Oddity Central |
- Kidney Valley – The Nepalese Village Where Almost Everyone Has Sold One of Their Kidneys
- The Internet Is Going Crazy over “Sea Bunnies”, Marine Snails with Cute Rabbit Ears
- Colombians Celebrate Iconic Jeeps by Loading Them with Everything They Can Get Their Hands On
| Kidney Valley – The Nepalese Village Where Almost Everyone Has Sold One of Their Kidneys Posted: 22 Jul 2015 06:52 AM PDT Believe it or not, the villagers of Hokse, Nepal, are so poor that they're forced to sell their own organs in order to make ends meet. The practice is so common there that the place has been nicknamed 'Kidney Village'. Organ brokers regularly visit the village and its surrounding areas and convince cash-strapped locals to part with one of their healthy kidneys. These agents are notorious for tricking innocent villagers into traveling to Southern India to have their operations. They cook up all sorts of tales, telling the poor villagers that humans only need one kidney for survival or that the organ, once removed, will grow back! That particular trick was used to fool Geetha, a mother-of-four who sold her kidney for only $2,000. "For ten years people came to our village trying to convince us to sell our kidneys but I always said no," Geetha said. But as her family grew, her desire to provide them with a house got stronger. "I have always wanted my own house and a piece of land, and with more children, I really needed it." So she traveled with her sister-in-law, an organ broker, to India, and underwent the operation.
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| The Internet Is Going Crazy over “Sea Bunnies”, Marine Snails with Cute Rabbit Ears Posted: 22 Jul 2015 06:32 AM PDT Slugs are not what you’d normally call “cute” creatures, but the Jorunna Parva species is an exception. These marine slugs bear a striking resemblance to small rabbits, which has recently earned them the nickname ‘sea bunnies’. Jorunna parva slugs were discovered by Japanese malacologist Kikutaro Baba in 1938, but the rest of the world has only become aware of their irresistible cuteness last year, when footage from a Japanese diving school was released online. The clip, featuring parva off the coast of Japan, has gone viral on the internet and people all over the world are going ga-ga over the adorable underwater creatures. |
| Colombians Celebrate Iconic Jeeps by Loading Them with Everything They Can Get Their Hands On Posted: 22 Jul 2015 05:58 AM PDT The Yipao is a unique annual tradition in Colombia’s Coffee Triangle dedicated to the Willys Jeeps, the iconic American car the locals have been relying on since the 1940s. For the people of Quindío district, Jeeps have been a source of livelihood and a significant part of daily life since the 1940s. The unpaved roads of the coffee mountains are filled with Jeeps that transport people and their belongings – including piles of coffee bags, livestock, harvested produce, and more. When families have to relocate, they often pile all their belongings onto one Jeep and move in a single trip. Jeeps are such an integral part of life that they're fondly known in Spanish as 'mulitas mécanicas (mechanical mules). The country's farmers use them to get to places that were previously accessible only by riding pack animals. Given how deeply Jeeps have impacted the life of locals, it's only befitting that they pay homage to the vehicle during the annual Yipao parade.
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