Gross!

Stranger Things (2016 - )
Swap-Bot: October 2024 Postcard Swap USA Only
Postmarked: October 2024

Pictured rove beetle, Thinopinus pictus
Postcrossing: United States; 5 days; 535 miles
Postmarked:May 2019

SHRUNKEN HEADS
How to shrink a head...The scalp is slit from the brow [sic] to the base of the skull and peeled from the bone. Three wooden pins pierce the lips are evenly wrapped with strong to help them retain their position. The head is placed in boiling water for two hours. Chinchipi wire is added to prevent the hair from falling. At the end of this time, the head is well cooked; the skin is thick and rubbery, about one-third its original size. Hot stones are dropped into the head cavity and rotated rapidly. When the stones have cooled, others are substituted: smaller stones are used as the head shrinks and hardens. Smoothing the features continues. From time to time hair is plucked from the head, eyebrows and eyelashes in order to keep the amount of hair ir proportion to other features. Hot sand is used to penetrate into small crevices; and a small torch is applied to remove most of the fuzz, being careful not to damage eyebrows or eyelashes. The head is then smoked on a rack about three feet above the fire. Finally, the head is polished with a piece of cloth.
Swap-Bot: Ugly Postcard Swap
Postmarked: Cleveland, Ohio; July 2019

BODIES...THE EXHIBITION
From my aunt: Maryland; May 2007