I wanted look at the University of Tennesse Anthropological Research Facility with the google maps satellite images but I could not find an exact address. (For those who don’t know, this this the “body farm” or “human decomposition lab” near the University of Tennessee Medical Center where they lay out donated corpses in a field to help determine time of death). All I could find was an address for the Anthropology department which is at Neyland Stadium, but not the address of the facility itself. I’m sure it’s not very public but I’m sure its on the web somewhere. It’s sure to be one of the more interesting satellite photos you could find using google maps, I just can’t find it. Any suggestions?
From wired magazine I found that it was behind the employee lot. Still having trouble finding an address to look up on google maps though.
It’s acutally at the UT medical center. I’m not sure if that’s a separate campus or not.
Here is the hospital. I’m not sure where the field is though…could be the small rectangular patch on the very east edge of this.
P.S. All you had to do was google “University of Tennessee Medical Center” and input their address…really not that difficult…
I looked at the entire website and couldn’t find so much as a physical location for the Body Farm, let alone an address. I’d assume the university doesn’t really want that much attention from the public.
Robin
As it happens, I went to UT. The body farm is at the hospital more or less. It has no address because there are no facilities there, really. It’s just a field with a number of distinct environments for different tests. And you can’t go in it unless you’re with the Anthropology department. I believe there’s a fence and barbed wire.
Funny story about it: the guy who started it used to do his tests at home. In fact, he used to cook human remains (to get the meat off). Apparently, his wife very calmly and quietly told he would be getting her a new kitchen, pots, pans, et all and there would be no argument about. He did, and there wasn’t. 
The Anthropology department does have some facilities to work with the bodies. One of my teachers mentioned that sometimes, when tere wasn’t a breeze, the odor got just a bit ripe. This probably does not amuse the audiology and pseech pathology department, which is right next door. Double
Found it. I don’t know how to link to a Google Earth placemark here, so bear with me.
Put in the address into Google Earth:
1924 Alcoa Hwy
Knoxville, TN 37920
Then look on the East side of the compound for the two big parking lots.
There is a north one and a south one.
Look between them, a small, fenced area. Thats it.
Here’s the link, based on CynicalGabe’s description.
It’s smaller than I thought…
Here is a pic from Google Earth.
I used my Windows Magnifier.
I do believe the white areas are elongated objects covered in white tarps or sheets.
Have you read *Death’s Acre * by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson? It’s about the Body Farm by the guy who started it.
It’s a very interesting book. I got it for Christmas last year.
Thanks for the recommendation, The Surb. I’ve just ordered a copy from Amazon.
Robin
Another book recommendation:
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers – by Mary Roach
I’ll throw in my $0.02:
Dead Men Do Tell Tales : The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist
Not all of the bodies are under sheets or tarps. Some are left in cars. Others are left to the elements. The purpose is to examine them under varying circumstances.
You are welcome to donate your body to UTK for scientific research.
And once your car is parked heed the recommendation of Toucan Sam and “follow your nose.”
FYI if you’re adding the keyhole tags to Google Earth, it has an informational bullet right over the same location that CynicalGabe posted.
-Butler
(staying upwind of the Uni!)
:smack:
Doh. The same thing I always tell people on the Google Earth BBS - turn on the BBS layer, chances are whatever they’ve found has been found and tagged before.
It’s not as small as it looks. It sits on a 2.5 acre plot of land, most of which is not viewable from Google due to heavy forestry.