Skeleton Costumes – Just a Load of Old Bones?

Skeleton fancy dress isn’t just for Halloween – wearing a skeleton costume can make you the center of attraction at parties any time of year!  You can find just what you are looking for at SkeletonFancyDress.com

But have you ever considered that ‘real’ skeletons have many other uses other than as a basis for entertaining clothing? They make great home décor pieces, like candle holders and book ends and if you are into the Gothic look of “Dark Shadows” you can find any number of skeleton based items to decorate your home with.

Halloween and home décor aside, human skeleton bones are an integral part of any anatomy or physiology class and medical student around the world are required to know all about human skeletal make up.

The bones of the human body provide structure and support for all other body systems and, in conjunction with muscles, tendons and the nervous system, make fine and gross motor movements possible .

Here are some fun, bone-based facts:

There are 206 bones in the adult human body, although we are all born with 300 individual bones at birth. As we grow, many of the original 300 bones fuse together as we grow and develop.

The smallest bone in the human body is called  ‘the stirrup bone’ and is a tiny bone in the ear whose function is to carry sound from the eardrum to the inner ear. By contract, the largest bone in the body is in the leg and is called the femur.  It runs from hip to knee (the thigh bone) and is amazingly strong.

If you like to play quizzes an interesting fact to know is the name of the only bone in the human body that is not connected to another -  the hyoid bone. Remember its name as it may just win you a prize! If you are interested,  this free-floating bone can be found at the base of the tongue between the lower jaw bone and the voice box and its function is to support the tongue and all its muscles.

If you fancy downloading a skeleton screensaver, take a look at www.eskeletons.org where you will find a whole host of interesting facts and interactive resources all realting to human skeletons.

Whislt dressing your kids as glow in the dark skeleton fancy dress costumes is great fun at Halloween, have you ever considered that it can also be a fun educational opportunity? Learning about the human anatomy is something parents can do with their children whilst trick or treating and there are many online educational resources on human skeleton bones,including real photographs of the human skeletal system, easily accesed via the internet.

One such site can be found at www.bio.psu.edu and your kids will love taking part in the quiz whilst discovering fun facts about bone orientations and their interraction with related muscles.

So when you are putting on your skeleton fancy dress costume this Halloween, whether you are an adult or a child, remember just how important all those bones are as you rattle your way around the neighbourhood!