A wooden mannequin

Mannequin (alternately, manikin, mannikin, manakin, dummy or lay figure). The word comes from the Dutch word manneken, literally meaning 'little man'. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Mannequin is the French form.

• A jointed model of the human body used by artists, especially to demonstrate the arrangement of drapery. The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating Drapery refers to Cloths or Textiles ( Old French drap, from Late Latin drappus) used for decorative purposes--such on windows--or to Also called lay figure.
• A life-size, articulated doll mainly used to display clothing. A doll is an object that represents a baby or other human being but includes likenesses of animals and imaginary creatures Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather
• Mannequins with simulated airways are used in the teaching of first aid, CPR and advanced airway management skills such as intubation. The airways are those parts of the Respiratory system through which air flows to get from the external environment to the Alveoli. First aid is the provision of initial care for an Illness or Injury. In Medicine, intubation refers to the placement of a tube into an external or internal orifice of the body
• In computer simulation, virtual mannequins are used to model the behaviour of the human body. A computer simulation, a computer model or a computational model is a Computer program, or network of computers that attempts to simulate an The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations and also differing denotations

Mannequins in culture

A pair of mannequins

In the mid 1970s, "Mannequin Modeling," a human model posing as a mannequin figure, was made famous by New York City's major flagship department store Abraham & Straus aka A&S, which was located in Downtown Brooklyn. The City of New York Abraham & Straus (or A&S) now defunct was a major New York City department store based in Brooklyn, New York. Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower by DSJPG|thumb|The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is a prominent symbol of Downtown

Mannequins are a common theme in horror fiction and indie rock and roll, although not nearly as common as baby dolls. While an intense, irrational fear of mannequins (known as pediophobia) is rare, many people nonetheless find them disturbing (due in part perhaps to the Uncanny Valley effect), especially when not fully assembled. Pediophobia is a fear of Dolls or Children. The word is derived from the Greek word paidion, meaning "little child" The uncanny valley is a hypothesis that when Robots and other facsimiles of humans look and act almost like actual humans it causes a response of revulsion among human observers

In "realistic" (non-supernatural) horror, the presence of mannequins or mannequin parts can be a visual cue for insanity, particularly insanity of a violent nature. Examples of this include The Silence of the Lambs, in which mannequin limbs are among the objects found in the killer's storage unit. The Silence of the Lambs is a horror / Crime Novel by Thomas Harris, starring his popular villain Dr In Dean Koontz's novel Velocity, a group of mutilated mannequins is found at a suspect's house, causing the protagonist (and reader) to believe the suspect to be the shark, or at least seriously disturbed. Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9 1945 is an American Author. Best known for his Novels that could broadly be described as Suspense thrillers Koontz Velocity is a novel by Dean Koontz first published in 2005. Set in Napa County California, it is about a man in his thirties who takes In the television series Carnivàle, the camp site of a twisted Texas back country family is strewn with mannequin parts of all sorts. Carnivàle ( is an American Television series set in the United States during the Great Depression.

Another instance of mannequins occurs in the psychological thriller Condemned: Criminal Origins where, in one level, the player is inside an abandoned department store strewn with mannequins. Condemned Criminal Origins is a Video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega for PC and the Xbox 360. The player can pick up a mannequin arm and use it as a melee weapon also. As the player progresses through the level there are certain stages where the mannequins are actual, disguised people. They come alive and try to kill you. This game may induce pediophobia. Pediophobia is a fear of Dolls or Children. The word is derived from the Greek word paidion, meaning "little child"

Another setting found in numerous movies is abandoned nuclear test sites consisting of entire towns populated by mannequins, creating an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. This setting appears in such films as Kalifornia, Mulholland Falls, and the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes. "Kalifornia" is also the name of a song on Fatboy Slim 's You've Come a Long Way Baby album a song on Above the Law 's Uncle Sam's Mulholland Falls ( 1996) is an American Neo-noir Drama film directed by Lee Tamahori. The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 Remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film of the same name.

Mannequins in the front of a French clothes shop, in Bordeaux

A theme which appears both in horror and science fiction is mannequins coming to life, usually with somewhat zombie-like attributes. ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate zombie is a reanimated human corpse Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled A recent example is "Rose", the first episode of the current Doctor Who series, in which a vat of sentient alien plastic seeks to take over the world, using animated mannequins called Autons as its primary enforcers. " Rose " is an episode in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 26 March Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor The mannequins have gunlike weapons inside their hands, and there are many scenes of them smashing through shop windows and wreaking havoc in a London shopping mall. A display window is a Window in a shop displaying items for sale The Autons are also seen in the earlier Doctor Who episodes Spearhead from Space and Terror of the Autons. Spearhead from Space is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast Terror of the Autons is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, broadcast in four weekly

Much more rare in fiction is a heroic or virtuous mannequin, although examples do exist. DC Comics' hero Brother Power the Geek is a mannequin brought to life by a lightning strike who gains super powers and befriends a group of 1960s hippies. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Brother Power the Geek was a Comic book character created in the late 1960s for DC Comics by Joe Simon. The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world His comic book series only lasted two issues. In the movie Mannequin and its sequel, the protagonist's love interest is a mannequin who magically comes to life. Mannequin is a 1987 romantic comedy film starring Kim Cattrall, Andrew McCarthy, Meshach Taylor, James Spader,

British pop band Yazoo often uses mannequins on its covers, including the album Upstairs at Eric's, the hits compilation Only Yazoo, and the 1999 singles "Don't Go" and "Situation". Upstairs at Eric's (1982 is Yazoo 's first album produced by the band and E

'Mannequin' is also a song performed by British death metal band Cradle of Filth. In the Marilyn Manson song "Tourniquet" from the 1996 album Antichrist Superstar the subject is a mannequin. Marilyn Manson is an American Alternative metal band based in Los Angeles California. Antichrist Superstar (sometimes written as Antichrist Svperstar as an allusion to Latin) is Marilyn Manson's second full-length The ska band Reel Big Fish's music video for "Where Have You Been?" from "Cheer Up!" features frontman Aaron Barrett's fictional ex portrayed as a mannequin. Reel Big Fish is an American Ska punk band from Huntington Beach California, best known for the 1997 hit " Sell Out. Aaron Asher Barrett (born August 30 1974 is an American musician

Mannequins in medical education

A baby medical simulation mannequin.

Medical simulation mannequins, models or related artefacts such as SimMan^[1] or Harvey^[2] are widely used in medical education. Simulation is the imitation of some real thing state of affairs or process Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor (i These are sometimes also referred to as virtual patients. Virtual patients are simulations or representations of individuals involved in one or more Health care processes typically (but not necessarily Patients Virtual

Mannequins for emergency services training

Fire and coastguard services use mannequins to practice life-saving procedures. The mannequins have similar weight distribution to an unconscious human. Special obese mannequins and horse mannequins have also been made for similar purposes.

See also

• Resusci Anne
• Agalmatophilia
• Crash test dummy
• Sex doll
• Model
• CPR

References

1. ^ SimMan® - www.laerdal.com
2. ^ Gordon Center for Research in Medical Education

• Gross, Kenneth - The Dream of the Moving Statue (Penn State Press 1992, ISBN 0-271-02900-5)

External links

• US Patent for 'educational medical mannequin' (U.S. Patent 5,314,339 )