Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with skull

Will baby's skull look "normal"?

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:20:43 -0800

Question about my three-month-old's head shape. My daughter was born 3 months ago, and during the delivery, at the last minute, there was an emergency. Her blood pressure dropped and the doctor had to affix a plunger-like vacuum device to her crowning head and pull her out for delivery. I live in a country where that technique is more commonly used than forceps.

The result of this is that her head is somewhat elongated towards the crown. If you look at her face to face, it's not noticeable, but from the side you can pretty clearly see the odd shape. She's also pretty much bald and you can see her entire skull. Once she has more hair it'll be much harder to discern her head shape.

I realize that newborns' skull bones haven't hardened yet and won't for some time. But is it possible that she'll have this elongated shape once the bones fuse?

FWIW, we love our kid no matter what! With the intensity of a thousand suns! I'm just curious how she'll look a few years from now.

Can I Get In Trouble Regarding My Donation of a Human Skull?

Modus Pwnens — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:32:27 -0800

SkullCourierFilter- My fiancee's family had a human skull that her father had somehow procured. I donated it to our school and they said they may have to report it to the police. Do I have anything to worry about? The skull is clearly some sort of archaeological artifact. It is varnished and had some partially erased writing on the top of it detailing where (we believe) it was dug up, and by whom it was dug up. My fiancee's father (the original possessor of the skull) who passed away quite a while ago, left it with some friends who were moving. They passed it back to to my fiancee's family, who were creeped out by the prospect of having a human skull in their home, so I agreed to be its caretaker.

My fiancee called up the anthropology department at my university, and they agreed to accept it as a donation. They said they believed they might have to report it to the police, and I told them that was fine and I left my information in case I needed to be contacted.

My feeling is that since I haven't done anything wrong (and certainly haven't killed anyone and kept their skull!), I don't have anything to fear from the law. Am I wrong in believing that?

One skull too many.

PhoBWanKenobi — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:23:50 -0800

IWishIWereKiddingFilter: How do we get rid of a human medical skull we inherited? omnigut's recent question about unloading a tiger head has reminded me that I have a similar dilemma that, hopefully, you guys can help me solve. A pretty icky, spooky dilemma.

In the nineteen sixties, my father (somehow) obtained a medical skull. It's a real human skull with the plates marked up. I think it has some sort of shellac on it. Being the hippie that he was, he glued a scarab to its forehead and named it Percy. He and his (hippie) friends invented a holiday around Percy called Percymas where they exchanged handmade and recycled junk with one another. Yes, I know, they were pretty weird.

My father died when I was eight and the skull has been passed around between his friends since then. People didn't want to get rid of it for sentimental reasons, but didn't really want it, either. Because, you know, human skulls are kind of creepy. Honestly, I think it's pretty creepy, too. Somehow, at the last celebrated Percymas, Mr. WanKenobi was given Percy to "hold on to." He doesn't really want it (it definitely holds no sentimental value for him!). My mother and my sister don't want it. I certainly don't want it, but Mr. WanKenobi is moving in with me soon, and since he'll be moving across state lines to do so we should probably get rid of it sooner rather than later.

But we can't really figure out what to do with it. We don't want to do anything illegal or of dubious legality since these are human remains we're talking about. Since this question was asked, you can no longer sell human remains on Ebay. Since there's a scarab glued to the forehead, I'm not sure that a med student would want it, but maybe I'm wrong. In case it's relevant, Mr. WanKenobi is in New Jersey. Any ideas as to where we can donate it? People we can sell it to? Any ideas as to how we can . . . erm, dispose of these human remains?

Why is it so hard to find online mouse skulls?

Squid Voltaire — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:49:19 -0800

Where can I buy mouse skulls online? In the interest of experimenting with found-art reliquary construction, I thought I'd buy some mouse skulls. To my shock, I couldn't find any for sale, and eventually bought a muskrat skull on ebay*.

I eventually discovered Skulls Unlimited from a previous askMe, but they charge fifteen bucks plus shipping.

I guess I assumed that, since they are considered vermin and are regularly exterminated, someone in this crazy world would be selling mouse skull five for a dollar. Preferably someone like Sarina Brewer, who uses and sells donated carcasses and roadkill only.

So, in short, anyone have any suggestions for cheap, ethical memento mori?

*Upon payment, I noticed that they also sold skins and traps, making me feel a bit as though I'd commissioned this animal's death. Boo.

Is this a Food and Drink,, Media and Arts, or Pets and Animals Question?

andoatnp — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 02:56:25 -0800

I got a lamb skull from the supermarket (complete with meat) and I'm looking for the best way to remove all the non-bone parts and then preserve the bone for an art project. I was recently given a lamb's head as a gift and am playnnng on using the skull for an art project. First I have to get all the meat/tissue off of it (which I assume can be done via boiling, but someone please correct me if that's not the best way to get it ready if I need to preserve the skull).

Once I have the bone left, I want to break it up, and then use the fragments for an art project. Once I smash it, what is the best way to preserve the bone? Some type of spray or treatment? I would prefer to have it look as natural as possible, however I end up treating it, but having it not smell or decompose in any way is the highest priority.

Is the cranium completely sealed?

Baby_Balrog — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:08:54 -0800

Is the brain completely surrounded by bone? Is the cranium a completely contained unit that opens only into the spinal column? Is there any place on the human head where you can access the brain without piercing bone?

I've been reading about trepanation lately. Too much about it, really.

Donating/Keeping a human skull?

tugena13 — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:34:17 -0800

My fiancee wants to keep his father's skull after he passes. How does one go about doing this? My fiancee wants to keep his father's skull after he passes. How does one go about doing this?

From what I've been able to find, it is perfectly legal to keep a human skull... provided, of course, that you did not obtain the skull by dastardly and/or murderous means, I assume. Unfortunately, my googling skills must be off, as that's about all I can find. I've heard of people bequeathing their skulls to theater companies after their death (alas poor Yorick and all that), so there must be a proper, legal way to do it. (I found this post from last year, but it doesn't really address the donation/collection aspect of the equation.)

I spoke to a very friendly woman at the Bone Room, who suggested I speak to the people at Skulls Unlimited. She said that they're the only company in the U.S. who would process human remains in such a fashion. Unfortunately, unless I'm missing something big, the website made little to no mention of human skulls, and seems to deal primarily in animal bones.

So what's the process? What legal paperwork needs to be done before and after he dies? Who will extract and clean the skull for preservation? (And can my fiancee possibly have it bronzed if and when he obtains the skull? No, really.)

Here are the specifics:

- The guy doesn't have a will. I would think something like this would need to be explicitly stated, signed, notarized, etc., but as my fiancee is pretty much the sole living relative (I guess there are others but they're estranged), I'm not sure. Also, it seems like this could be an extremely lengthy process, and it doesn't look like he has that much time left.
- He lives in California. The skull would ultimately reside in Chicago. Assuming we could even get the skull, would there be any sort of issues in shipping/transporting it?
- He wants to donate his body to science after he passes. My fiancee has already started obtaining paperwork from the local university, but can you specifically state "everything but the skull," or maybe even have them extract the skull for you?

I realize this is a slightly morbid question, but I assure you that I'm asking in all seriousness.

Fish skull thingies

casarkos — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:18:18 -0800

Icthyoid anatomy question: what are these things inside fish skulls? When I pick apart the skull from a whole fish to get at the last tasty meat bits, I frequently find a pair of hard brittle pieces sitting just behind the fish brain, which don't seem to be attached to anything. These pieces are different shapes and sizes depending on the fish species, and are harder and more brittle than fish bone - actually they seem to have the same texture as tooth enamel or seashells, and each pair is exactly symmetrical, so I don't think they're calcium deposits or somesuch. Anyway what are these things, and what are they for? Do other vertebrates have them, and I'm only finding them in fish because that's the vertebrate skulls I'm most likely to have access to?

Where can I find this photo I saw at Disneyland?

Shecky — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 11:25:50 -0800

Please help me identify this small creepy photo I saw at Disneyland! I went to Disneyland yesterday. The park is currently dolled up for Halloween. While walking down Main Street, I looked in the display window of the photo store (near the end of MS, on the right hand side walking toward the castle). In the display window, there were some old-style Halloween illustrations, and some daguerreotype-looking photos in frames.

Most of the photos were interesting but unremarkable. Then I saw the photo in question (links below). It, and some others like it, looked like normal photos, but when viewed from a slightly different angle, the picture changed subtly and spookily. The effect is really neat, and a friend actually screamed a little bit when she saw it.

This is a full view of the photo in its frame.
This is a detail view of the photo.
This is a view of the photo after it changes. (note the bulging eyes, axe in hand and skull off to the side)

Help me, o hive mind! Where may I purchase this picture?
Added Bonus Question: Does anyone know where I might find similar creepy and/or changing pictures of this nature?

What kind of skull is this?

Jairus — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:46:01 -0800

What kind of skull is this?

How would one go about legally obtaining a real human skull?

Espoo2 — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 22:59:12 -0800

How would one go about legally obtaining a real human skull?