Seven years after its Taiwan debut, anatomical exhibition Body Worlds returns with a new exhibition titled Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life (人體奧妙之生命巡迴展), which comprises more than 200 preserved human and animal specimens. The 2004 exhibition aimed to educate the public about the beauty and fragility of the body, while The Cycle of Life focuses on the process of aging.
On display at the National Taiwan Science Education Center (台灣科學教育館) in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) until Sept. 25, the exhibition of human “plastinates” begins with fetal development and includes detailed introductions to all the organ systems, including specimens with deformities.
Body Worlds was originally developed by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, who in 1977 invented what he calls the plastination preservation technique, which involves replacing the specimen’s water and fat with reactive polymers such as silicone rubber. The Body Worlds Web site (www.bodyworlds.com) says it takes about one year to plastinate a human body.
Photo: EPA
Body Worlds & the Cycle of Life is open to viewers of all ages, but some may find viewing an exhibition that includes a splayed human head distasteful.
■ Until Sept. 25 at National Taiwan Science Education Center (台灣科學教育館), 189 Shishang Rd, Taipei City (台北市士商路189號)
■ Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, weekends and public holidays from 9am to 6pm
■ Admission is NT$280 for adults, NT$250 and NT$140 for concessions. Tickets are available online (www.walkieticket.com) and at the door. Audio guide players in English and Mandarin are available for NT$100
■ On the Web: www.bodyworlds.com.tw
Behind a car repair business on a nondescript Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: two lions and a 200-kilogram lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George.” Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers. “They’re playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats,” he said from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand’s captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes. Experts warn the
No one saw it coming. Everyone — including the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — expected at least some of the recall campaigns against 24 of its lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) to succeed. Underground gamblers reportedly expected between five and eight lawmakers to lose their jobs. All of this analysis made sense, but contained a fatal flaw. The record of the recall campaigns, the collapse of the KMT-led recalls, and polling data all pointed to enthusiastic high turnout in support of the recall campaigns, and that those against the recalls were unenthusiastic and far less likely to vote. That
The unexpected collapse of the recall campaigns is being viewed through many lenses, most of them skewed and self-absorbed. The international media unsurprisingly focuses on what they perceive as the message that Taiwanese voters were sending in the failure of the mass recall, especially to China, the US and to friendly Western nations. This made some sense prior to early last month. One of the main arguments used by recall campaigners for recalling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers was that they were too pro-China, and by extension not to be trusted with defending the nation. Also by extension, that argument could be
Aug. 4 to Aug. 10 When Coca-Cola finally pushed its way into Taiwan’s market in 1968, it allegedly vowed to wipe out its major domestic rival Hey Song within five years. But Hey Song, which began as a manual operation in a family cow shed in 1925, had proven its resilience, surviving numerous setbacks — including the loss of autonomy and nearly all its assets due to the Japanese colonial government’s wartime economic policy. By the 1960s, Hey Song had risen to the top of Taiwan’s beverage industry. This success was driven not only by president Chang Wen-chi’s
RSS