The place where I grew up, Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, has a reputation for being The Asshole Of America. Now, that reputation has caught up with it: A giant-sized walk-through model of a human colon is now on display at the Auburn Mall, complete with nasty pre-cancerous polyps and such. It’s educational, of course — the local hospital’s cancer treatment center is sponsoring it — but the irony of it was too much not to mention. Thanks to my blog-buddy Jack Cluth for the heads-up (sorry).
Meanwhile, in Austria…
A whole lot less education, but a whole lot more entertaining is this bar built to look like a human rectum, complete with massive quivering puckerhole. According to the post at that link, the bar, situated in the Museum Quarter of Vienna, is designed to be a replica of the entire human digestive tract, beginning with a tongue at one end and running to its..ahem..natural conclusion. The colon end is big enough to seat patrons, but sadly does not include squishy inflatable polyps or any other realistic bits in the interior.
From the gist of the post and its source, it’s not clear if the bar is still there, or if it was just a temporary art installation. So I hereby summon our Vienna correspondent, Mig, to bring us up to date on its status and, if possible, enjoy a beverage there for our benefit. Just don’t order the bran muffin, that’s all I’m saying.
