Skulls Unlimited International

Last updated
Skulls Unlimited International, Inc.
Company type Privately-held
Industry Retail
FoundedJune 1986 [1]
Headquarters Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jay Villemarette (president)
ProductsReal and replica skulls and skeletons
Website www.skullsunlimited.com

Skulls Unlimited International, Inc. is a commercial supplier of osteological specimens located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Skulls Unlimited Inc. provides a skull cleaning service, using dermestid beetles to strip the flesh from skulls and skeletons. [2] The bones are later whitened using hydrogen peroxide. Skulls Unlimited processes approximately 25,000 skull specimens per year. [3]

Contents

Skulls Unlimited and the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Skulls Unlimited and the Museum of Osteology.jpg
Skulls Unlimited and the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Skulls Unlimited's gift shop Skulls Unlimited's Gift Shop, August 2013.jpg
Skulls Unlimited's gift shop
Dermestid beetles being used to clean a human skull at Skulls Unlimited International Human Skull being cleaning by Dermestid Beetles.jpg
Dermestid beetles being used to clean a human skull at Skulls Unlimited International

History

In the summer of 1986, Jay Villemarette found himself out of work after being laid off from his auto body job and started considering the possibility of working full-time with skulls. In June of that year he established Skulls Unlimited International Inc. [1] His fascination with skulls and bones began when he was seven years old, after he found a dog skull in the woods near his home. That interest, along with encouragement from his father, [4] [5] led Villemarette to begin collecting other animal skulls. After graduating from high school, he collected and sold skulls in his spare time [6] while working as an auto body technician. As sales grew, Villemarette and his wife Kim began to clean skulls in their kitchen. [5]

After relocating to a retail location for his business in 1992, Villemarette was able to employ his first full-time employees. Skulls Unlimited Inc. remained at their South Shields address until June 2000, when they expanded into a custom built facility in Oklahoma City.

Mike Rowe poses for a photo during filming at Skulls Unlimited International. Dirty Jobs small.jpg
Mike Rowe poses for a photo during filming at Skulls Unlimited International.

Over the years this business has been featured on several television programs including;

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman at the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge pose with Skulls Unlimited International's Jay Villemarette and Joey Williams 2004. Mythbusters2.jpg
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman at the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge pose with Skulls Unlimited International's Jay Villemarette and Joey Williams 2004.

In 2004, Skulls Unlimited Inc. was invited to participate in the Discovery Channel's Young Scientists Challenge in Washington D.C. This televised event was hosted by the Mythbusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.

In January 2013, Villemarette guest starred on John Hodgman's podcast Judge John Hodgman as an "expert witness" to comment on the hobby of collecting skeletons and taxidermied animals. [7]

Museum of Osteology

In 2004, Skulls Unlimited Inc. started construction on a new 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) building that now houses Skulls Unlimited Inc.'s corporate offices and The Museum of Osteology. The museum opened to the public on October 1, 2010 and exhibits over 300 real skeletons and over 400 real skulls, [8] focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system. On May 1, 2015, Skulls Unlimited Inc. opened a second museum, Skeletons: Museum of Osteology, in Orlando, Florida, which displays over 500 real skeletons. [9]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Deinonychus</i> Genus of theropod dinosaur

Deinonychus is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This species, which could grow up to 3.4 meters (11 ft) long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago. Fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that may belong to Deinonychus have been found much farther east in Maryland.

<i>Camarasaurus</i> Camarasaurid sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic Period

Camarasaurus was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch, between 155 and 145 million years ago.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Osteology</span> Private museum devoted to osteology, in Oklahoma, U.S.

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Almas is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. It contains a single species, Almas ukhaa, named in 2017 by Pei Rui and colleagues, based on a partial articulated skeleton. The only known specimen was found in the Djadochta Formation, which is late Campanian in age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Villemarette</span> Founder, president and CEO of Skulls Unlimited International, Inc

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dippy</span> Diplodocus fossil

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References

  1. 1 2 Elder, Robert K. "In Bone business, skulls rate head and shoulders above skeletons". The Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  2. "Where 'how greasy a human is' is part of the job". Associated Press. October 30, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  3. Raymond, Jeff. "Skeleton Crew". The Oklahoman . Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  4. Urstadt, Brian (July 2006). "I'm Going to Rib-cage World". www.outsideonline.com. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Bone Collector". The Oklahoma Gazette. October 25, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  6. Staff Writer (April 2, 2007). "Life as a skull cleaner is a messy job". Reuters . Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  7. MaxFun Intern (23 January 2013). "Judge John Hodgman Episode 94: Bleached and Mounted Bones of Contention". Maximum Fun . Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  8. Brus, Brian (May 27, 2009). "Skull Junkie Finds Solid Future in Skeleton Frontier". The Journal Record . Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  9. uncredited (May 12, 2015). "Skeleton museum now open at I-Drive 360". Attractions Magazine.