How to Make a Fake Tapeworm
Tapeworms refer to elongated, segmented parasitic worms. These worms are members of the class Cestoda and do not contain intestinal tracts, instead absorbing nutrients via their outer membranes. For humans or animals, having a tapeworm infection can cause problems from abdominal pain and diarrhea to cystic masses or seizures. If for some reason you need to make a fake tapeworm, as a gag item, for a film or theater production, or as a science project, you can do so in under an hour using clay.
Instructions
-
-
1
Using a wad of white polymer clay the size of a small child's fist, roll the clay out into a snake-like tube.
-
2
Use your hands to mold the snake so that one end of the body starts off at 1/2 inch thick and the body slowly decreases in diameter until the opposite end is just a fraction of an inch thick.
-
-
3
Create the segments that make up a tapeworm. Hold the thick side of your clay snake 1/2 inch from the end and pinch the clay. Move your fingers 1/2 inch down from this first pinch mark and repeat. Continue to do this until you get to the end.
-
4
Roll small pieces of clay until they look like large grains of rice. These will act as separate segments of the tapeworm, distinct from the main body.
-
5
Set the oven for 270 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the clay tapeworm for 20 minutes.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
While some tapeworms can grow to be extremely large, most tapeworms in adults and humans are 6 inches long. If you want to make an enormous tapeworm, just start with a bigger wad of clay.
References
- Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
