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StealthHealth wrote: »

happimess1 wrote: »

On 10 April 1901, Dr. Duncan MacDougall set out to conduct an unusual experiment in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He wanted to prove that the human soul had mass, and was therefore, measurable.

He conducted this experiment on six dying patients whose bodies were weighed before and after death to determine any differences measured by the delicate scales.

Long story short, Dr. MacDougall concluded that a human soul weighed 21 grams.

What do you make of it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_MacDougall_(doctor) see Reception section

From http://www.snopes.com/religion/soulweight.asp

"So, out of six tests, two had to be discarded, one showed an immediate drop in weight (and nothing more), two showed an immediate drop in weight which increased with the passage of time, and one showed an immediate drop in weight which reversed itself but later recurred. And even these results cannot be accepted at face value as the potential for experimental error was extremely high, especially since MacDougall and his colleagues often had difficulty in determining the precise moment of death, one of the key factors in their experiments. (MacDougall later attempted to explain away the timing discrepancies by concluding that "the soul's weight is removed from the body virtually at the instant of last breath, though in persons of sluggish temperament it may remain in the body for a full minute.") "

So, probably not worth putting too much weight (pun intended) behind Dr. MacDougall's work in this field.

LittleHearseDriver wrote: »

ClubSilencio wrote: »

Have you ever worked on someone who was really in shape, like a body builder? Did they still have their six pack?

Not a bodybuilder, but I have worked on people who are we're in great shape. Formaldehyde synthesizes with the proteins in muscle tissue and makes the tissues firm. The more muscle a person has the better they embalm usually.

happilymegan wrote: »

Are you scared of dying now?
Do you sew the eyes shut?

For the most part it doesnt scare me, occasionally I get a little weary about it.

We use eye caps to keep the eyes closed and to keep them from sinking in. They look like contacts with little spikes on top. If the eyes still peep open a little we super glue them closed.

cerise_noir wrote: »

Hey OP
Fantastic topic! I had a similar childhood (well, the going to many cemeteries part). Very fascinating, especially the old cemeteries and their histories. I still find them fascinating.

My question is, how 'competitive' is business really between funeral homes? Also, what is one of the strangest moments you've encountered in your job?

Do you ever embalm and reconstruct? If yes, what was the most challenging reconstruction you or your employee worked on?

It depends on the area and the owners of the funeral homes. My town has 5 funeral homes and only one of them talks crap about the other four. The rest of the funeral homes are supportive and help eachother out. They like to tell people I'm a secretary just to piss me off. The narrow minded hicks think I woman can do what they can.

A lady and her husband came in to pre arranged his cremation. He has a heart condition and had an up coming surgery so they wanted everything planned out in case he didn't make it through the procedure. She asked me if it was possible for me to cut out her husband's heart before we cremate.

The most challenging reconstruction I've done was a guy who shot himself. I was able to make him look normal. I was so proud of myself and the family was thrilled he looked like himself.