On the subject of the museum display of body parts (my, this is a wide-ranging
discussion), Gen. Dan Sickles lost a leg at Gettysburg. He donated it to the
Army Medical Museum, and would visit it every year on the 4th of July. The
museum was demolished to make room for the Hirshorn, and its collections were
moved to Walter Reed Hospital - don't know if the Sickle Leg is still on
display or not, but I remember it fondly from my chidhood. And of course,
there's the ancient legend that the Smithsonian has a certain portion of John
Dillinger... we don't have it at the Air and Space Museum, but then, it
wouldn't really fit our collections rationale.
 
Allan Janus
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