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Inside Skulls Unlimited
This month we continue our inside look at Skulls Unlimited and Darien answers your questions.
DEATH STEW 3 - Important Safety Advice for Emergency Room Avoidance
There comes a day in every employees life when he or she becomes intimately familiar with the First Aid Kit. Cuts and scratches are not only common at Skulls Unlimited, but seem to be a virtual qualification for continued employment. While we don't condone or wish harm on anyone, accidents do still happen despite our best efforts. Safety rules are in place as a working guide to make sure you leave the building with as many limbs as you arrived with. Not to say we wouldn't accept a donation, but we prefer it in writing ahead of time (makes it easier on the paperwork and cleanup).
A rotating wire wheel traveling at 2000 rpm has enough force to remove tissue from a skull (and skin from say...my elbow) with no resistance. A small piece of wire from said wire wheel can also easily imbed itself in any exposed flesh. We require safety glasses when running the wheel, for as dangerous as it is we would rather not admit that our mothers were right in saying "You could put an eye out with that!" Somehow, nothing is as embarrassing as saying the words "You were right, mom," while wearing an eye patch.
We touch dead things. We also wear gloves. We might possibly single handedly keep latex factories in business. Due to the many types of disease and dirt that we could potentially come into contact with every day, gloves are necessary when touching anything that... well, lets just say ANYTHING. I've seen lunches that require a double layer. Gloves keep us from catching anything that could have affected the animal, and have the dual effect of keeping bacteria from catching anything nasty we might have.
Power tools are not only fun, but useful too! We have a host of power tools to aid our work. These can cause the greatest of damage, so they are naturally the easiest to get hurt on. We also still refer to human blood as "biohazard". Of all the things we do on a daily basis, how much sense does that REALLY make?
There is a sincere effort on all employees' parts to make sure no one gets injured at work, but it still happens. When we're all done laughing at the person, it's a good thing we have easily cleanable flooring and a well-stocked Band-Aid box!
***The Top 10 Absolute Truths about working at Skulls Unlimited***
10. Coworkers refer to your pets as 'inventory'.
9. You play the "Guess the Roadkill" game.
8. You always win the "Guess the Roadkill" game.
7. You KNOW what bug frass* is and exactly what it smells like.
6. You have to say to your hair stylists "It's not dandruff, it's adipocere**."
5. You are a forensic lab's worst nightmare...or best case study.
4. There is no polite way to work your job into a conversation. Lying about it only makes it worse (See #3).
3. You will always smell funny. So will your car/house/washer and dryer/carpet/bed/bathtub and spouse. Care for some Febreze?
2. Your dog/cat/ferret/other pet will lick the bottom of your shoes and then want to thank you for the experience by licking your face.
1. No matter how many pairs of gloves you wear, you will inevitably get something warm, wet and sticky on your nose-picking finger.
*Frass: The discarded biomass left behind in our dermestid beetle tanks. Includes; dead beetles, sloughed larva shells and, of course, lots of beetle feces.
**Adipocere: white soap-like residue formed from the decomposing fats of a corpse.
Thank you for writing in your questions, please keep sending your inquiries to education@skullsunlimited.com
Here are last months questions and answers!
Linda Costal writes:
"Darien, I would really like to know what you use to degrease the bones. I am learning to make Native American crafts and
grease on the bones in a problem when making bone beads."
Well Linda, thank you for asking one of the toughest questions to answer! We actually use a blend of several chemicals which is
costly, dangerous and hard to use. Personally, I recommend trying acetone to get the grease out of your projects. It is very easy to find (nail polish remover) and safe to work with, and fairly inexpensive. It also works quickly and well. Another option is ammonia, and while it may be a little more dangerous than acetone, works equally as well. Good luck with your artistic endeavors!
Lisa Morris writes:
"I'm curious to know what sort of education is required to work there, and do students get credit in their classes at school for
spending time in your facility?"
Lisa, I'm not sure we have a set answer for the school credit question, I believe that is a call to be made by the individual
school. It is up to their curriculum standards to decide to give extra credit by having students study our product, so you would
have to ask your particular institution if they would give credit for a field trip. As far as the education prerequisites, there really aren't any. We have lots of different people with different education levels and majors, mostly what we require is a high level of interest and ambition. Of course, a love of bones and a strong stomach doesn't hurt!
Until next time...
Darien
Skulls Unlimited In the News
This month, Skulls Unlimited and its founder, Jay Villemarette, are featured in Millionaire Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read this article.
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