# Giving head \[preserving my skull after death\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 9, 2021, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503 "2021-03-09T05:14:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503/21 "2021-03-12T00:53:13Z")

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Agreed. She even offered to sign a waiver for the picture. No dice.

> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#):
>
> Let’s say I gift my head to my son in my will and my son happens to be a skilled surgeon with all the equipment needed to remove my head and keep it. Can anyone demand he hands it over after he removes it?

The Atlantic article posted by @Riemann above talks about defilement of corpse laws. Your son may have the tools and skills and mindset, but he’s unlikely to risk his license over it.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503/22 "2021-03-13T01:14:45Z")

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All this talk of headlessness requires a theme song.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xlGeExcZd3Q/hqdefault.jpg "Laika & the cosmonauts - Look! No head") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlGeExcZd3Q)

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**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503/23 "2021-03-13T15:36:09Z")

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All this hinting at the skill needed to render a human head into a decorative piece leaves me baffled. Cut, twist, pop off, put in a big pot, cover with water, let simmer for six hours or so, let flesh fall off pristine skull. Even the brains come out in an instant by inserting a garden hose into the basal opening and turning the water on. Nothing to it, and certainly no medical school needed.

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503/24 "2021-03-13T18:08:32Z")

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> [@Toxylon](#):
>
> Cut, twist, pop off, put in a big pot…

Does this occur before or after you call the mortician to pick up the body? Because either way, he’s going to report you the authorities for abusing a corpse, which is a crime in most states.

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**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-head-preserving-my-skull-after-death/937503/25 "2021-03-14T09:42:44Z")

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Oh, the irksome legalities are not my concern - I was clearly and only alluding to the medical skill aspect of the endeavour.

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