Universities usually misplace student loan paperwork, financial aid requests, and the occasional pen or pencil. However, the University of Texas at Austin took higher education’s penchant for losing things a step further when they lost a collection of 100 human brains stored in formaldehyde. Specimens include the noggin of Charles Whitman, the man who killed and injured dozens from atop the university’s bell tower in 1966.
According to The Verge:
The missing organs are part of a collection that was transferred from the Austin State Hospital 28 years ago, which was owned by pathologist Dr. Coleman de Chenar. It is believed that he acquired the brains from patients in the psychiatric hospital. By the time he died in 1985, the doctor had amassed around 200 specimens….A lack of storage resulted in the gruesome hoard being relocated to the University of Texas, where only half remain today.
Many suspect the brains were stolen for “living rooms or Halloween pranks.” In the meantime, university officials are setting their best minds to the task (if they can find them).
Source: The Verge