Donate Or Not?

I have now got to the conclusion of Stiff and it speaks of the author giving their body to science. As I have read this book I continuously ask myself and the people around me would you donate your body to science? Once I received my driver’s license I decided to give my organs, yet I never knew anything about cadavers until I read this book. Now I wonder if I should give my body, simply because if they are going to take my organs they mine as well take the whole thing. My friend thought otherwise; he said, "They can have my organs, but when I am laid down to die I want to be inside my coffin dead not thrown everywhere and people touching and detaching body parts." I can understand and once science have your body you cannot tell them don’t do that, don’t do this. Since you have read this book, would you donate your body to science, why or why not?

Just A Head

Can you believe that a human brain can work for up to 12 seconds after detached from the human body? I sure cannot. It is weird to say but I would think after a head is taken from a body that the human will automatically die, yet it doesnt for atleast 12 seconds. It was explained that if someone was to ask the head a question, they have the ability to answer by using their eyes but not their voice because the head is no longer attached to the lungs. I believe that is really cool and I would love to try it one day, well not cut someone head off but be able to talk to a head. If you could ask a human head something after you have cut their head off, what would you ask?

How Important is Life Vs. Money?

As I reflect on life in general, I realize how money can destroy lives physically and mentally. If there is a way to save lives, wouldn’t you do it? Well in our society, it isn’t about saving lives; it is about how much money can be taken from society. A question was asked in Stiff, "Can airlines do a better job of making their planes fire-safe?" which is highly important yet the fact of the matter, no one is concerned enough to make those changes due to sacrifices that will be made. According to the book Stiff, they can install more emergency exits, they can install sprinkler systems, or build crashworthy fuel systems but they will not. Why sacrifice money to be made for human beings yet I ask a question, why sacrifice humans for money? Money is never important to where humans are dying. This made me sit back and think, what is really going on? Our society is crooked and we put our trust in them yet we can’t even have adequate airplanes. Sacrificing more fuel cost and fewer revenues should be top priority but that’s too much money. If this is what airlines are about, why would we trust those flying these planes with our lives? It is ironic to me that we can never get a new life, yet money will always be there to receive.

Dead Bodies Are Dead Right?

In physiology class, I learned that even though a body is dead and the spirit is gone, they still make noises as if they are not dead. They also do small jumps due to the body trying to let out gases built up. In Stiff, it was stated that, “The gas builds up and the belly bloats," which is from the body digesting foods and produces gas yet because all digestive track has been shut down there is no way for the gas to come out. Gases sit in the torso which is why it is called "bloat" because the belly bloats and becomes bigger (full of gas). Other places like the genital will also expand due to the amounts of gas in the body. As the body is going through its stages of life after death, small noises like farts creeps through due to the pressure of so much gas. Somehow we believe because cadavers are dead they should not move or do anything so yet when we hear farts come from dead bodies, it kind of throw us off. I know if it was me I would be scared that the dead was coming back alive but now that I know that is what the body is to do, I guess it will come easier to understand. How would you react if a dead body began to make weird noises?

First Half Chunk of Stiff

"It's the reason most of us prefer a pork chop to a slice of whole suckling pig. It's the reason we say "pork" and "beef" instead of "pig" and "cow." Weird to say, but I have never thought of it this way. I would never eat a pig or cow that has been cooked infront of me yet I will eat sausage and hamburgers. After reading this particular part in Stiff it made me wonder, if we have meat just like cows and pigs, why aren't we getting ate? That is disgusting to think about. I could not work on dead body parts as if they were never a part of a human body. Reading this section, do you believe humans should be eating animals as compared to animals eating humans?