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Watching some movie/TV this question came to mind, purely theoretical of course, if one wanted to dissolve a human corpse, like getting rid of a body after killing someone, is it better to use an acid or a base? In the movies (as well the popular perception for some reason) they always use acid. The movie I was watching they had a bathtub full of acid in which they throw in the body. But I also remember my chem teacher telling me (a long long time ago) that if she had a choice of an acid or a base in her eye, she would take acid any day because a base will dissolve organic tissue faster. So assuming that the acid and base have the same level of strength (say a pH of 1 and 13 respectively) which is better for getting rid of a corpse?

Thanks!

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I felt a little strange to mark this as everyday-chemistry – Aditya Sriram Jan 18 at 9:22
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A note: The people who watch movies may not know what a "base" is, which is why they always use acids (a term known to everyone). – ManishEarth♦ Jan 18 at 11:14
The movie was The American version of La femme Nikita, Point of no return, correct? Harvey Keitel, the "cleaner" comes in to get rid of the bodies. he uses acid. – Richardbernstein Mar 14 at 2:52

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I would say that acids are better.

Why? Bases and acids dissolve flesh pretty easily (I'm thinking of $\ce{NaOH}$ and $\ce{HCl}$ here, weaker acids/bases -- not so much). Most of our body is made up of proteins, which are overall pretty much neutral (generally). Both acids and bases can dissolve protein.

On the other hand, there is one major component of our body which is easier to dissolve with acid. Bones. The major component of bone is $\ce{CaCO3}$. The reaction $\ce{2HCl +CaCO3 -> H2O + CO2 ^ + CaCl2}$ is much more efficient/faster than $\ce{2NaOH + CaCO3 -> Na2CO3 + Ca(OH)2}$. Why is this? Well, for one, in the acid reaction, a gas is being released. This speeds up the reaction, by Le Châtelier's principle.

Apparently, NaOH is not able to dissolve bone completely, you are left with a fragile shell. Either way, it will be much slower than $\ce{HCl}$ while dissolving bone.

Here's an interesting article (no claims on validity) of why lime shouldn't be used to dissolve a corpse.

While (as far as I can tell) acids may be the better way to dissolve a body, I feel that filmmakers use acids because the term is known to most of the general public (unlike "bases", which isn't)

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And if you pick nitric or sulfuric acid to dissolve bone, then you get $\ce{Ca(NO3)2}$ or $\ce{CaSO4}$, both of which are even more soluble than $\ce{CaCl2}$. – Ben Norris Mar 14 at 10:30
... Except those acids are harder for the average cleaner to get their hands on. Muriatic acid is available at any home improvement store, for a variety of uses, primarily pool chemistry. – KeithS Mar 15 at 1:00

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