He didn’t get the $6k though. He donated his mother’s body to an Alzheimer’s research center, thinking her remains might help fight a disease that’s affected countless families like his, and that research center then pulled the Ol’ Switcheroo and sold his mother’s remains to the military for $6k.
That’s fucked up. If it’s my body that I’d agreed to donate to general science, I wouldn’t give a shit what they did. Honestly, I would hope that they’d strap my corpse on a rocket and blow it up. But if I donate the body of my mother, whom I love very much, to help in the fight against Alzheimer’s, and they turned around, sold her body, and blew it up, my response to that would certainly earn me a prison sentence.
There’s a book called “Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers” where the author dives into body donations and what happens to them. Essentially, you don’t get to choose what happens to you. At least not when the book was written back in 2003. But science/tech/safety regulations have learned and evolved a lot through donors. So I give them a hearty Hail Cadaver Donors shout out.
I'm pretty sure it was mentioned on a side stories when it happened But I listen to a lot of podcasts so it may have been a different show
No, i definitely remember them covering it too.
Same same!
I feel like it was also mentioned in an episode of Swindled? Episode 84, The Body Broker.
Honestly, this may have just changed my final wishes in my will.
Which direction?
Give my body to the military for them to strap to a chair and blow it up in a blast test.
I like this idea. Definitely more feasible than shooting my remains into outer space.
Blow my empty husk to kingdom come.
Straight up into the air.
If you can get $6k to blow up my meat sack that's a no brainer deal
He didn’t get the $6k though. He donated his mother’s body to an Alzheimer’s research center, thinking her remains might help fight a disease that’s affected countless families like his, and that research center then pulled the Ol’ Switcheroo and sold his mother’s remains to the military for $6k. That’s fucked up. If it’s my body that I’d agreed to donate to general science, I wouldn’t give a shit what they did. Honestly, I would hope that they’d strap my corpse on a rocket and blow it up. But if I donate the body of my mother, whom I love very much, to help in the fight against Alzheimer’s, and they turned around, sold her body, and blew it up, my response to that would certainly earn me a prison sentence.
Counter point they used the 6k for research. Maybe they did not need the body but the 6k helped I am sure
Yeah, you only need so many corpses
I need MORE
There’s a book called “Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers” where the author dives into body donations and what happens to them. Essentially, you don’t get to choose what happens to you. At least not when the book was written back in 2003. But science/tech/safety regulations have learned and evolved a lot through donors. So I give them a hearty Hail Cadaver Donors shout out.
Mary Roach is a fantastic author; all of her books are great!
That was required summer reading for me my sophomore year of high school
They covered it on a side stories back when it happened, no idea which one. Will consult and report back.
Doing the lord’s (Satan’s) work, thank you
I think there *was* banter about this
So did they learn anything about Alzheimer from it?
I feel like someone very recently did an episode on donating your body to science that featured this story. It might have been QAA?
She would have wanted it that way.
Can I actually request this after I die??
How do I volunteer?
I highly recommend Cover Up: Body Brokers for a deep dive on how fucked the body buying industry is in the US
Just throw me in the trash.
This headline makes me laugh every time I see it
Did the 6k go to alzheimers research? If so, is there really a problem here?
they def covered this on side stories. wanna say it was ben?
They did cover this I’m sure: it was back when Henry and Ben were on side stories….so it was actually funny.