# Pictures So Horrific I Have No Adequate Words to Describe Them **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 3, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296 "2004-07-03T00:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/61 "2004-07-08T03:57:54Z")
> [@MrTuffPaws](#): > > Me thinks ggurl has some issues with porn/shock. Well, maybe, but I was just kinda writing about the relative _mundanity_ of the particular porn pictures referenced as tubgirl and goatse in my life, thanks to a former relationship. I mean, a dude’s spread asshole? Fountains of enema poo? That’s just a day in the life of my former bf and I. For ages I avoided looking at “tubgirl” because the picture was referred to vaguely, but as something really awful and horrible. Therefore, I thought it would be a picture of a dead person in a tub. If it was that horrible, it couldn’t be something like the fantasies I once acted out on a _nightly basis_!!! Those type of things definitely don’t shock me anymore! …\*Ohhh… enemas… adult babies… watersports… AGAIN??? \* :rolleyes: Bor-r-r-r-ingggggg… Oh, and I defintely remain adamant against showing an innocent, dead child as “shock” value. Come on, now. I consider extreme scat to be relatively tame, but autopsy photos of someone’s tragic family death?? \*Not \* shocking. But definitely (IMO) gratuitous, rude, and disrespectful of others’ grief. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/62 "2004-07-08T04:00:23Z")
Oh, and woops, forgot to add, this is what I get for not looking at my own posts, ever. I should probably address a reply once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![qcomdrj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a6a055/32.png) [@qcomdrj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qcomdrj)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/63 "2004-07-08T04:41:02Z")
I’m glad broomstick said that these weren’t as bad as the mailer. Because in my mind, the word “weak” comes to mind. The save all worst thing I have ever had the benefit of 3 senses being traumatized was a man who had diabetes, as do most leg sore patients, but with one caveat. Meals on wheels found him. Leg sores crotch to heel. Filled with maggots. Imagine, a wound so bad that it offends the eyes, the nose, and the ears. (they make a squishy noise when they wriggle)(the maggots too). I saw at least 3 doctors ralph in the room or in the hallway outside the room as they ran. But for some reason, tubgirl upsets me more. Maybe its because I am more experienced with wounds. People I work with have this. The nurses don’t mind stool, the respiratory therapists don’t mind phlegm. Both of them hate the other (sample, not person). ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/64 "2004-07-08T07:07:48Z")
I hate to ask- harlequin fetus? Just a verbal description- no link necessary ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/65 "2004-07-08T17:04:14Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > PROGRESSIVE SURGICAL PRODUCTS of Westbury, NY > > Apligraf’s stuff wasn’t nearly so bad. Apligraf and most of that stuff doesn’t bother me. I can tell that you’re pretty inurred to that level of ick-ness, yourself. So anything that caused that reaction would have to be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/66 "2004-07-08T18:23:31Z")
If you were to set up a website with these photos on it, & charge $35, no $40 a year, every sicko in the world would be _pouring_ gold into your pockets. ---
**Author:** ![JayElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/67 "2004-07-08T19:48:11Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I hate to ask- harlequin fetus? > > Just a verbal description- no link necessary I found this description: "Harlequin ichthyosis, the most severe form of congenital ichthyosis, is characterized by a profound thickening of the keratin layer in fetal skin. The neonate who is affected is born with a massive horny shell of dense platelike scale and contraction abnormalities of the eyes, the ears, the mouth, and the appendages. This armor limits movement and compromises the protective skin barrier, leaving the newborn susceptible to metabolic abnormalities and infection. The term harlequin derives from the newborn’s facial expression and the triangular and diamond-shaped pattern of hyperkeratosis. The newborn’s mouth is pulled wide open, mimicking a clown’s smile. The underlying biochemical and genetic abnormality is not understood." in an article on [emedicine.com](http://emedicine.com). ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/68 "2004-07-09T05:22:58Z")
Harliquin fetus = newborn child with lots of open red oozey extremely painful-looking fissues. Cracks to the flesh at every joint and lots of other places. Not quite human appearance. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/69 "2004-07-09T07:08:27Z")
Thanks, actually after I posted last, I actually thought to search the Boards & found what I needed to know except why they were called “harlequin”, which you all just told me. TMI indeed! _bangs head on monitor!_ I do wonder if that’s what an acquaintance of mine had, the baby was either dead or going to be stillborn so they did a D&C & it was pretty messed up from what I heard (I gotta admit I kinda blocked out the details of what I was being told because it was so bad). ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/70 "2004-07-09T10:54:47Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > (OTOH, may I presume you showed them to nurses and others in our work area to see their reactions? If so, you share some of the fault here.) No, I actually did NOT show the pictures to anyone! Well, I sent them to our Medical Librarian, but I warned her what was coming. Our pharmacist found the website - I knew as soon as I heard her go “Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww” The rest of the office was off and running without seeing it - our RN and MD staff have all done clinical work even if they aren’t doing it anymore and just had to dredge up their old “war stories”. > [@paperbackwriter](#): > > Apligraf and most of that stuff doesn’t bother me. I can tell that you’re pretty inurred to that level of ick-ness, yourself. Apligraf seems to like showing the graft material itself, which is pretty innocuous - just stretchy flesh-colored stuff, or little discs of fleshy stuff. No bloody ick, no rampaging infections, no hanging bits of flesh… When they do show uclers or burns they tend to focus on _just_ the injury, without showing the whole person or even, say, the whole foot so while it’s ick it’s also taken out of context a bit and not so nasty. I remember one thing with Apligraf where they showed the whole little girl _after_ successful treatment, which didn’t look too bad - happy 8 year old playing by a swimming pool, skin only a little mottled and patchy - and when they showed the “before” aspects it was skin, but cropped to just show the affected parts - nothing in those photos to make you think “cute little kid in agony”. THIS crowd… pretty damn obvious you were dealing with 'people in agony" here. I mean, shit, I know it happens, I know there are horrific things that happen to people… but it seems gratuitous. Maybe it was because this was advertising intended to sell a product? I mean, if you’re documenting something with the interest of teaching someone how to deal with this situation - like in a medical textbook - that’s one thing. But they crop the photos quite a bit there, too. Yeah, maybe that was part of it - they could have cropped some stuff out of the photos. On their website some of the pictures do this - it’s icky, but only as icky as it needs to be to get the message across. You don’t see 90% of the patient, including their grimacing and the tubes going up their nose and their colostomy bags and stuff. Did they _need_ to include those details? Well, OK, in _one_ picture they did because of the location of the feces bag, but that wasn’t the case in all of them. Anyhow - the _product idea_ they’re selling actually seems worthwhile. Some of the after pictures are pretty impressive - but how many folks are going to get stopped by the photos? I don’t know - they aren’t aimed at the general public, after all. It’s just _gross_, and probably needlessly so. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/71 "2004-07-09T18:48:40Z")
::finds notepad with list of important things to do:: ::Writes on top of list Always address bedsores and any open festering lesions as soon as possible:: ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/72 "2004-07-10T02:22:14Z")
> [@auRa](#): > > Oh, god. That one is maybe the most disturbing image I’ve ever seen. No matter that it’s fake and I’ve seen the Snopes site that explains which images were combined to make it, I still can’t look at it without getting a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. And I didn’t even flinch when I saw Goatse or Tubgirl. My friend who will watch beheading videos without a second thought, was deeply disturbed by this photo. I guess that’s why I sent it to him. 😉 I did warn him first though. I was also feeling quite violated after looking at it. Strangely though, not much else seems to get to me that badly. Maybe it’s because it looked like it would tickle. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Daisy\_Mae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daisy\_Mae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daisy_Mae)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/73 "2004-07-10T02:54:58Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > My friend who will watch beheading videos without a second thought, was deeply disturbed by this photo. I guess that’s why I sent it to him. 😉 > > I did warn him first though. I was also feeling quite violated after looking at it. Strangely though, not much else seems to get to me that badly. Maybe it’s because it looked like it would tickle. :eek: It is icky to look at, but I honestly don’t understand how people thought it was real. That breast would be red, full of pus and funkdafied. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/74 "2004-07-10T07:00:41Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > You’ve all probably seen that stark, grainy photo of the German soldier aiming his rifle at the cringing woman with the baby in her arms. I won’t link to it, but for me, that’s always been the worst photo ever taken… as well as one of the best because of its perfect compostion. Goya couldn’t have conveyed a more powerful image. Could you at least name the punk band? ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296/75 "2004-07-11T06:01:50Z")
> [@Daisy Mae](#): > > It is icky to look at, but I honestly don’t understand how people thought it was real. That breast would be red, full of pus and funkdafied. The absence of those things may be what contribute to it looking so disturbing. It looks like those things have nestled in there for the long haul. _shudder_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pictures-so-horrific-i-have-no-adequate-words-to-describe-them/253296.md?page=3)