Anything Goes at Show on Bodily Functions (2002)

A visitor to Singapore's Grossology exhibit emerges from a giant nose in which the environment of a sneeze is recreated [Reuters]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 18-year-old student Pamela Yap as she made a beeline for the interactive displays. ``They don't teach us this at school.''

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.

The show was brought in to help people understand and perhaps better manage their bodily functions, said Chew Tuan Tiong, 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," Chew said.

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 and armpit scents.

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.

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.

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

Notes:
Off limits: out of bounds; not to be entered or visited
Beeline for: go directly towards
Apart from: aside from; except for
Delve deep into: try to find information about something; study something
Get the most out of: benefit most from
Wrap up: complete

日前新加坡举办了一次介绍人体机能的科普展览，由于展览无所忌讳，包括对人体体液、体味的产生等令人恶心的机能都做了展示，让观众们对自己的身体机能有了生动的了解。

18岁的学生帕梅拉·亚坡来到展馆后就直奔展厅，迫不及待的想参观这个互动性的展览。她说："平时人们根本不会谈论打嗝和放屁，也不会深究这些现象到底是怎么回事。我们在学校也学不到这样的知识。"

新加坡素以城市洁净而闻名，在这个国家里，一直以来严禁随地吐痰，对入厕后不冲水的人施以重罚。5年前加拿大首次举办过人体功能展览，新加坡是继加拿大之后举办此类展览的第一个国家。

负责此次展览的新加坡科学中心负责人周传忠（音译）称，此次人体机能展览的目的是为了帮助人们了解或者更好的调节自身的人体机能。

周说："通过参观，人们会认识到这些似乎有些恶心的人体功能实际上对我们的身体有着非常重要的作用。"

在展馆内，孩子们可以爬上一面由橡胶制成的模拟皮肤墙，在上面他们可以发现疣和粉刺。当人们经过一条形状像山洞的"鼻孔"通道时，可以感受到鼻孔在吸气，时不时还能赶上打喷嚏。

参观者如果想考验自己的嗅觉，了解引起各种人体气味的真菌，展馆里还展出了盛有各种气味的瓶子供人们用鼻子尝试着去分辨，其中包括口腔、脚、肛门和腋下等人体部位常有的气味。

此次展览向人们介绍了人体物理、气味甚至肠胃胀气的声音等各方面知识。为了让参观者充分了解人体呕吐和打嗝等过程，人们可以通过操纵"呕吐机"和"打嗝机"的控制杆将这些过程看个明白。

孩子们在观看展览的时候往往会高兴的大喊大叫，但是成年们才是这次展览的最大受益者，因为在他们小的时候，大人们会告诉他们谈论这些近乎于个人隐私的生理现象是不雅的。

这次展览将在新加坡持续到3月4日，然后将在台北、汉城和香港继续进行展出。