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No way I would ask my daughter to do this, but then I'm not a farmer in India experiencing drought. Still, it seems a bit extreme.

The monsoons are desperately late in the state of Bihar — India's 12th largest state by size and third largest by population — and the farmers have turned to trusted, ancient, weird measures.

Step 1: They ask their daughters to take off all their clothes.

Step 2: They ask their daughters to plough the fields.

Only unmarried daughters take part, and the ploughing takes place after dark, accompanied by the chanting of ancient hymns. The belief is that the weather gods will be embarrassed into sending the rains.

According to one village official, "This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily."

India has this year suffered its worst monsoon delays for 80 years. But I'm not sending my daughter to help.

news.com.au

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: India, Odd Spot

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Best nest

February 23rd 2009 19:37

Black-billed magpie

In what may be a first in the bird world, two magpies have constructed a nest using metal sticks.

The nest, built in a tree among the high-rises in Hong Kong's Tuen Mun district, was built from more traditional materials plus about 40 metal sticks apparently pilfered from a nearby construction site.

Cheung Ho-fai, of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, said it was the first time he had heard of a nest being built with metal.

The magpie is already renowned as the only non-mammal known to be able to recognise itself in a mirror. It just added metallurgy and construction engineering to its résumé.

Magpie facts: pairs stay together year-round and for life unless one dies, in which case the remaining magpie finds another mate; they nest once a year, but will re-nest if their first attempt fails; the female lays up to nine eggs, but the average clutch size is between six and seven; only the female incubates, for 16 to 18 days, the male feeding the female throughout incubation; the young fly three to four weeks after hatching, feed with adults for about two months, and then fly off to join other juvenile magpies; the life span of a magpie in the wild is four to six years.

news.com.au, en.wikipedia.org

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animals, Hong Kong, Odd Spot

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Saved by toilet poetry

January 30th 2009 22:31

The correct way to read Japanese toilet poetry

The Japanese have a long history of wacky conventions (WC) when it comes to toilet issues, but their latest effort to save toilet tissues may be the wackiest of all.

You too can cut down in the loo, they are saying, by using the secret weapon. Which is poetry.

This comes from a group campaigning to save toilet paper as part of Japan's battle against global warming. So far, so normal.

The group then claims that toilet paper usage can be cut by up to 20 per cent by pasting a "toilet poem" at the eye level of a (seated) toilet occupant. This has veen verified by research by the group, known as Japan Toilet Labo.

Here is an example of a "toilet poem":

That paper will meet you only for a moment

Here is another:

Love the toilet

If it works, they will no doubt be flushed with success.
Reuters

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Asia, Japan, Odd Spot

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Hush flush

July 5th 2008 05:27

A fine example of the Japanese art of chindogu

The big news from Japan this week is yet another major invention. From the land which brought us seedless watermelons, cockroach swatting slippers and the hands-free umbrella, comes the soundless toilet.

[ Click here to read more ]

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