The Hand Collection (Classic)

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You can learn a lot about a person from their hands. In this episode, we hear the story of a doctor who made it possible for us to hold onto the stories of presidents, astronauts, musicians, artists and more… through bronze molds of their hands.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I've always been fascinated by hands, other people's hands.
0:10.5	This is Dr. Adrian Flapp, a renowned hand surgeon.
0:14.4	This tape is from an interview he gave to the Baylor University Medical Center back in the 90s.
0:19.3	Most people look at faces first.
0:21.8	I look at hands.
0:23.6	The person's character is right there.
0:26.5	It's in the fingertips, the palms.
0:29.4	It's in the wrinkles and the scars.
0:32.0	If you've heard of one orthopedic surgeon, and I mean, God, we've all heard of dozens,
0:36.8	it's probably Dr. Flatt. He was a big
0:40.6	deal in the world of hand surgery. On top of performing surgery, he wrote books, he gave lectures,
0:45.6	he spent many years teaching and training new surgeons. He died in 2017 after a long and esteemed
0:51.9	career. But Dr. Flatt left more than just a legacy.
0:57.3	He left a bit of his handiwork, if you will,
1:01.5	120 pieces of it, or I guess 240 pieces,
1:07.4	depending on how you want to count.
1:09.5	Because Dr. Adrian Flat left behind hands.
1:18.6	I'm Dylan Thuris, and this is Alice Obsgira. Today, we are visiting the Adrian E. Flat
1:24.6	MD hand collection. And in case you've been envisioning something truly gruesome,
1:30.3	these are not people's cut off hands.
1:32.6	They are cast of hands.
1:34.2	But we will tell you all about them after this.
	...

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