German anatomist now selling bodies online

[October 30, 2010]  BERLIN (AP) -- Still wondering what to get that special someone for the holidays? Why not "earrings with giraffe tail slices" from German anatomist Guenter von Hagens' new online shop for euro41.53 ($57.55)?

Von Hagens, famous for his "Body Worlds" traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts, said Friday his new Internet shop is going online Nov. 3.

The shop will sell a wide range of his creations -- from animal-part jewelry to entire human corpses. But he says any human body parts will only be sold to places like universities and hospitals for research purposes, as he already does.

German Archbishop Robert Zollitsch is criticizing the plans, saying von Hagens is desecrating corpses to create "a spectacle under the guise of medical research."

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Online:
http://www.plastination-products.com/index.php

[Associated Press]

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