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Weekend


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October 25, 2002

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. For fans of the Alfred Hitchcock classic "Psycho," based on notorious Wisconsin psychopath Ed Gein, there's this reality-check: Could Norman Bates' mother truly have mummified naturally as depicted in the movie?

    A. Absolutely, happened numerous times to bodies kept in homes in very low humidity and protected from insects and other carnivore activity, says Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D., in "Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies?" (www.galenpress.com) Forensic pathologists encounter natural mummies that have been kept in warm dry places, such as the corpses of infants in drawers, cupboards or boxes near fireplaces or heaters.


     
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