--- title: 100 Human Brains Went Missing from the University of Texas description: Whoops canonical: https://time.com/3615992/human-brains-missing-university-of-texas/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-03T16:16:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:14:58.380Z og:title: 100 Human Brains Went Missing from the University of Texas og:description: Whoops og:url: https://time.com/3615992/human-brains-missing-university-of-texas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30a57af9dea33587/69876c4f524fc0697fdeb1f3/157283936.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 157283936 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 100 Human Brains Went Missing from the University of Texas twitter:description: Whoops twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30a57af9dea33587/69876c4f524fc0697fdeb1f3/157283936.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 100 Human Brains Went Missing From the University of Texas by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Dec 3, 2014 4:16 PM UTC  Brain in a jar with clipping path Brain in a jar with clipping pathKenneth C. Zirkel—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Dec 3, 2014 4:16 PM UTC Here’s a story you don’t hear every day: Approximately 100 human brains, complete with their formaldehyde storage casing, have gone missing from the University of Texas in Austin. Psychology professor Tim Schallert told the [_Austin American-Statesman_](http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/university-of-texas-looks-for-clues-after-100-huma/njKYx/#%5F%5Ffederated=1) Tuesday that while they “think somebody may have taken the brains… we don’t know at all for sure.” So culprits could include anything from students with strange taste in Christmas tree ornaments (postulates [_Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com/100-human-brains-have-gone-missing-from-the-university-of-texas-2014-12)) to Halloween pranksters (guesses other [UT professors](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/03/the-case-of-100-missing-brains-at-the-university-of-texas/)) to, and we’re just putting this out there, the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. (Beats zombies, am I right?) The brains came into the university’s collection [30 years ago](http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/12/03/ut-statement-brain-specimens/), and many were stored in the basement of the school’s Animal Resources Center. One of the brains that is suspected missing belonged to Charles Whitman, a sniper who killed 16 people after firing from the Austin clock tower in 1966\. He had requested his brain be studied for mental illness. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3615992/human-brains-missing-university-of-texas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3615992/human-brains-missing-university-of-texas/"},"headline":"100 Human Brains Went Missing From the University of Texas","datePublished":"2014-12-03T16:16:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:14:58.380Z","description":"Whoops","url":"https://time.com/3615992/human-brains-missing-university-of-texas/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Crime","theft","Austin"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30a57af9dea33587/69876c4f524fc0697fdeb1f3/157283936.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30a57af9dea33587/69876c4f524fc0697fdeb1f3/157283936.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"157283936","caption":"157283936","creditText":"Kenneth C. Zirkel—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3615992/human-brains-missing-university-of-texas/","name":"100 Human Brains Went Missing From the University of Texas"}}]}] ```