The human body is a complicated thing, a network of interconnected organs working in concert to keep us alive... but that's not all it's good for. Take a look at...
- Books Bound in Human Skin
- Human Hair as Fertilizer
- Bodies Turned to Diamond
- Buildings of Bone
- Vampire-Style Blood Transfusions
 |
| The Sedlec Ossuary is decorated with human bone... (Zezya) |
Books Bound in Human Skin
There's no denying that leather-bound books radiate style. Most are bound in calf or goat leather... but some rare examples use human skin. Known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, the practice of binding a book in human leather is fairly unusual - often being reserved for works of historical import.
In 2023 Harvard University elected to remove the cover from a copy of Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l'âme, noting that it had been bound in human leather. The first owner of the book, Dr. Ludovic Bouland, took the skin from a deceased female psychiatric patient in the 1860s. Bouland also left a note in the book that “a book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering” alongside a description of the tanning and binding process.
Bristol in the UK also has an example, a book detailing the murder of Eliza Balsom and the subsequent trial of John Horwood. The book itself is bound in the skin of Horwood, which should give you a clue as to how well his defence went.
Edinburgh in Scotland also has an example kept at the Surgeon's Hall Museums - a pocketbook bound in the skin of William Burke. Edinburgh was a hotspot for anatomical learning in the early 19th century, and corpses for dissection were in high demand. Many organizations turned a blind eye as to where the bodies came from, and there was money to be made as a "resurrection man" or body snatcher. Burke and his accomplice Hare escalated from opportunistically selling the corpse of a dead lodger, to finishing off a sick lodger and finally luring victims in to be murdered and sold. Hare turned king's evidence when caught, leaving Burke to be hanged, dissected and used as a book cover.
Human Hair as Fertilizer
Human hair has a long relationship with superstition. In some cultures it's considered a symbol of power, while in others hair can be used to supernaturally attack the previous owner. Researchers have noted difficulties in obtaining hair samples for anti-retroviral monitoring in Africa due to these beliefs.
One strange thing we do know about hair is that it performs well as a fertilizer. Studies suggest that human hair is around 15% nitrogen by weight. By contrast, cattle manure has less than 1%.
Using human hair does have downsides though. Not only does it take a lot longer to produce than manure, the nitrogen is initially "locked" in place - the hair must be broken down by microorganisms before being available for plants to use. On the plus side, this slow release leaves hair-treated soil fertilized for further crop yields!
 |
| Human hair may be a better fertilizer than cow manure... (JACLOU-DL) |
Bodies Turned to Diamond
You may have heard about people unable to let go of a loved one... well, some people take this to the extreme with memorial diamonds - industrial diamonds forged from human remains.
A diamond is just carbon that has been exposed to high heat and pressure - and carbon is the second most common element in the human body, clocking in at around 18% of total body mass. The ashes left from a cremation can be processed like any other carbon source, put in a high pressure heater and turned into a rough diamond. The resulting stone can be cut, polished and set in jewelry - a memory set in stone.
Prices vary, but at the time of writing some providers offer a simple stone for £515 (around $700.)
Buildings of Bone
While skeletal iconography is nothing new in gravesites, there are some ossuaries that incorporate real bones into their decoration and even walls. Two of the most impressive examples are the Sedlec Ossuary of the Czech Republic and Kaplica Czaszek in Poland.
Sedlec Ossuary features a large number of decorations made from human bone, including a chandelier containing at least one example of every bone in the human body. There's also the coat of arms from the Schwarzenberg family, with the design constructed in intact bones. Over 40,000 sets of remains are held in the ossuary - apparently the presence of a jar of soil brought back from Golgotha in 1278 was a big draw for the devout.
Meanwhile the simple exterior of Kaplica Czaszek hides walls and ceilings lined with 3,000 sets of skulls and leg bones taken from victims of war and plague. The crypt beneath the church holds a further 21,000 sets of human remains, with the whole arrangement intended to act as a memento mori. Some of the more unusual remains hold pride of place on the altar - the skull of a previous mayor (complete with bullet holes) rests alongside the supposed bones of a giant. The skull of Vaclav Tomasek (the priest behind the chapel) joined the altar display in 1804.
 |
| Some people are using blood transfusions to try and stave off aging... (sabinurce) |
Vampire-Style Blood Transfusions
Folklore from all over the world features creatures that suck the life of others to sustain themselves. The classic example is Bram Stoker's Dracula, where the titular undead noble drinks the blood of young women to prolong his existence.
Some people seem to have taken this idea literally. Certain folk with cash to spare have received transfusions of young blood plasma - supposedly in an attempt to arrest or even reverse the effects of aging. For example, tech billionaire Bryan Johnson has received blood plasma from young donors (including his son.) He's also given a transfusion to his own father, in an attempt to prevent cognitive decline.
The costs of the treatments can be pretty high. A single transfusion session can cost $8,000 and the science behind it is speculative at best - or a dangerous scam at worst. That said, some experiments have found interesting effects when young blood is transfused to an older animal. When the circulatory systems of young and old mice were joined, the older animals seemed to gain a second lease of life. Another experiment found that young human blood plasma could have a rejuvenating effect on old mice, boosting their physical prowess and memory. Studies are also being conducted into the effects of young plasma on Alzheimer's disease, stroke and progressive supranuclear palsy.
Thanks for reading - for more morbid curiosities, try...