It's true that a lot of the performers at old-timey side shows were frauds, but experts say that this 103-year-old embalmed clown is no joke. The California Institute of Abnormalarts (yes, the CIA) claims that their famous dead clown is none other than Achile Chatouilleu -- an American clown who died in 1912. He asked to be embalmed in the makeup that made him famous.
Whether or not this is the real clown is up for debate, but experts say that this is definitely a dead...someone.
His death certificate states that Chatouilleu died of chronic nephritis (kidney inflammation) in 1912. In his will, he asked to be embalmed and dressed in his favorite clown costume.
While there is no real proof that this particular clown is Chatouilleu himself, the mercury and arsenic used to embalm the body in this tomb are accurate for the time, experts say.
Who knows? Maybe a long time ago, a side-show man collected a random body from the morgue, dressed it up like a clown, and embalmed the crap out of it. I suppose it doesn't matter if this is or isn't the body of the famous Achile Chatouilleu. It's still a widely popular exhibit at the California Institute of Abnormalarts.
