Too macabre for a TB? Opinions please!

March 6, 2009

Geocaching has helped me realize I need to fix a problem. Bone on bone arthritis in my right hip has become to painful especially on the longer hikes or just a day of caching,,,,period. In 4 days I will have a total right hip replacement. Heres the macabre part....What do you think of making a TB out of the head of my femur which will be sawed off to make room for the new steel one? Of course I will boil it so that its clean ....too weird? Too frightening for kiddies? Surely there are no "old" threads on this one....huh? :huh:

4.7k · March 6, 2009

i think it's cool.

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

March 6, 2009

You are probably right... there would most likely be no old threads on this one!

And yes, in my opinion... way :huh: too weird!!!!

38.2k · March 6, 2009

Hey maybe it would make a good replacement forthis TB of mine that went missing

March 6, 2009

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

Poking at dead stuff is also something I would NOT do !! :huh:

March 6, 2009

Soup?

4.7k · March 6, 2009

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

Poking at dead stuff is also something I would NOT do !!

then you will almost certainly not enjoy this photo album, or this cache log.

7.7k · March 6, 2009

Would that fall under the guidelines of food and strong smelling items in geocaches?

I'm not sure how big an object you're talking about - but can you encase it in, say, plastic resin?

March 6, 2009

Nah. Pretty tame. We once encountered a TB that contained a vial of someone's cremated remains. The attached note said '(the deceased) always wanted to travel while he was alive, but never got the chance.'

7.7k · March 6, 2009

Nah. Pretty tame. We once encountered a TB that contained a vial of someone's cremated remains. The attached note said '(the deceased) always wanted to travel while he was alive, but never got the chance.'

I disagree - do you think that burning this to ashes makes it more macabre?

Bear in mind that when ashes are scattered, they end up everywhere. Like in the air you breathe.

March 6, 2009

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

Poking at dead stuff is also something I would NOT do !!

then you will almost certainly not enjoy this photo album, or this cache log.

That is right up there with "Hey c'mere and smell THIS".

Disgusting yet captivating :huh:

-HHH

21.9k · March 6, 2009

This thread belongs in the Travel Bug forum -- No bones about it!

March 6, 2009

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

Poking at dead stuff is also something I would NOT do !!

then you will almost certainly not enjoy this photo album, or this cache log.

LOL ... so I think the wise thing for me to do is to not go find out how much I will not enjoy it :huh:

Okay... a couple of minutes after I posted the above sentence, I am editing it to add that I could not resist... I went to check out your links Flask. It was not that bad. While caching or hiking, I have seen my share of dead animal bodies and the remains of someone's supper (earlier today even when I was checking on one of my caches... I should have taken a pic and sent it to you ).

I still don't think that I would want to move along a TB that was part of someone's body!!

Edited March 6, 2009 by brendah

2.4k · March 6, 2009

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

Poking at dead stuff is also something I would NOT do !!

Better that than LIVE stuff... that often fights back!

Doug

22k · March 6, 2009

What do you think of making a TB out of the head of my femur which will be sawed off to make room for the new steel one?

Just don't release anything you aren't willing to lose. :huh:

7.9k · March 6, 2009

Geocaching has helped me realize I need to fix a problem. Bone on bone arthritis in my right hip has become to painful especially on the longer hikes or just a day of caching,,,,period. In 4 days I will have a total right hip replacement. Heres the macabre part....What do you think of making a TB out of the head of my femur which will be sawed off to make room for the new steel one? Of course I will boil it so that its clean ....too weird? Too frightening for kiddies? Surely there are no "old" threads on this one....huh?

...if they let you take it home with you...

I would be more than honored to move and/or post photos of your TB.

Certainly unique, but not macabre or weird.

Now if you created a TB out of SOMEONE ELSE'S bone(s), THAT would be macabre!

8.4k · March 6, 2009

i think it's cool.

then again, i poke at dead stuff and take pictures.

I think it's cool too. It sounds exactly like something I would do in the same circumstance.

But then, I collect animal skulls... (Which my wife would dearly love me to get rid of...) :huh:

1.2k · March 6, 2009

If it was encased in resin it wouldn't bother me to find it but if it was bare bone it would probably gross me out.

March 6, 2009

I poke at dead stuff. Yes, take pictures of it too. I've boiled some animal skulls, skinned and stuffed birds...But I get grossed out by medical stuff. :huh: How about an animal bone instead!

Good luck with the surgery.

Edit: That resin idea sounds good. Now that wouldn't gross me out.

Edited March 6, 2009 by tooiake

8.4k · March 6, 2009

Tell ya whut....

You get it all cleaned up, tagged, and ready to go.... Then mail it to me @:

Mark aka Snoogans

C/O PRESS Your Luck

P.O. Box 516

Missouri City, Texas 77459-0516

And I'll send you one of my smashed coin sig items.

I'll throw a special event just to launch your TB. :huh:

March 6, 2009

I'm sitting here LMBO. :huh:

Not Macabre at all. As a matter of fact I'd mount it in the head of a cool walking stick and make the walking stick a TB.

8.4k · March 6, 2009

I'm sitting here LMBO.

Not Macabre at all. As a matter of fact I'd mount it in the head of a cool walking stick and make the walking stick a TB.

Neat idea!

8.8k · March 6, 2009

Without encasing it in resin of some kind, it is sure to entice animals to claw through a cache to get to it. Animals have a very strong sense of smell.

March 6, 2009

I like the walking stick idea...A LOT!!!! That would be cool. As for a TB...I don't have a problem with it. I do think you might want to mark it somehow so that when someone gets stopped by the cops they will have someone to call and verify that the geocacher with the bone isn't a mass murderer. *grin*

4.2k · March 6, 2009

I do think you might want to mark it somehow so that when someone gets stopped by the cops they will have someone to call and verify that the geocacher with the bone isn't a mass murderer. *grin*

Post-op would it be readily identifiable as a human bone or would it look more like a round nubby thing?

I think it's a cool idea. I'll add my support for the "coating it resin to avoid attracting animals" thought.

March 6, 2009

Tell ya whut....

You get it all cleaned up, tagged, and ready to go.... Then mail it to me @:

Mark aka Snoogans

C/O PRESS Your Luck

P.O. Box 516

Missouri City, Texas 77459-0516

And I'll send you one of my smashed coin sig items.

I'll throw a special event just to launch your TB.

Thanks for the offer Snoogans...Let me see if I can get this from my surgeon and I will be in touch! Dedmedic

24.7k · March 6, 2009

Geocaching has helped me realize I need to fix a problem. Bone on bone arthritis in my right hip has become to painful especially on the longer hikes or just a day of caching,,,,period. In 4 days I will have a total right hip replacement. Heres the macabre part....What do you think of making a TB out of the head of my femur which will be sawed off to make room for the new steel one? Of course I will boil it so that its clean ....too weird? Too frightening for kiddies? Surely there are no "old" threads on this one....huh?

I'm not sure what I think. I knew a pretty girl who saved her spleen. She was skinny as a rail and the speen was the size of a breadloaf. I'm not sure how it fit inside, I'm not sure why she saved it, and I'm not sure why she showed me the pictures. Maybe she just liked seeing folks reactions. That's the only reason I can think of why you would want to send out your own bone. Clearly it's not important to you or you would treasure it in a jar like the girl treasured her spleen rather than risk the loss to some cult who grinds up human bones to make potions and cast spells, or cure erectile disfunction. Or maybe it would just be taken by a garden variety TB thief.

On the other hand, disposal by a lab tech as medical waste isn't an especially honorable way to go either.

Edited March 6, 2009 by Renegade Knight

March 6, 2009

My suggestion is that you keep your femur head for your copy TB and have a cast and resin copy made of it and send that along. Then you'll be sending along something that animals wont want to nomnomnom and you'll have the memento to keep in case some nutter takes your fem-cap AWOL.

1.7k · March 6, 2009

Dedmedic,

Cool idea!

Don't boil it!

Make sure it is free of tissue.

Submerge it in water and place it in a spot where the smell wont bug ya.

About once a week, poor off all the water until it is no long nasty i.e. runs clear.

Soak it in regular hydrogen peroxide until it reaches the whiteness ya want. This will also sterilize it.

4.2k · March 6, 2009

I'm not sure what I think. I knew a pretty girl who saved her spleen. She was skinny as a rail and the speen was the size of a breadloaf. I'm not sure how it fit inside, I'm not sure why she saved it, and I'm not sure why she showed me the pictures...

Ah, what we won't we endure for pretty girls...

24.7k · March 6, 2009

I'm not sure what I think. I knew a pretty girl who saved her spleen. She was skinny as a rail and the speen was the size of a breadloaf. I'm not sure how it fit inside, I'm not sure why she saved it, and I'm not sure why she showed me the pictures...

Ah, what we won't we endure for pretty girls...

Yup, we both know why I listened...

10.1k · March 7, 2009

There are laws conderning disposal of human remains. Though I'm not sure if those laws are only about disposal of the remains of others. Oher than that, I think this idea is pretty gross.

March 7, 2009

I'll just totally avoid the macabre or possibly inappropriate aspects of this and ask 2 questions.

Are you prepared for the possibilty that your body part may go missing and you'll never know who has it, where it is, or what the heck happened to it?

What the heck will be your body parts mission or goal?

Please keep me posted. I'm really interested to hear what you decide.

Also, I pray for a successful surgery, a speedy recovery, and a pain free life ahead.

March 7, 2009

I'll just totally avoid the macabre or possibly inappropriate aspects of this and ask 2 questions.

Are you prepared for the possibilty that your body part may go missing and you'll never know who has it, where it is, or what the heck happened to it?

What the heck will be your body parts mission or goal?

Please keep me posted. I'm really interested to hear what you decide.

Also, I pray for a successful surgery, a speedy recovery, and a pain free life ahead.

There is always a risk that any TB will go missing.... :unsure: ...that's automatically assumed as soon as it is placed into action. I'm still not sure my surgeon will even LET me have the femur head...there are guidelines for everything so I will not be shocked if he tells me....NO, :rolleyes: you can't have your own bone. I will find out in 2 days which is the case...yea or nay. As a medic I have known for a couple years what was in store for me...it was just a matter of WHEN and how much pain I could endure. When I had the opportunity to meet someone that had already had a hip replacement...their insights were welcomed and always the same...they had endured pain for a long time...putting off the procedure for fear of the unknown. After the surgery they all stated they wish they had done it years before because now they were pain free and able to do things that were simply too painful before! THE MISSION: Arthritis awareness...a graphic example of the results of arthritis and the road to relief. To serve as encouragment to those that are suffering with arthritic hips, knees and shoulders. I would welcome any and all questions from anyone that is contemplating have the procedure done or those that have already successfully recovered and are once again enjoying life and geocaching without pain and pain medications!!

22k · March 7, 2009

Go down to you local costume shoppe and look for a fake bone. They usually have one with the caveman costume and it should be a hard plastic.

Cut off the end joint so that the size is manageable and release that in place of the real thing.

You can still tell your story and provide the information you want to share. Heck, send out two or three of them. It shouldn't cost you an arm or a leg. :rolleyes: :unsure:

Edited March 7, 2009 by BlueDeuce

3.8k · March 7, 2009

I don't think it is macabre at all. No more so than the 100's of skeletons that I have seen in a science classroom or the ones in my closet.

March 7, 2009

Go down to you local costume shoppe and look for a fake bone. They usually have one with the caveman costume and it should be a hard plastic.

Cut off the end joint so that the size is manageable and release that in place of the real thing.

You can still tell your story and provide the information you want to share. Heck, send out two or three of them. It shouldn't cost you an arm or a leg.

No...its the real thing or not at all.

March 8, 2009

Last week we found a cache in Ipswich, England which was in a churchyard. On the wall was a plaque saying 1528 and in the churchyard, sitting on top of a gravestone were what looked like a very old rib bone and a head of femur. We left them well alone!

March 8, 2009

Nah. Pretty tame. We once encountered a TB that contained a vial of someone's cremated remains. The attached note said '(the deceased) always wanted to travel while he was alive, but never got the chance.'

Don't know if it was the same TB or not, but I moved Barney's Great Adventure TB1194Y. Barney was in the US Navy in WWII. The person who picked up the TB from the cache that I left it in in Seaside, Oregon took it into one of Barney's favorite bars. Since then he has been as far east as Ontario and as far west as Hawaii.

Right now he's in a cache called Victoria's Secret.

I also had one that was a quite funny "toe tag". The bloody toe was plastic.

Make sure that you firmly attach an indelible note indicating the mission so people don't get it home before they know what the mission is.

March 9, 2009

I think it's a neat idea. I'd totally love to find part of your femur in a cache. I don't think it's any more inappropriate than a child saving a tooth to place under their pillow.

March 9, 2009

Without encasing it in resin of some kind, it is sure to entice animals to claw through a cache to get to it. Animals have a very strong sense of smell.

A trained Search & Rescue K9 can find in the woods a single tooth that was lost two years ago.

Are you sure the hospital will just hand you the bloody piece of bone? Isn't that a biohazard?

I am not sure boiling alone would clean it. Try soaking it in bleach.

If it is too macabre for someone, he/she does not have to take it. A kid will not recognize it, and why would a kid be scared of a piece of bone?

March 13, 2009

:laughing:

Without encasing it in resin of some kind, it is sure to entice animals to claw through a cache to get to it. Animals have a very strong sense of smell.

A trained Search & Rescue K9 can find in the woods a single tooth that was lost two years ago.

Are you sure the hospital will just hand you the bloody piece of bone? Isn't that a biohazard?

I am not sure boiling alone would clean it. Try soaking it in bleach.

If it is too macabre for someone, he/she does not have to take it. A kid will not recognize it, and why would a kid be scared of a piece of bone?

Thanks for everyones opinions on my posted question. As I had suspected my surgeon said NO you cant have your own bone. Citing hospital policy on the removal of "tissue" and that it would have to be "properly" disposed of.

March 13, 2009

To bad. I loved the idea and would have gladly helped with your goal.

Then again, I have arthritis so I might be in the same position some day.

I tell you what: if I ever do I will try to get my femur head and make it a travelbug and if I can I'll mail it to you so it can start it's journey there. :laughing:

8.8k · March 13, 2009

Actually, I'm relieved. I really didn't want to find that in a cache unexpectedly.

Maybe you could ask the surgeon if he could make a cast of it for you, so you could do the resin mold idea?

Edit to add: But that might be expensive and the insurance wouldn't cover it.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Eartha

March 21, 2009

Perhaps a mission to have it come to one of my caches?? I would love to take a photo of myself holding it...Thanks lol :blink:

To bad. I loved the idea and would have gladly helped with your goal.

Then again, I have arthritis so I might be in the same position some day.

I tell you what: if I ever do I will try to get my femur head and make it a travelbug and if I can I'll mail it to you so it can start it's journey there.

March 21, 2009

Actually, I'm relieved. I really didn't want to find that in a cache unexpectedly.

Maybe you could ask the surgeon if he could make a cast of it for you, so you could do the resin mold idea?

Edit to add: But that might be expensive and the insurance wouldn't cover it.

Remember the good ole days when Docs would let a kid take his appendix home in a jar if they wanted to?

Too macabre for a TB? Opinions please!

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