These Earrings Are Made of Bull Penis

I am so going to have nightmares about this.

You know that traveling anatomy exhibit called Body Worlds, where you can look up close at human bodies that have been preserved (and posed) using a process called plastination? (Plastination is achieved by replacing water and fat in the body with special plastics.) My wife and I went to see the exhibit in Charlotte a few years back, which unfortunately turned out to be a bad idea since she was pregnant with our first child at the time. But that’s another story. The exhibit also appeared briefly in the movie Casino Royale.

The guy responsible for Body Worlds, Gunther von Hagens, has decided to try his hand at merchandise. And what he’s selling is jewelry made of cross-sectioned slices of things like citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, giraffe tails, and… bull penises. Also, for good measure: bull testicles. Because who wouldn’t want a pair of testes dangling from their ears?

Hagens is also selling actual human bodies and body parts that have been plastinated — but only to qualified, proven researchers, teachers, or medical scientists. (A full human body will set you back about $100,000.) Needless to say, this is stirring up quite a bit of controversy.

As for the jewelry — all of which is available to the general public — about $33 + international shipping will get you the earrings seen above. There are also necklaces, bracelets, and rings available that are made from the reproductive bull organs.

Is it fashion? Is it art? Or is it sick?