Dissecting Valentine's Day with Emily Graslie of 'The Brain Scoop'

On February 14, people deal with Valentine's Day a number of ways. Couples may be dissatisfied with their partner's efforts while singles complain of "Single Awareness Day" when they do not have someone in their lives. One woman posted on Facebook, "It's just another Thursday. It's just another Thursday. It's just another Thursday." But some have an unusual view of what to do with the day to make it an enjoyable event.

Emily Graslie, the volunteer Curatorial Assistant for the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum at The University of Montana, started a web series called "The Brain Scoop" and gave the episode "Emily Gets A Valentine," posted February 13, an unexpected twist.

Graslie loves some pretty gross things; dead things. She wears beetle earrings. A few episodes of "The Brain Scoop" are devoted to the gleeful picking up and necropsy of a road-killed wolf. Another episode is devoted to sorting specimen jars in a basement and a related tale of the untimely demise of a Smithsonian Museum curator. She recently tweeted, "Taking apps. to be my Valentine: Must like cats, enjoy conversing about dissection and decomposition trends over a romantic dinner, etc." If Emily Graslie weren't so charmingly geeky and watchable, she'd be downright creepy.

Dissecting Valentine's Day with Emily Graslie of "The Brain Scoop"Dissecting Valentine's Day with Emily Graslie of "The Brain Scoop"

Graslie is the real deal, not an actress. She began volunteering at the museum while an art studio major and never left, continuing on while she obtains a master's degree in museum studies. She plays violin and bakes for fun. When she gets a Valentine gift on video, she does what any science nerd would do, she dissects it with aplomb.

Please check out the video as she really gets to the heart of the matter discussing the many wonders of the heart. You may not have a valentine, but at least you can have a laugh about it with Graslie who was at home alone working on a paper on the dreaded day.

Watch more at "The Brain Scoop" on YouTube. If you really want to geek out, visit the Museum's Tumblr page. After viewing all of these wonderful videos, you might also want to nominate Emily Graslie for a Shorty Award in the museum category by voting for @ehmee before the February 18 deadline.

Diana Diaz is also the LA Rock Music Examiner in addition to the Sex & Relationships Examiner. For those who prefer to wish each other a "Crappy Valentines Day" there are some mixtapes of unromantic songs available from the author.