The other day, Lori commented, wondering where Anya got her Wednesday-ish tendencies from. Really, I swear it wasn't all from me! A lot of what we do and study is because she and the other kids are interested, not because I'm leading them that way. But, I'm pretty open with helping them get where they want to go, and it doesn't hurt that I'm fascinated by true crime, etc, so I can generally answer their questions and find resources for them.

I didn't plan it this way, but the post the other day became and excellent segueway for this one! Yesterday was our homeschool group's trip to tour the County Coroner's office. It was amazingly cool! They were very good about answering the kids' questions respectfully without getting too scary or gross, but also without dumbing anything down.

They made sure we could come at a time when they weren't busy, and everything was all cleaned up. So, we didn't see any bodies; everyone was put away when we came through. We learned about what you need to learn to work there, and what happens when they get a call. We got to see the evidence room, and learned how long they keep stuff; 1 year for "naturals," 2 years for accidental and suicides, and they keep evidence from homicides forever.

We also got a new term that we hadn't heard before! Yay, vocabulary! And, because I love you all so much, I will share it with you.

Diener-From wikipedia-"The word Diener is German for servant. In English, it is generally used to describe the person, in the morgue, responsible for handling, moving, and cleaning the corpse (though, at some institutions dieners perform the entire dissection at autopsy). It is derived from the German word Leichendiener, which literally means corpse servant."

There you go, aren't you glad you stopped by today?

If this seems at all interesting to you, you should check with your county. Or, come visit me and I'll set you up! This was, hands down, one of the most interesting tours we've ever been on.

Labels: crime, homeschooling, kids