Tuesday, July 24, 2007

$4925.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.



Okay, so this one is a little macabre. But I have been writing a book about a funeral home . . .

So--do they let you collect the money BEFORE you're finished living? How much is your "temple" worth?

~~Angie

15 comments:

Kay Day said...

I'm worth $5275. What makes me worth more I wonder...

this still isn't quite as macabre as the Death Clock, though.

Would you donate your body to science? I know you don't agree with cremation... would you disagree with the donation for the same reason?

Angela said...

It's my understanding--and I could be wrong--that they DO bury the cadevars once they're finished with them. And I hear they treat them with a lot of respect.

So I might consider donation . . . IF I'm worth anything at my time of promotion!

Angie

Southern-fried Fiction said...

Well, I'm worth 4765. Not quite as much as you. Maybe because I'm shorter? LOL That was fun. Thanks.

Marla Taviano said...

$4840. A little shabby.

Marla Taviano said...

Just read your Harry Potter comment. (I'm a little slow.) Well articulated indeed.

Marla (who swore she would never write a parenting book for the very reason you mentioned...manuscript due Oct. 1...trying not to freak out)

Angela said...

Kay, I think you're worth more just because you're younger. I have more miles on the old chassis. :-)

And I don't think 4800 is shabby, Marla--I heard once that we're really only worth about 40 cents, if you simply weighed out the chemicals, etc.

And if you're into Potter, check out: http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-beauseigneura01.shtml. Don't let the headline fool you--it's all about themes (I knew it!!)

Angie

Richard L. Mabry, MD said...

As someone with first-hand experience, let me add a comment. When you will your body to a medical school, the mortician delivers it to the anatomy department there. Then it's preserved (in a special individual container filled of a preservative fluid) and eventually dissected by medical students, four to a team. I've never seen the cadavers treated with anything but the utmost respect. After the year's dissection ends, the cadavers are cremated. At UT Southwestern, where I went to medical school and subsequently ended my career on the faculty, the cremains are buried in a lovely wooded area on the campus.

Richard L. Mabry, MD said...

PS--My remains appear to be worth $5000. Thanks for posting this interesting, although somewhat macabre, link. Now I wonder what kind of cookies have been planted on my computer by that site. If i start getting solicitations from funeral directors, I'll know who to blame.

Deborah said...

i'm worth $5475!

Kay Day said...

I wondered, and maybe Mr. Mabry can answer, do you think the body with a rare disease is actually worth more?
I know an opportunity to examine those types of things may be valuable.

Anonymous said...

Oh, great zot, I am worth more dead than alive!!! $5405! Not bad for this old wreck! I think Kay may have something with her last question. I have listed myself as an organ donor for decades, but this is an intriguing concept. I'm sure that it is of great value to have as many different types of bodies to study as possible. Great post! Clyde

Richard L. Mabry, MD said...

Okay, I'm going beyond my area of expertise here, but since bodies willed to med schools are used for anatomic dissection by med students, it would seem to me that the more "normal" they are, the better. I suspect that this calculator also takes into account the possibility of tissue donation (corneas, for instance). Bodies with disease are not studied to understand the disease--that takes place at an autopsy, and autopsied bodies are not used by med schools. Hope this is clear (and that we can move one).
Richard L Mabry, MD

Leslie said...

Lovely.

I was eating my lunch (chopped up chicken) when I read Richard Mabry's comment from 8:36.

Anywho. I'm apparently worth $4655.

Hmm.

Leslie said...

Oh...just read the mugglenet article. Wow. There are a few items where I feel like the writer was really reaching, but then there were times (like the location of HP's scars) that I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed before. Thanks for sharing that!

Suzanne said...

I'm worth $5475

Must be because I don't take any medicine! LOL