Oddity Central |
- Maquech Beetles – Mexico’s Controversial Living Breathing Jewelry
- Croatian Woman Creates Popular Made-to-Measure Penis Warmers
- Woman Marries Herself to Prove She Doesn’t Need a Husband to Be Happy
| Maquech Beetles – Mexico’s Controversial Living Breathing Jewelry Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:53 AM PDT
The Maquech Beetle can make any nature lover or animal rights activist scream in horror. Entomophobics (creepy-crawly-haters) would probably run as far away as possible from this kind of jewelry, and for good reason, as every Maquech is actually a live bejeweled insect. As hard as it may be to even conceive wearing bugs as accessories, they are something of a fashion statement in Mexico. I kid you not, just watching a video of the Maquech brooch is giving me the jitters. I don't get how people can stand it on their bodies, but jewelry enthusiasts in Mexico have been flocking at stores to buy these 'pet-cessories' since the 1980s. The brooch is actually a part of a centuries-old Mayan tradition of decorating wingless beetles from the Yucatan Peninsula. Gemstones and gold are glued on the beetle's body which sounds like a cruel process which has been denounced by animal activists in the past. The insects themselves are pretty harmless and docile, quite perfect to play the part of living jewelry. Each one has a decorative safety pin attached to it with a 2-inch-long chain leash. When pinned to clothing, the beetles can wander around, but can never get away. Photo: Shinigami-Child There's a beautiful story in Mayan folklore behind the tradition of Maquech brooches. It is said that when a Mayan princess was not permitted to marry her love, she stopped eating and drinking altogether. Seeing her plight, a medicine man transformed her into a Maquech beetle, so she could spend the rest of her life as a beautiful living brooch on the chest of her lover, close to his heart. If you find this story fascinating and would like to try out a Maquech brooch too, you can do so on your next trip to Mexico. Unfortunately, you won't be getting a beautiful princess, only a $500 fine if you cross the Mexican border with a live beetle. Photo: M4r7in Apparently, Maquech Beetles can live up to 3-4 years if properly taken care of. Although it can’t really be passed down from generation to generation, the trend of wearing these unique pieces of jewelry is increasingly popular in Mexico.
Maquech Beetles – Mexico’s Controversial Living Breathing Jewelry was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Croatian Woman Creates Popular Made-to-Measure Penis Warmers Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:27 AM PDT
If we can have warm clothing for our heads, hands and feet, why leave out male genitalia? That's exactly the attitude of the Croats, who used hand-knitted woolen penis warmers in the past. The centuries-old tradition has now been revived by a 55-year-old Croatian woman, Radmilla Kus. An avid knitter, she started off by making slippers for tourists, but her 'willy warmers' have turned out to be far more popular. When the orders started pouring in she just couldn't keep up with them, so she had to hire a small army of knitters. Radmilla also conducts 90-minute courses, showing participants how to make the warmers Winters in Croatia’s mountains are so severe that frost-bite was a serious problem for men in the past, especially during long horse rides. So to avoid permanent damage to their genitals, the warmers, called "Nakurnjak" came into use. They were more popular in the Mrkopalj mountain region of Croatia, where wives would knit penis warmers for their husbands. According to Radmilla, "Wives believed that keeping their man's private parts warm allowed him to remain fertile and increased their chance of having children." It's funny, because in hotter countries such as where I come from, men are advised to keep their genitals cool to improve fertility! Photo: Depo.ba Radmilla's penis warmers are made to order, for which the measurements of each customer need to be taken. Just like in the old times, she says. Of course, if people are shy, they can measure themselves and provide her with the numbers. "Everyone wants XXL, although M would be sufficient. Such is the male ego," she says. Radmilla is thrilled about the fact that her revival of the long-forgotten tradition has paid off wonderfully. She's even been invited to speak about her products in the US, where she plans to present a personalized gift to President Barack Obama. I wonder how she would get hold of his measurements, though. She'd probably be better off playing it safe with an over-sized one!
via Welt.de Croatian Woman Creates Popular Made-to-Measure Penis Warmers was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Woman Marries Herself to Prove She Doesn’t Need a Husband to Be Happy Posted: 03 Apr 2012 04:52 AM PDT
36-year-old Nadine Schweigert from Fargo, North Dakota, got married last month. She had a beautiful wedding. Nadine was dressed in a peacock blue satin dress and carried a bouquet of white roses. There was also a lovely white wedding cake covered in peacock blue fondant. So far, there seems to be nothing unusual about this affair; it’s not different from any other run-of-the-mill wedding in the US. But if you paid attention, you probably noticed there was no mention of a groom. It's not that he didn't show up, it's just that there wasn't a groom to begin with. Nadine just happened to marry herself. Self-marriage can be a confusing concept to those who don’t know what it’s all about. Nadine isn’t alone, however, many others have done it before. It was even portrayed on the popular TV show Glee, where ‘Sue Sylvester’ ties the knot with herself. These ceremonies are considered secular and purely symbolic. New Age websites such as Encouraging Priestess even share ideas on how to perform self-marriage ceremonies. The idea behind these marriages is to help a person realize that they do not need anybody else to feel complete. Photo: Inforum So when Nadine stood up in front of the 45 guests at her wedding, she took the following vow: "I, Nadine promise to enjoy inhabiting my own life and to relish a lifelong love affair with my beautiful self." Later in the ceremony, she presented herself with a ring. When it was time for the traditional first kiss, she asked guests to blow kisses to the whole world. Soon after the ceremony, Nadine even took off on a honeymoon at New Orleans, all by herself, of course. Nadine says that after three children and a divorce, she spent several years just waiting for someone to come along and make her happy. She has struggled for years with self-acceptance, attending group therapy in an attempt to feel better. One day, when a friend said to her, "Why do you need someone to marry you to be happy? Marry yourself," the idea took root in Nadine’s mind. At first her friends thought that it was too weird for her to be marrying herself. Her 11-year-old son refused to come if she went through with it. But a few months later, she just knew that she had to do it. This time, her friends and her son supported her wish. Her parents also attended the ceremony, even though they had never heard of self-marriage before. Photo: Inforum When asked about her experience, Nadine says, "I'm very proud of it, and I feel very good about it. I'm so glad I did it." She doesn't seem to be worrying too much about what other people think of her. "I'm just a unique, awesome person who doesn't fit anyone's mold or ideal, and I hope you're OK with that. And if you're not, that's okay too." Well, the concept of self-marriage is hard to digest, but then if a beautiful ceremony is what people need to feel complete, who am I to argue with that! via Inforum Woman Marries Herself to Prove She Doesn’t Need a Husband to Be Happy was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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