# Legal way to purchase a skull? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958 "2008-02-17T04:22:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/1 "2008-02-17T04:22:43Z")
Is there any legitimate way to purchase a real human skull? I am not in the market for one, but I assume that there must be a way that is less icky and illegal then desecrating a mausoleum or less unlikely then lucking into some old heirloom. So, what are the general procedures and regulations on procurement and keeping of human remains and assorted materials? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/2 "2008-02-17T04:25:49Z")
I read your question thinking “the seriously must be some insane legal hurdles oyu have to jump…” But no, apparantly you can just order them. In fact this was the first non-sponsered result for googling “buy a human skull” [http://www.boneroom.com/bone/humanbones.html](http://www.boneroom.com/bone/humanbones.html) ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/3 "2008-02-17T04:30:10Z")
There was [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=197189) thread… . ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/4 "2008-02-17T22:29:46Z")
As the OP notes, this is [the wrong way to do it.](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1D91539F933A15753C1A96E948260) ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/5 "2008-02-18T02:05:36Z")
Wow, I had no idea that it would be so straightforward. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/6 "2008-02-18T02:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Jragon] [http://www.boneroom.com/bone/humanbones.html](http://www.boneroom.com/bone/humanbones.html) [/QUOTE] Every single one of the skulls on that site comes from China. I wonder why this is? That site does not explain why, though it states that most of their skulls are from China. Are they in cahoots with the Chinese government or something? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/7 "2008-02-19T03:27:26Z")
People have the impression that it is illegal to possess human bones, but as the site linked to points out, in general it is not. They can be obtained from various biological supply businesses. Up until a few years ago, most skeletons for sale in the US came from India, I suspect from unclaimed bodies of beggars etc. But India in recent years has restricted that trade. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/8 "2008-02-19T04:04:43Z")
I’m glad I’m not the only one in the market. That being said, you can even buy real human skulls on [Ebay](http://cgi.ebay.com/Real-Human-Skull-J67-for-Medical-Study_W0QQitemZ290207586875QQihZ019QQcategoryZ4064QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). That’s right, after you die, strangers will bid on your skull. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/9 "2008-02-19T04:31:06Z")
[Here’s the collection of skulls.](http://www.boneroom.com/skulls/chinese.htm) I never knew you could just buy a skull!? I wonder… what if I wanted to give my skull & bones to my family, or to a specified teaching institution, after my death. How would I do this legally, and would the bones get cleaned? How do you think the bones in the link above get cleaned? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/10 "2008-02-19T04:38:04Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] [Here’s the collection of skulls.](http://www.boneroom.com/skulls/chinese.htm) I never knew you could just buy a skull!? I wonder… what if I wanted to give my skull & bones to my family, or to a specified teaching institution, after my death. How would I do this legally, and would the bones get cleaned? How do you think the bones in the link above get cleaned? [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=meek] There was [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=197189) thread… . [/QUOTE] ^outlines it pretty well. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/11 "2008-02-19T12:39:49Z")
Looking further I found [this site](http://www.bmezine.com/skulls/) who seems a little bit less medical and a lot more into just being weird. They have an interesting assortment including fetal skulls, childrens skulls, deformed skulls and skulls that died in violent manners. Somehow the “whimsical” names they give their merchandise gives away that this isn’t a medical supply house. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/12 "2008-02-19T12:44:53Z")
Wow. That’s so freaking ghoulish. You learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/13 "2008-02-19T14:24:09Z")
It’s too bad that they’re priced beyond an impulse buy for me because I would actually like to have a skull. I think it would be an interesting thing to have. Throw in a few stuffed ravens and a candelabra and all of a sudden my computer room becomes an Edgar Allen Poe-esque Victorian reading room. 😉 That, and if you have a neighbor you don’t like buy a few bone bits and toss them in his crawlspace. “Hello, FBI?..” ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/14 "2008-02-19T15:13:06Z")
I own one, it’s on a shelf in my den. It was given to me by a friend of a dentist. I use it around halloween time. I used to put it on the top of my SCA banner pole while camping, really freaked people out. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/15 "2008-02-19T16:58:08Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] It’s too bad that they’re priced beyond an impulse buy for me because I would actually like to have a skull. I think it would be an interesting thing to have. Throw in a few stuffed ravens and a candelabra and all of a sudden my computer room becomes an Edgar Allen Poe-esque Victorian reading room. 😉 That, and if you have a neighbor you don’t like buy a few bone bits and toss them in his crawlspace. “Hello, FBI?..” [/QUOTE] They used to be. When my older brother graduated med school about 20 years ago, younger brother and I pooled our resources and bought him a real skull for $70 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/16 "2008-02-19T17:08:09Z")
Here’s a little something I whipped up for a _very_ unusual client some years ago: > [@](#): > > LAST SUPPLEMENTARY WILL > > ``` > THIS IS THE LAST WILL of me, ________________ , of the City of Toronto, Province of Ontario, with respect to the disposition only of certain of my mortal remains (the "skull") defined as follows: > > ``` > > the bony framework of the head, composed of the cranial bones and the bones of the face; including, but not necessarily limited to, the ethmoid, frontal, hyoid, lacrimal, nasal, occipital, palatine, parietal, sphenoid, temporal, and zygomatic bones, and the inferior nasal conchae, mandible, maxillae, and vomer. > > I declare that I have, or will have at the time of my death, made a separate will disposing of all my other assets. > I. I REVOKE all former wills and other testamentary dispositions made by me in respect to the disposition only of the skull. > > II. I APPOINT \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ to be the Estate Trustee, Executor and Trustee of this my Will, provided that if said person shall have predeceased me or shall be unwilling or unable to act or to continue to act as such, than this my Will is rendered null and void. > > III. I GIVE the skull to my Trustees upon the following trusts, namely: > > (a) In the discretion of my Trustees, and at their own expense, I empower the Trustees to separate the skull from the residue of my mortal remains in a manner consistent with proper, decent and dignified treatment of human remains. > > (b) In the discretion of my Trustees, and at their own expense, to clean the skull of all flesh and other perishable matter in such a manner as to do no damage to the bones defined above. > > (c) In the discretion of my Trustees, and at their own expense, to construct an apparatus such that the skull may be used as a drinking-cup or vessel. > > (d) In the discretion of my Trustees, and at their own expense, to decorate the skull in a manner that, in the sole and absolute discretion of my trustee, shall be deemed tasteful. > > (e) To transfer and assign the skull following the operations described above to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, for his own use absolutely. > > IV. I DECLARE that the treatment of the skull as described in the trusts above is consistent with my religious, cultural and personal morality and beliefs, and in no way constitutes neglect of any duty owing to my remains or improper or indecent interference or indignity to my remains contrary to sections 182(a) or (b) of the federal Criminal Code, or any successor legislation thereto. > > V. I DECLARE that I have received no valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, from any person for the use or ownership of the skull, and that the gift of the skull does not offend section 10 of the Ontario Human Tissue Gift Act, or any successor legislation thereto. > > VI. MY TRUSTEES AND BENEFICIARY shall be fully protected in exercising any discretion granted to them in this my Will and shall not be liable or accountable to any person, including but not limited to my spouse, my descendants, my parents or their heirs or personal representatives by reason of the exercise of such discretion. My Trustees shall exercise the powers, authority and discretion given to them in what they deem to be the best interest of the beneficiary, and such exercise of their powers, authority and discretion shall be binding and shall not be subject to any question or review, by any person, official, authority, court or tribunal whatsoever or whomsoever. > > VII. I DECLARE that no gift under this my Will shall be assigned or anticipated, or fall into any community of property, partnership or other form of sharing or division of property which may exist between the beneficiary and his spouse, and the gift shall remain the separate property of the beneficiary hereunder, free from all property rights or controls by his spouse. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, I direct that the gift and other benefits granted by me under this my Will shall be excluded from the net family property of the beneficiary and the value therefrom shall not be subject to division between the beneficiary and his spouse pursuant to the Ontario Family Law Act, or any successor legislation thereto. > > VIII. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have to this my Last Will and Testament, written upon this and the preceding page, subscribed my name this \_\_\_\_\_\_ day of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, 2000. > > SIGNED by the testator, _**, ) > as his last Will, in the presence of us, both present ) > at the same time, who at his request, in his presence ) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > and in the presence of each other have hereunto ) > subscribed our names as witnesses. ) > WITNESS: > Name:**_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ) > Address:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > Occupation:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ) > WITNESS: > Name:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ) > Address:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > Occupation:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/17 "2008-02-19T20:20:31Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Every single one of the skulls on that site comes from China. I wonder why this is? That site does not explain why, though it states that most of their skulls are from China. Are they in cahoots with the Chinese government or something? [/QUOTE] I’m guessing executed Chinese prisoners. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/18 "2008-02-19T20:38:59Z")
I have **Return of the Living Dead** on DVD. According to the comentary the filmakers had very little problem getting skeletons and other body parts from medical supply companies. The skeletons all came from India. Didn’t H. R. Giger use real human skulls when he designed the original Xenomorph for **Alien**? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/19 "2008-02-19T20:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I’m guessing executed Chinese prisoners. [/QUOTE] If that were the case, wouldn’t the skulls all have bullet holes in them? I thought China’s method of execution was by bullet. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958/20 "2008-02-19T21:54:50Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] I have **Return of the Living Dead** on DVD. According to the comentary the filmakers had very little problem getting skeletons and other body parts from medical supply companies. The skeletons all came from India. Didn’t H. R. Giger use real human skulls when he designed the original Xenomorph for **Alien**? [/QUOTE] IIRC Geiger got his inspiration from rabbit bones. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-way-to-purchase-a-skull/437958.md?page=2)