[imagesource: Institute of Human Anatomy]

Some people like to keep it simple on TikTok, like Khabane “Khaby” Lame, the most popular guy on the platform, and foodie Emily Mariko.

Otherwise, the platform is mostly full of dance routines, makeup tutorials, and pranks, designed to go viral.

If you’ve engaged with certain content, though, you might just find yourself on the more strange end of TikTok, with a science account full of literal cadavers.

Yup, the stars of the Institute of Human Anatomy’s (IOHA) account are dead bodies.

IOHA is a privately owned cadaver lab based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Consider yourself warned.

The account currently has 7,6 million followers who enjoy various videos of Justin Cottle (seen above), the lab director and living face behind the account, explaining things like where our stomachs are, or how organs move during birth:

@instituteofhumananatomyDo you REALLY know where your stomach is?? #scienceclass #science #biology #cool #education #learning #instituteofhumananatomy #scienceiscool #anatomy♬ original sound – IOHA

Inverse reported on the stomach video last year, mentioning how Jeremy Jones, the founder of IOHA, said that back in September 2019 the Institute had a mere 292 Instagram followers:

“Literally, it has gone from teaching thousands of students to millions. I mean, that’s what it turned into with TikTok,” Jones tells me.

It is good to know that TikTok has a serious streak, packed with educational material amidst all the frivolous escapism and joking around:

With each short video, Cottle and his colleagues have to match the light nature of TikTok (bulldogs on skateboards, etc.) and a respect for the dead these bodies demand.

Their ability to strike the right tone has catapulted them from anonymity to a must-follow account, and revealed a new way to learn from death on the internet.

Whether it’s morbid curiosity or academic interest, IOHA’s cadavers are showcasing just how many people have an interest in the dead.

The most recent video is about how organs move around during pregnancy.

It has been watched over eight million times:

@instituteofhumananatomyPregnancy never ceases to amaze me. ##TodayILearned ##Pregnancy ##Amazing ##ScienceClass♬ original sound – IOHA

Newsweek reported on this particularly popular video:

The general response was that of shock and wonder as users wrapped their heads around the significant physical changes women go through during pregnancy, as well as the fact that they had just seen a medical corpse.

One user said: “Women go through all of this and men still have the audacity…”

Another said: “Okay this is very interesting but can I get a heads up as to what I’m about to look at next time?”

Meanwhile, IOHA’s regular watchers weren’t that fazed, having seen it all before.

[sources:newsweek&inverse]