Alright, if you read the title and thought “that is the sickest thing ever,” just remember this–some cultures eat placentas. So, an afterbirth teddy bear doesn’t seem so disgusting now does it.
Actually, it does.
The majority of the time, the placenta, or afterbirth, is disposed of by hospitals after a woman has given birth. Yes, in some cultures the placenta is eaten, but thankfully this practice is a rarity and not the norm.
But British designer Alex Green thought so much of the placenta he decided to honor the life-sustaining organ by turning it into a teddy bear. Oh yes he did.
Now take a look at the picture of the finished product, and tell me that’s not as disgusting as you imagined it would be.
To prepare the placenta, Green cures it with salt to kill the bacteria, then softens the afterbirth with eggs and tannins. Once the placenta is ready, he sews it into the shape of a bear, then fills it with brown rice.
“It’s more heavy than you’d imagine — they’re more the sort of thing that you’d stick on a mantel pieces,” Green said. “It feels soft, somewhere between leather and suede but it’s much more flexible than leather — it’s bendy.”
Repulsive or not, having a placenta teddy bear on your mantle, next to the ashes of your Great Aunt Gladys, sure would make for an interesting conversation piece–provided your guests don’t run out of the room screaming in terror.
