How To Make Skeletons.

Summary

Maxilla & Mandible was a renowned New York store specializing in natural history and science items, including animal bones, which closed in 2011 partly due to the loss of parking spaces for a bike lane.

Abstract

Maxilla & Mandible, a popular store in New York known for selling animal bones and fossils, closed its doors in August 2011. Operating since 1983, it was not just a retail outlet but also served as an informal scientific advice center. The store's closure was marked by a humorous sign saying "Gone Digging," and it was a significant loss for the community, especially for the many children who were fascinated by its collection of dinosaur bones and other skeletal remains. The process of cleaning bones for educational use in schools involved beetles and a solution of water and bacteria. The store's decline in business was attributed to the removal of parking spaces to make way for a bike lane, which led to a decrease in customer traffic.

Opinions

Jo Ann Harris expresses a personal sentiment of sadness over the store's closure, indicating its value to her and potentially to others who would have appreciated it.
The store is remembered fondly by the author, who highlights its role as a local treasure and a place of learning and wonder.
The author's tone suggests a sense of loss for the community, as the store provided both educational resources and a unique shopping experience.
The mention of the store serving as a scientific advice center staffed by experts with PhDs implies a respect for the knowledge and service the store provided to the public.

Animal skeletons are easier to deal with.

This is not a story similar to the TV series “Bones”. This was a real place.

There was a place where you could order bones of animals called “Maxilla & Mandible” in New York. Famed Upper West Side store and “World Renowned Natural History and Science Emporium” Maxilla & Mandible closed its doors in August, 2011 with a (genius) sign posted in the window that read “Gone Digging.” The shop had been hawking fossils, skulls, dinosaur sculptures, and all sorts of bones since 1983.

The store had also served as a kind of scientific advice center, where people could ask questions about almost any branch of natural history and have them answered by someone with a PhD. Thousands of New York kids gawked at the bones and fearsome skulls of dinosaurs, bobcats and crocodiles. https://www.westsiderag.com/2011/08/24/maxilla-mandible-closing-fossil-dinosaur-bone-shop-was-a-local-treasure

How Bones Are Cleaned

Bones are cleaned by taking the skin off, then cutting the tendons to help the skin relax. Then, come the beetles. They are the true experts that really clean the bones. The beetles have to be maintained as they grow and grow rapidly because of the digestion of meat and other edibles.

After the beetles, the bones are put into a solution of tap water and bacteria. They are then clean enough to assemble.

These bones are then used in medical and veterinarian schools to help students learn.

It closed mostly and mainly because the parking spaces were taken out to make room for a bike lane. People had to park elsewhere, which caused the usual traffic in the store to decrease an an alarming rate.

So sad! I would have loved that store.

Jo Ann Harris is an author, parent, book devotee, writer, copywriter, and film fanatic. She is an autodidact who learns about everything and rows her own boat. She grew up and worked in Atlanta, Georgia and lived there sixty years. She writes articles about love, hope, personal life stories, advice and poems. She is a published author with an article in Woman’s World magazine in October, 2017.