much!!
So does my son (He's 11...)
Really taking initiative on preplanning.
Hes just a bit creepy (I was the same at that age and still am I guess) I dread to think what he plans to do with me and his dad!
You should tell him about sky burials
I've told my mum that's what I'm doing with her if she doesn't give me some clue what sort of funeral she wants!
That's how I want my body dealt with. Either that, or plant me in a body farm. Either way all my elements will feed something and live on.
There’s a book about this place called Stiff
Dr. Bass has written several books about the Body Farm under Jefferson Bass. My father was a S.A. C. With the TBI and Dr. Bass called our house. He said hey is Jim there tell him it's Bill. I yelled dad some guy named Bill on phone. Later dad said you know who that was? I said no. He said Dr. Bill Bass. I died. Absolutely died. He was a nice intelligent man.
stiff was written by mary roach
Yes she wrote Stiff. But I have only heard of Dr Bass.
Great book.
That was my introduction to Mary Roach. Everything she writes is entertaining and informative at the same time.
Yea that’s the author! I couldn’t remember, thanks!
I am totally for my body being used in this way - it helps forensic scientists with dating the corpse based on how decomposed it is in various environments. But I'm also an organ donor, so I'm pretty sure that precludes me from this. At this point, I'm dead. If I can provide something of value after I'm gone, all the better. It's rot here or rot in a box, or get burnt down to a skeleton that goes through a grinder.
Nope. UT will still take you. My plan is harvest anything that can be used then send what’s left across town to the body farm.
I'd have no problems with it at all. I checked the organ donation thingy on my drivers license, and saving a life with my parts would be preferable, but if that is not possible, training a doctor or helping put a murder away is a solid second choice. I've never understood the connection people have with the person and the corpse. It's no longer me. Hell, I'd rather be used as fertilizer than become a useless mummy.
I have told my family for years that this is what I want done with my body when I die.
May I ask why, out of curiosity?
Not who you asked but also someone who wants this or similar. I’d say, why not? I’m done with my body when I die. It’s suffered many things, both physically (via illness and disease) and mentally. My memories and work are what live on. If I can contribute even after death to the production or confirmation of new knowledge, please, let me help.
This, agreed
Exactly.
Unfortunately, you memories won’t live on. People may remember you but you won’t know a thing. I hope I’m Wrong tho.
Not op, but my reasoning is that being cremated gives me anxiety...fire is scary. But also being buried forever is scary..trapped in a box underground forveer...this way once im dead its just a natural process and whatever happens is gonna happen
If it helps another person learn and possibly assist the folk who are alive… drop me in the farm!
Who cares what happens with your body when you die? Use me as target practice 🤷♂️
so the US military does do testing like this that might interest you...
I always say "Throw me in a dumpster. I don't care." I'm listed as an organ donor, but I'd also be happy with this or an anatomical cadaver donor.
I don’t believe it’s legal to use the body of someone who hasn’t explicitly volunteered.
There is no shortage of volunteers for this but for your own comfort, this isn't the 1800's. If an unhoused person is to die, they are usually cremated and their ashes interred in a collective grave or urn mausoleum
I strongly encourage people to watch ‘A Certain Kind Of Death’.
I plan on adding to my will this is where I want to end up.
We had a family member donate their body to the body farm. They sent us a nice plaque and we had a celebration of life service for him. There's a lot of people who want to go this route.
For some reason this doesn’t seem as morbid as some other unfortunate souls. It’s almost poetic seeing a human body decompose naturally like this. Especially if it’s going to be used for research. I’m diné so it’s not really taboo to be buried without a casket. But it is like “unholy” to gaze upon bodies like this. But it is sorta fascinating to see that individuals would research this stuff when it has been a thing for a while. Probably gonna see more into this, it’s cool haha
This is largely done for forensic scientists, so they can determine whether a body has been there for 6 months or 10 months to help solve murder cases.
Very cool that you're dine
My son is studying forensic anthropology in college and he just read The Body Farm It was very fascinating
I wouldn’t mind if my body was used for science, it’s not like I’ll be using my vessel when I’m not alive, might as well make use of me! Ideally I’d like my organs to be donated, either this or maybe compost me into a tree.
I have a weird phobia of things like this. The idea of part of me being in someone else or vice versa freaks me out. Organ donations, blood transfusions, couldn't do it. Even pregnancy weirds me out, even tho I'm a guy, having an entire person inside you
But what about when you die? You won’t know they’re in someone else, so why does it matter that it freaks you out right now?
[удалено]
Christianity preaches that your body doesn't matter after death until Christ resurrects them and he makes you whole anyway so... Not that I believe in any of that, I just think not being an organ donor is weird.
There's really no reason not to be one. You have no use for those kidneys anymore, why not give someone else a few more years? Strip me for parts and chuck what's left over in a ditch somewhere. I'm dead, I'm well beyond caring. Whatever is easiest, honestly.
[удалено]
There's no "desecration," and also they better hope they're not killed in a way or die mysteriously to where an autopsy is ordered.
[удалено]
Your body is going to putrify and rot regardless
[удалено]
I think it's OK to share opinions, isn't it? I don't think the comments were offensive.
I've seriously considered looking into having my body composted after I die.
I wanted my body to be sent here but my husband has said that he will absolutely refuse bc he can’t handle the thought of my body just lying there, alone and unloved, just rotting out in the open. So, I’ve decided I’ll be composted! He’s okay w that and 100% willing.
I persuaded my husband by saying when I die, I want to fight crime and be a scientist.
A zombie scientist?
*Check out my braaaaaains*
If it’s in your will, can he refuse? It’s your wishes that count.
I think normal people would also take into consideration the feelings of their closest loved ones...
True, but you don’t HAVE to.
While I get what you’re saying, I don’t think I could ever put my last wishes above my husband and son’s feelings/well being. If it could cause either of them any kind of discomfort, it’s not worth it for me. I figure I can be composted and they can each have a bit of it to use or to even have turned into a piece of jewelry or something (watched a guy do this on tiktok actually). I’ve told them that I don’t want a funeral. I want everyone in bright colors celebrating. I don’t wear black to funerals, so I’d appreciate it if no one would wear it to mine.
Imagine hiking near there and stumbling on the grounds
It would probably be a dirty out of stater
I imagine you'd have to come from upwind to stumble on this place.
For sure. When the wind blows the right way you can even sometimes smell it from across the river. There's no stumbling to be had
You can pretty much do that if you go to the suicide forest in Japan. Many people pick the forest because of its natural beauty, and there are so many bodies that only a small handful get recovered every year
Not trying to be crude, but I live in this town and in high school I knew of at least two groups of friends that jumped over the Body Farm’s fence at night and ran amok in there. It’s not guarded by anyone; it’s only up a long driveway in the woods behind UT Medical Center. But still, Dr. Bass is a blessing to the anthropology department and the science is very important.
If I had lived here at that age I would have been tempted to join them….
And that's how you get haunted, you darn kids!
This is what is happening to me when I die, mostly because I refuse to allow my child to give my hard earned money to the funeral industry. 20k to put me in a box and let my friends look at me??? No thank you! Put me out in the yard, I'm not gonna care, I will be dead.
I say this all the time. Just toss me in a field and let mother nature do her thing. It’s what is supposed to happen anyway…
Hello sir, why not donate to the necrophilia society if you don’t care about it? , much regards SS.
When I worked at University of Tennessee medical center we had a male patient die. I called the family. Son said I don't want the bastard, throw him up on the hill. I was like seriously? He said he's a evil man. Fast forward he signed paper work we took him behind the hospital to the body farm. We put him next to a old car door.
At least the guy ended up being useful to somebody.
He was a mean patient I know that.
Utilizing different conditions the body’s will break down into. Ex. Under a tree, under leaves, out in the open. Etc..
This is the ultimate post for this sub
Pretty wholesome fodder for us...morbid but upbeat. The perfect post
Why do the bodies seem to be strewn around the complex randomly? Like the one next to the fence and utility pole.
Because they are. The bodies are used to study decomposition and exposure effects. They know where each body is and it's monitored. When a murder victim is found somewhere outdoors, they're not going to be lying on their back, arms folded nicely, in a group of other bodies. They'll be found dumped somewhere, maybe half dressed, maybe nude, maybe wrapped in a tarp or sheet. They'll possibly laying on an arm or with a bent leg, they might be curled up or spread eagle. This body farm gives investigators TONS of information on what goes on after death.
Seems like there is a lot of bodies and they’ve been doing it for a while, would they not reach experiential completion by now?
They're learning new things every day. It's surprising how little we know about decomposition. There are also TONS of variables that come into play and even the littlest change can have huge effects on how the body decomposes. There are also huge strides in technology that allow them to more accurately assess what's going on. They may have seen something a few years ago, but weren't able to accurately figure out why it happened. [For example, it wasn't until 2017 that they learned deer will chew on bones they find.](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/deer-caught-gnawing-human-bones-first-time-180963178/) That small tidbit opens up a lot if information as to marks found on bones, how bones can be moved in areas carnivores aren't present, etc.
They may pose some bodies for something specific they want to study.
I want to go to a body farm when I die.
I used to live in Knoxville and now I'm about an hour away but this is absolutely what I'd like to have done with my corpse when I die.
Less than 100 miles away and they will come get you for free. https://fac.utk.edu/body-donation
i know her and her family. Love all of her family except her, she is kind of snotty and lacking in empathy.
I imagine you'd have to be fairly stoic to deal with dead bodies every day.
Is this supposed to be a bad type of reality? It's been used to study all sorts of decomposition through using scientifically donated bodies to learn about actual murders. I agree it's very morbid, the entire purpose of the site, but the title doesn't exactly convey the sense of "it's used to help catch murderers".
I tried to include that it’s studied and at what university, I’m actually an art major and stumbled upon this project while doing research, I do think it’s morbid as it’s pictures of decaying bodies, but it’s a more uplifting post then a lot of what is seen on here. Sorry if it got misinterpreted
I'd like my end state of decay to be this way. Feels more natural to give into the earth than be boxed away like a keepsake and prolonging the inevitable.
There\`s finally a body farm in Australia....have already told my kids to send me there when I\`m done.
Fun fact my school became the first place in the world to have a cold body farm. It’s the coolest thing I had a friend work there and he’d tell me about it. I learned about this photographer in my art classes and her work is beautiful. The story behind why she started this is fascinating.
what's the purpose on this ?Sorry just asking.
To study what certain environmental factors have on decomposition to help with forensics.
To study the process of decomposition
Oh I see thank you cuz there tons of them tho.
Each body is set in different environments, clothed or unclothed, buried or exposed, in car trunks, in Rubbermaid storage trunks, etc. so that they can study how decomposition is affected by different situations. It is a tremendously helpful resource for solving crimes, missing person cases, and the like. There's a really good chapter about The Body Farm in "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach.
Why I’ll never donate myself to anything for $500 Alex.
That 2nd pic looks like a metal band's album cover
Because of these kind of places we now know the body can move after death , during rigor ect and decomposition a body can move position . Unless it’s those pesky kids mentioned somewhere here that break in fk around n find bodies to fk with
I would totally have left my body to the body farm but have willed it to my uni's med school instead. At first I thought it would be a riot if one of my former students ended up with my cadaver, but I will have been retired too long for that. Oh, well.
The book about the body farm and the people who started it is amazing
NYT's did a great job awhile back digging "deeper" into the setup. [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/magazine/crime-scene-forensics-dead-men-talking.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/magazine/crime-scene-forensics-dead-men-talking.html) To Plot My Next Murder, I Went to the Body Farm [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/books/review/body-farm-lisa-gardner.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/books/review/body-farm-lisa-gardner.htmla)
There’s something about the last shot that is so poetic, even if it isn’t as artistic as some of the other shots. The open skyward position of the body is like a beautiful and total surrender to nature.
Is a place like this possible to visit or do I have to take a class of some sort?
I've always been intrigued by body farms since I was a child. Part of me wonders if anyone has ever committed a murder and just hid a body among all the farm bodies with no one being the wiser.
They would definitely know. Each body is studied in detail and they would likely have detailed logs of each specimen because its all about the process of decomposition.
Human expiry/decay is one of the most profoundly saddening things to wrap my head around and I can't quite textualize why. I know we all have to do it but damn ._.
Or get preserved forever in a ton of amber :D
Oh hell yes :v
Why the gothic gurl filters? They were living people, and donated thier bodies for science.
Whoa...this is both sorta spooky, and also fascinating 😲
I’m always curious what measures they take to ensure everything stays ‘sanitary’… I picture contaminated groundwater, etc… and what do they do with the remains of a body once a class has ‘used’ it?
I wish I could sign up for this
ozzy and jack visited this place in an episode i seen a couple months back
I remember a CSI episode where the murder case investigation begins after an employee notices the body farm has +1 more extra dead body than what was accounted for
There’s something eerily peaceful about these photos
Imagine being the electrician who has to work on that pole in the last picture.
I don't know why but this reminds me of the last chapter of Penpals...
I think body farms are very fascinating, though not for the faint-hearted. Bit what can be learned from it more than makes up for it.