A Whole New (Body) World

Last night, I went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at The Leonardo in Salt Lake City. My friends Marc and Mollie went along for the ride.

In school, science was never my best subject. I endured rather than enjoyed classes like Biology, Chemistry, and Earth Science. And I never took an Anatomy course. So, I stood to learn a lot from this experience.

One of the main things I gained from Body Worlds was a sense of awe, really, at the marvelous creation that is the human body. I felt an awareness of the millions, if not billions, of things that go on inside me each and every day, things I all too often take for granted, that make me what I am. Marc, Mollie, and I each expressed this thought - in one way or another - at various points throughout the exhibit. How fragile we are, indeed (as it says in the song by Sting).

I was also intrigued by things like the pair of lungs - charcoal black in color - from a smoker who had contracted lung cancer. That's about the best visual aid I can think of to dissuade anyone from taking up smoking or to persuade a smoker to kick the habit.

Human bodies were not the only bodies on display at Body Worlds. We stopped for a moment to look at the camels, in particular.

I'll admit that there were a few displays here and there that were a little bit creepy for me. (Whoever put it together certainly had a bizarre sense of humor - or something.) But those moments were few and far between.

If I'm not mistaken, Body Worlds will remain at The Leonardo until January. So, if you're at all curious, I would recommend checking it out.