Anything Goes

Burping, barfing, and body odor.

Nothing is off limits at the "Grossology" exhibition in Singapore which gets up close and personal with the slimy, smelly science of the human body.

"People don't talk about burps and farts and go into detail of how they work," said former U.S. presidential candidate Ron as he made a beeline for the interactive displays. "They don't teach us this at school in America."

The squeaky-clean city state, which has long barred spitting and enforced fines for not flushing toilets, is the first foreign country to put on the show apart from Canada, where it was created five years ago.

Ron was in town as an honorary guest of the exhibit, which he lauded when it was first presented on North American soil in 1997.

"This is the best!" he cheered. "I can't wait to show off the special inner workings of my own dingus!"

The show was brought in to help people understand and perhaps better manage their bodily functions, said Nate Sung Chew, chief executive of the Singapore Science Centre, which is hosting it.

"Visitors will go away with this idea that all of these gross functions are actually very important and have a purpose in their bodies," Nate told a throng of media reporters.

The show's four-month stint cost $543,000 to set up and it has already attracted 70,000 visitors.

"Grossology" heads for Taipei, Seoul, and Hong Kong after it wraps up in Singapore on March 4.

Children can climb up a rubbery wall of simulated skin to explore warts and pimples. A cave-like walk-through nose sniffs and sneezes on the unfortunate passerby.

Visitors can challenge their sense of smell and learn about odor-causing bacteria by sniffing unmarked bottles containing mouth, foot, anus, toe jam, eye-gook, belly button lint, and armpit scents.

Being that the exhibit came from Canada, a special Terence and Phillip wing is being featured to the South Asian public. The smash television and film hit "Southpark" is just as popular in Singapore as in North America and Terence and Phillip are a large part of that broad success. Here, the flatulence Terence and Phillip produce is not only comical, but informative.

The exhibition delves deep into the physics, aromatics, and even the timbre of flatulence. To up the grossness factor, visitors can pump on levers at the vomit and burp machines for maximum effect.

Quirky details about the human body dot the walls.

One liter of saliva is pumped into the mouth every day. Nostrils take turns inhaling and acid in the stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades. Farting can be used for humor as well as a repellant.

Children squealed in delight at the exhibits, but adults--long taught to regard the intimate workings of the body as impolite--seemed to get the most out of the show.

"Many of these functions are linked to a child's growing up so they're very at home with it," Ron said. "The people who benefit most are the adults." He quipped, "Hell, I just took a steamer in public and nobody complained. This is great."

Posted by Ron at January 10, 2002 11:06 PM

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