When you glance at the ingredient list of everyday items, you probably never imagine that some of them could contain parts of a human body. Yet history and modern science reveal a surprisingly macabre catalog of 10 products made from human remains and secretions. Buckle up for a creepy, fascinating ride through art, medicine, luxury and more.
10 Products Made From Unusual Human Sources
Mummy brown, a shade that dazzled painters from the 16th century onward, earned its name because it was literally ground from Egyptian mummies. Artisans would pulverise desiccated corpses, blend the resulting powder with a binding medium, and sell the pigment as any other colour. Its popularity surged quickly, even attracting French artists like Martin Drolling who sourced the pigment from the remains of former French monarchs.
The pigment’s heyday lasted well into the early 20th century, until artists finally learned of its grisly provenance. By the 1960s, manufacturers could no longer obtain fresh mummified bodies, and the trade in mummy brown effectively vanished in 1964.
9 Medicine
Centuries ago, European physicians and apothecaries routinely concocted remedies that incorporated human skeletons, blood, and adipose tissue. They believed that powdered skulls could cure any cranial ailment, while a moss called usnea, often growing on buried heads, was touted for nosebleeds and epilepsy.
Fat harvested from corpses was smeared on the skin to treat gout, and bandages were soaked in the same greasy substance before being applied to wounds. Even royal patrons took part; King Charles II famously sipped a mixture of ground human skull and spirits, dubbed “the king’s drops,” to preserve his health.
The practice peaked between the 1500s and 1600s, waned in the 1700s, and faded entirely by the 20th century as modern medicine dispelled such superstitions.
8 Diamonds
In recent years, companies have turned the ashes of deceased loved ones—and even pets—into genuine diamonds, marketing them as “memorial diamonds.” Since carbon makes up roughly 18 % of the human body, the cremation process yields a carbon‑rich residue that can be refined into gem‑grade material.
After cremation, the ash is acid‑washed to strip away impurities, leaving carbon that is about 99 % pure. Trace elements such as boron remain, tinting the resulting stone a delicate blue; the more boron, the deeper the hue. Interestingly, diamonds forged from individuals who underwent chemotherapy often appear lighter, as the treatment reduces boron levels in the body.
7 Food
Scientists at Pennsylvania State University are engineering a future where astronaut cuisine is derived from human waste. By employing anaerobic digestion, they feed a first consortium of microbes with a blend of urine and feces, prompting the microbes to generate methane.
The methane then powers a second microbial community that converts it into a nutrient‑dense paste containing roughly 52 % protein and 36 % fat. Because the process occurs so swiftly, pathogenic organisms have no chance to proliferate, rendering the final food essentially disease‑free. The technology remains experimental, pending further development before it can be deployed on long‑duration space missions.
6 Lampshade
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a New Orleans collector named Raymond Henderson stumbled upon a lamp whose shade was allegedly crafted from human skin. The seller claimed the material came from “the skin of Jews,” prompting Henderson to purchase the eerie object for $35.
Upon close inspection, he observed genuine dermal features—wrinkles, pores, and the faint texture of dried flesh. Laboratory analysis later confirmed the material was indeed human skin, though DNA testing could not determine the donor’s ethnicity because the sample was too desiccated.
While some suspect the shade may have originated in Nazi‑era Germany, definitive proof remains elusive. The artifact stands as a chilling reminder of how human tissue has been repurposed in the most unexpected ways.
5 Books
Harvard’s library houses a volume titled Des Destinees de l’Ame (“Destinies of the Soul”) whose cover is not paper but the preserved skin of a woman who died in a mental institution. This practice—anthropodermic bibliopegy—was once fashionable among collectors who prized the macabre novelty of binding books in human dermis.
Another example resides in Bristol’s M Shed museum: a tome titled Cutis Vera Johannis Horwood (“The Actual Skin of John Horwood”). The book’s cover bears a skull‑and‑crossbones motif and is bound in the skin of John Horwood, an 18‑year‑old who was executed for the murder of Eliza Balsum. After his execution, his remains were dissected, later stored, and eventually re‑interred by a descendant over a century later.
4 Boiled Eggs
In Zhejiang’s Dongyang region, vendors sell a curious delicacy known as tong zi dan (“virgin boy eggs”). The dish involves boiling ordinary chicken eggs in the fresh urine of pre‑pubescent boys, a practice believed to confer health benefits ranging from improved stamina to disease prevention.
Preparation follows a two‑step ritual: the eggs are first simmered directly in the urine, then removed, cracked, and returned to the pot for a second boil, allowing the urine to permeate the egg’s interior. Sellers often collect urine from schoolchildren, though they reportedly ask ill students to refrain so the resulting broth remains “healthy.”
3 Cosmetics
In 2005, investigative reporting by The Guardian uncovered a Chinese cosmetics firm that purportedly incorporated the skin of executed prisoners into its anti‑aging creams and lip treatments. The company allegedly marketed the products to European buyers, claiming the human‑derived ingredients could smooth wrinkles and rejuvenate skin.
One company representative initially bragged about the formula to an undercover researcher, only to later recant when pressed for details. While Chinese authorities appear aware of such practices, they reportedly turn a blind eye as long as the trade remains clandestine. Health experts warn that using human tissue in beauty products could pose infection risks for unsuspecting consumers.
2 Bricks
South African researchers announced in 2018 a novel method for fabricating building bricks from human urine. By introducing urease‑producing bacteria to sand, then mixing the resulting enzyme with urine, the urea breaks down into calcium carbonate, a hard, rock‑like substance.
This calcium carbonate can be cast into bricks, while the residual by‑product serves as a fertilizer. Each brick consumes roughly 20 liters (five gallons) of urine, meaning an average adult would need several weeks to contribute enough fluid for a single unit. The technology remains in the laboratory phase, with scalability and supply‑chain challenges still under investigation.
1 Perfume
French chemist Geraldine Savary teamed up with Katia Apalategui, whose mother mourned her late husband by inhaling his pillowcase. Together they devised a bespoke fragrance that captures the lingering aroma of a departed person’s belongings, creating a personal “memorial perfume.”
Each bottle is custom‑crafted from the scent molecules extracted from items that belonged to the deceased, such as clothing or bedding. The exclusive perfume sells for about $600 per vial, offering a luxurious, albeit eerie, way to keep a loved one’s essence close at hand.