We all know that scene – entering the lair of the mad scientist or murdering doctor to be confronted with shelf after shelf of grotesque specimens, each one floating in its own murky brine. In reality, the first time I ever came face-to-face with liquid-preserved flesh was in Grade 12 Biology, when my teacher hauled out a barrel of pig fetuses floating in a formaldehyde substance and slapped one wetly down in front of me to dig into with my scalpel. Personally, I prefer them in jars – pretty to look at and no smell. Before precise computer models could be made of specimens both human and animal, preserving them in liquid and shutting them tightly away in glass jars was the way to go. But this practice continues today, not only for medical research but also for home decor. Some people just love surrounding themselves with corpses. Chimera Curio on Etsy is a good source for pickled friends, and is run by the infamous taxidermy queen Sarina Brewer, the mastermind behind Custom Creature Taxidermy Arts. I found her photos on my extensive trawl of the internet for photos of pruney flesh in a jar – and I opened a pickling jar of ideas for future posts. After the jump, feast your eyes on a huge gallery of watery graves…
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