A Visit with the Soap Lady

There are few things more romantic than spending a lazy Saturday afternoon, visiting your local museum dedicated to human anomalies, with your Paramour. A few weeks ago, I ventured out to the famed Mutter Museum, part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

This was a trip that had long been on my "to do" list. The steep $12 admission fee led me to believe we'd be roaming the museum for hours so I was surprised to see that the entire museum is really only a few rooms, lined with glass cases well stocked with over 20,000 objects. Disturbing is the only word I can think of to describe this place. I saw babies in jars, a gigantic colon, every kind of terrible skin condition that's ever existed, Siamese twins, the soap lady, and all kinds of growths and tumors. Each exhibit was more nauseating than the last. And ladies, let's all rejoice that we were not around for the terrifying gynecological instruments of the past.

It was an interesting afternoon. I'm proud to be able to finally cross this excursion off of my list. While it's definitely a Philadelphia must see, I think you can skip the membership.



The Mutter Museum 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
http://www.collphyphil.org/visit_mutter.htm