Zooillogix

Paris Museum Unveils First Plastinated Squid

Posted by Benny Bleiman on March 26, 2008
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France’s National Museum of Natural History displayed its prize centerpiece today for an exhibit on biodiversity, a plastinated, 21+ foot-long, giant squid named Wheke. The squid was hauled in by a fisherman in New Zealand in 2001 and was plastinated in Italy by a company called VisDocta Research. The process, in which all of the squid’s water, fat and other liquids are replaced with a hardening plastic filling, took two and a half years and cost approximately $100,000.

I am looking forward to plastinating Andrew’s dog, Izzy, some day. Maybe for an anniversary gift?

i-350f26a9fe704b88262aa15c9a410e05-Wheke.jpg
Wheke would be so happy to know that he was immortalized in a space-age polymer plastic.

More info on the plastic squid here.

Also, do yourself a favor and DO NOT, for any reason, visit this post from Deep Sea News unveiling their latest addition to the giant squid song series. What about a song about brave, Wheke, guys? Let’s hear it!

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Comments

  1. #1 bioephemera
    March 26, 2008

    Is it truly amazing how fake a $100K plastic squid looks, isn’t it? But then, plastination kind of makes everything look fake – mammals, too.

  2. #2 Benny
    March 26, 2008

    Hey Bio, got any pics of fake looking plastinated mammals lying around?

  3. #3 kevin z
    March 26, 2008

    Wheke?? *blinks unknowingly*

    Maybe my next song will be on those wily, meddlesome Bleiman brothers.

  4. #4 Benny
    March 26, 2008

    Wheke is the martyr squid who is hanging plastinated above hordes of crossoint-eating French folks as we speak. He deserves a ballad.

  5. #5 milkshake
    March 26, 2008

    You can freeze-dry your Izzy and he will look like alive, forever. Here, Leo and Snuffy – can you tell which one is freeze-dried?:

    http://www.petpreservations.com/story4.html

    And if you use mineral oil to re-soak your dried pet, he will become transluscent! Works great as a bedside lamp shade!

  6. #6 Bee
    March 27, 2008

    Oh man, milkshake – I went and looked at that site. Creepy beyond belief, even the live cat knows this is just wrong!

    OTOH, harmless, if weird.

  7. #7 HP
    March 27, 2008

    Hey Bio, got any pics of fake looking plastinated mammals lying around?

    Here.

    Wheke?? *blinks unknowingly*

    Apparently, it’s the Maori word for octopus. Also, the name of the Maori octopus-god.

  8. #8 film
    April 22, 2009

    Apparently, the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands were mostly spared from the Tsunami of 2004 because they followed the animals to high ground.

  9. #9 Terrence Mcguinnes
    July 1, 2012

    Thanks to the share, I have been looking into squidoo lately and think it’s and excellent traffic driver

  10. #10 Rickie Coady
    July 2, 2012

    I loved making this quilt, so much, I’m working on it again! Hopefully I’ll have more to share next week, so far it’s in pieces.

  11. #11 New Beginning 2012
    July 6, 2012

    How to set Portrait mode in template with Box2d in final v0.99.5 beta3. Im trying to do this, but gravity force in left in Portrait mode.

  12. #12 New Beginning 2012
    July 6, 2012

    Can truly use that iPad! Pleasant giveaway..