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| Huangluo – The World’s First Long-Hair Village Posted: 23 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT
Hair is very important to women, who generally use it to highlight their features, but for the women of the ethnic Yao people of Huangluo Village, China, hair is their most prized possession. Located in the Longji Scenic Are of Gulin, China, Huangluo Village numbers around 82 households of Red Yao ethnics, who get their name from the traditional red clothing. Like many other Chinese villages, Hunagluo enjoys very attractive natural surroundings and has plenty of ancient traditions to keep tourists entertained, but the most fascinating thing about it is the women’s obsession with long hair. In fact, the Yao settlement has received a Guinness certification for the “world’s longest hair village” and is also known as the “Long Hair Village” across China. Considering the average hair length of the 120 women in Huangluo is 1,7 meters and the longest locks exceed 2.1 meters, I’d say its reputation is well-deserved.
Photo: China Daily/Lu Jianwei Hair has always played a big part in the lives of the Red Yao women of Huangluo. Until a few years ago, it was considered so important that no one, apart from the husband and children was allowed to look upon it when let loose. During the summer and autumn, women would go to the river to wash their hair and keep it covered with a blue scarf to keep it hidden. Only the man who would become her husband had the privilege to see a Hongyao woman’s hair in all its beauty, and that would only happen on their wedding day. If a local or a foreigner happened to stumble upon a woman with her hair revealed, he was forced to spend three years with her family as their son-in-law. But all these old traditions were abandoned in 1987, and Yao women can now proudly show and comb their jet black hair in public without worrying about the consequences.
Photo: Xinhua/Lu Boan The women of Huangluo can only cut their hair once in their lives, when they turn 16, and they can start looking for a lover. But the hair isn’t simply thrown away, it’s given to the girl’s grandmother and made into an ornamental headpiece. When she marries, the hair is gifted to the groom, and later becomes a part of the woman’s everyday hairdo. It’s said a Red Yao woman’s hair is made of three bunches. One is the one that grows every day, the other is the cut headpiece, and the third is made from the falling strings of hair, which are collected every day. They all come together to form elaborate hairstyles which represent the social status of the bearer.
Photo: Xinhua/Lu Boan All the women of Huangluo wear their long black hair in a tray-like hairstyle, but there are certain details that say a lot about her. If the hair is simply wrapped around her head, it means she is married but has no children. If she has a small bun at the front, it means she is married with children, and if she wears a kerchief around her head, it means she is looking for a lover. Regardless of their status, it’s impossible not to notice the beauty of every Red Yao woman’s dark hair. It’s said it comes from the special “shampoo” they use to wash it with - ”rice water” (water used to rinse rice).
If you were curious as to why these women let their hair grow so long, it’s because they believe it brings longevity, wealth and good fortune. The longer the hair, the more fortunate one will be. Photo: Xinhua/Lu Boan
Photo: Xinhua/Lu Boan Sources: China Daily, China Fact Tours, Yangshuo Holiday Huangluo – The World’s First Long-Hair Village was originally posted at OddityCentral.com |
| New York Cafe Sells Only Tap Water for $2.50 a Bottle Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:14 PM PDT
Molecule, a newly-opened cafe in New York’s East Village, has sparked a lot of controversy when it started selling tap water for the price of $2.50 per bottle. It might sound like a scam, and many think it is just that, but the owners say the price is right for a taste of “pure H2O”. Experts say New York’s tap water is among the safest and tastiest in the world, coming from "a watershed that is relatively pristine," according to chemical engineer Lorraine Huchler, but some people believe it can get a lot better. Two of them, Alexander Venet and Adam Ruhf decided to actually do something about it, and opened the Molecule Cafe, in East Village, where people can buy tap water purified through a complex seven-step process. They have this $25,000 machine that uses UV light, ozone treatments, and reverse osmosis to make superior-grade water that its creators believe is worth $2.50 a bottle.
Adam Ruhf, who moved to New York from California, last year, describes the local water as “terrible”. ”I don’t want chemicals in my water. I don’t even want chlorine in my water. Chlorine is like bleach. Do you want to drink bleach? No one wants to drink bleach. So that’s my opinion on New York tap water,” he said. That’s why they opened Molecule, a place that looks more like a laboratory than a cafe, because of the giant filtration machine, a large tank connected to various tubes and a bunch of monitoring dials. The owners say so far none of those who have tried Molecule water has complained about the taste. Not everyone is crazy about it, but it doesn’t taste bad either. ”I mean it’s subtle, but if you have a sensitive palate you can totally tell” Ruhf says about the difference between regular tap water and their pure H2O.
But not everyone agrees Molecule sells premium-grade water. Some call it dead water because the minerals in the liquid are removed along with the chemicals, New York Post journalist Steve Cuozzo calls it tannic and unnatural-tasting, while others just say it’s just a scam. What do the owners of Molecule think about all this? ”Either you buy into it or you don't,” Ruhf said, ”There is a good concentration of people who would understand what we are doing without much explanation from the beginning.” I do believe he’s right about that. There are people out there who would actually pay $2.50 for a bottle of tap water. And for those who wouldn’t, the East Village water cafe offers an ”all natural sports-drink line, like Gatorade for yogis.” For an additional $1 you can add vitamins, minerals or a mixture of roots, herbs, fruits and mushrooms added to your drink.
Source: WSJ New York Cafe Sells Only Tap Water for $2.50 a Bottle was originally posted at OddityCentral.com |
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