Corpse Meister to Sell Bodies Online

Plasticized corpse huckster Gunther von Hagens is jumping on the grisly express again. The German millionaire bizman scientist is preparing to offer plasticized body parts and entire bodies for sale online, sparking public outrage. Von Hagens developed a way to preserve corpses by replacing body fluids and fat with plastic resin, and has launched a controversial series of global exhibits staging dead people engaging in activities from pole vaulting to having sex. He plans to sell bodies for some $97,000, torsos for $79,000 and human heads for $31,000.

He'll also offer animals. Von Hagens insists he'll only sell to doctors and scientists, but it's unclear what kind of documents he'll require to determine that. German Archbishop Robert Zollitsch slammed the move as disrespectful to the dead, notes the Independent. "This is not about new discoveries but about picking at bones and creating a spectacle under the guise of medical enlightenment," he said. Von Hagens is often involved in controversy. In 2004 he returned a number of bodies to China after he was accused of using prisoners' bodies without family permission. Most recently he has staged an exhibit of bodies having sex, sparking several local attempts to ban the show.
(More Gunther von Hagens stories.)