Oklahoma skeletal remains & organ donation industries earn Last Week Tonight shoutouts…

Oklahoma politicians aren’t the only ones who are great at getting roasted, spoofed, and criticized on the national satirical talk show circuit. 

Earlier this week, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver took an amusing and lengthy look at the human organ and body collection industry, providing a glimpse of the problems and ethical issues concerning what corporations, governments, and healthcare organizations do with human bodies that are designated for science, research and organ collection. 

During the riff, three Oklahoma businesses and organizations got some spotlight and attention.

The first was the Museum of Osteology – the for-profit I-35 bone graveyard museum that houses and displays skeletons of all different species, including human children and flexible acrobats.

Oliver showed a snippet of a CBS news report about the museum that questions whether it’s okay to display human bodies for a profit when they were originally donated for scientific research purposes:

Although I’ve driven by the museum and its billboards thousands of times, I’ve never been to the Museum of Osteology. If you ask me, the only thing creepier than a skeleton is a person who collects skeletons and then charges people to look at them, so I’ll stick to the teeth exhibit or whatever they call the Omniplex now for my human body education kick. 

I guess the Museum of Osteology also owns something called Skulls Unlimited, where you can buy things like skulls, ribs and teeth. Oliver made sure to roast that, too. 

In addition to The Museum of Osteology and Skulls Unlimited, Lifeshare Oklahoma got a shoutout on the show. 

This isn’t because of the fine work they do harvesting organs and getting them to people in need. Nope, they were profiled for having an incredibly cringeworthy mascot that for some reason pays tribute to Oklahoma’s oil industry – Derrick the Donor. 

First of all, I feel stupid for not having any clue that Derrick the Donor was a real thing. Even though John Oliver followed our footsteps and glory in being an early adopter of Joe Exotic’s presidential campaign, it’s very embarrassing to be scooped by a British satirist on something happening in my own backyard. If you know of any other cringe-worthy mascots we need to know about, please let me know.

Here’s more about Derrick:

We would like to introduce you to Derrick the Donor. He is LifeShare's new mascot and you will see him out and about across Oklahoma at events! He symbolizes Oklahoma's top production which sustains life for so many people, just like organ donation gives life to so many people. Oil is a precious resource just like organs are a precious resource. Neither can be manufactured, both must be conserved and utilized for maximum benefit for the people of Oklahoma.

No lie, is nothing in this state protected from the greasy claws of oil industry propaganda? I know they have money and power and everything, but does everything we do – including organ donations – have to suck the oil from their dick?!

Don’t get me wrong. Oil and natural gas are created by the pressurized bodies of ancient aquatic plants and organisms that fell to the ocean floor hundreds of millions of years ago, so I guess in some way it is the ultimate form of organ donation, but still, this takes things too far!

Mickey Mantle’s Liver would be a better mascot than Derrick the Donor!

Anyway, I guess we should thank John Oliver for taking the time to make fun of our state's creepy museums, bone sellers and dumb mascots.

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