# Too gross for Dirty Jobs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259 "2007-08-11T15:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/1 "2007-08-11T15:11:43Z")
If you’re a fan of Mike Rowe and _Dirty Jobs_, you’ll love this: A segment that was rejected by the Discovery Channel for being “too gross” even for our favorite show. The job? Roadkill taxidermist. [Part 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMVj3h7Co_w) [Part 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyFMd5WqqUE) Part 2 is definitely the grosser of the pair. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/2 "2007-08-11T16:29:51Z")
That guy has _serious_ issues. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/3 "2007-08-11T17:04:07Z")
I thought they were suppose to air a show showing a whale autopsy but I’ve never seen it. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/4 "2007-08-11T21:15:39Z")
I wish I didn’t have dial-up. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/5 "2007-08-11T21:45:07Z")
They did show the whale autopsy. And fish molds for fiberglass replicas. Which were both pretty damned gross. _eta_ Yummmm…Mike Rowe… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/6 "2007-08-11T21:53:43Z")
Have they ever shown someone giving rectal exams? Because I haven’t done one yet\*, but I hear it gets pretty foul sometimes. 🙂 \*Nursing student. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/7 "2007-08-11T22:07:45Z")
[QUOTE=Millit the Frail] Have they ever shown someone giving rectal exams? Because I haven’t done one yet\*, but I hear it gets pretty foul sometimes. 🙂 [/QUOTE] There was an episode of _Penn and Teller’s Bullshit!_ where they showed, in quite graphic detail, a guy getting colon hydrotherapy. (AKA colonic.) That gave me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/8 "2007-08-12T00:50:59Z")
Till they do a show on cleaning colostomy bags or dealing with immobile nursing home patients, they haven’t done anything to induce a gag relflex in me yet. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/9 "2007-08-12T01:35:44Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] That guy has _serious_ issues. [/QUOTE] In fairness to this guy - at least his “subjects” are already dead before he starts working on them. He doesn’t go out and kill animals for the purpose of doing his artwork. I think it’s tacky, but it’s probably more environmentally responsible than a lot of conventional taxidermy. IANAT (I Am Not A Taxidermist). ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/10 "2007-08-12T01:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=MGibson] I thought they were suppose to air a show showing a whale autopsy but I’ve never seen it. Marc [/QUOTE] We have a couple whale skeletons on campus that classes cleaned in 1993 and some other year. Apparently the smell is (ETC: _was_!) the dominant feature (I’m certainly not jealous!) ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/11 "2007-08-12T01:49:23Z")
If he wants a really dirty job he could try working in the laundry of a large metropolitan hospital. Gross beyond imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/12 "2007-08-12T02:50:08Z")
Worst job I ever did was unpaid favour for a friend. A cow had died in May of the year and had been buried in a 5 ft deep hole (It was pretty rank by the time we got done) In August of the same yr, there was a disease scare and the local authourities needed to inspect any remains of animals which had died mysteriously. So we had to exhume poor Bessie… As we lifted her out with straps attached to the front end loader, she broke open, and a bunch of semi liquid, putrified cow guts fell out and spattered me. Today is the 15th anniversary of that, and I am nearly gagging at just the memory of the smell. Regards FML ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/13 "2007-08-12T03:44:06Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] If he wants a really dirty job he could try working in the laundry of a large metropolitan hospital. Gross beyond imagination. [/QUOTE] I read in an interview somewhere when asked if there was a job so dirty that he wanted to do it and still couldn’t do it on TV, and he said he’d always wanted to do a slaughterhouse, start with the animals going in and ending with cutlets coming out in shrink wrap, but the higher ups say absolutely not. Evidently you can show that godawful one with the skeleton cleaners and assemblers, and you can show all the human excrement you can pack into one vat, but not where our dinner comes from. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/14 "2007-08-12T03:56:34Z")
I adore Mike Rowe. I’ve watched his show from the beginning and he’s a hoot. However, I am NOT clicking on any of those links. Nuh-uh. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/15 "2007-08-12T04:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=Millit the Frail] Have they ever shown someone giving rectal exams? Because I haven’t done one yet\*, but I hear it gets pretty foul sometimes. 🙂 \*Nursing student. [/QUOTE] Nah. I’ve done several and they’re not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/16 "2007-08-12T12:35:32Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] I read in an interview somewhere when asked if there was a job so dirty that he wanted to do it and still couldn’t do it on TV, and he said he’d always wanted to do a slaughterhouse, start with the animals going in and ending with cutlets coming out in shrink wrap, but the higher ups say absolutely not. Evidently you can show that godawful one with the skeleton cleaners and assemblers, and you can show all the human excrement you can pack into one vat, but not where our dinner comes from. [/QUOTE] I spent some time working in the slaughter houses as the tongue saw operator back when work was really scarce. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/17 "2007-08-12T16:09:01Z")
[QUOTE=straight man] We have a couple whale skeletons on campus that classes cleaned in 1993 and some other year. Apparently the smell is (ETC: _was_!) the dominant feature (I’m certainly not jealous!) [/QUOTE] I’ve got to agree that decomposing marine mammals are perhaps the worst smell ever. I’m currently in the process of clearing and cleaning a harbor porpoise carcass, and I thought the smell was memorable enough for its own [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=430552). Rowe actually did a show on my workplace before I arrived here. I’ve never seen it, but I wonder if it was the one with the whale necropsy (a whale performing a dissection of another dead whale would be an autopsy.) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/18 "2007-08-12T16:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] In fairness to this guy - at least his “subjects” are already dead before he starts working on them. He doesn’t go out and kill animals for the purpose of doing his artwork. I think it’s tacky, but it’s probably more environmentally responsible than a lot of conventional taxidermy. IANAT (I Am Not A Taxidermist). [/QUOTE] I’m not talking about the fact he does taxidermy. I’m talking about the freakish creations he makes. Some of that is just nightmarish. The kind of thing you see in a Tim Burton film. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/19 "2007-08-13T21:17:39Z")
[Hearsay Alert] I met some guys who were overseeing the crews cleaning out abandoned refrigerators in New Orleans after Katrina. They told me that the group had invited Dirty Jobs down, and they came down and did some filming, but it never aired. Too bad, because I think for smell, that job would be very hard to beat. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259/20 "2007-08-13T21:29:11Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] If you’re a fan of Mike Rowe and _Dirty Jobs_, you’ll love this: A segment that was rejected by the Discovery Channel for being “too gross” even for our favorite show. The job? Roadkill taxidermist. [/QUOTE] My creepy high school biology teacher was an amateur taxidermist. He used to request students to bring in any “fresh” roadkill for his little hobby. I don’t recall anyone taking him up on it, though, not even for extra credit. Not that I knew of, anyway. We did end up with a couple of scruffy looking birds dangling from the ceiling by the end of the year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-gross-for-dirty-jobs/415259.md?page=2)