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31 August, 2007

More links for 31 Aug 2007

Wild boar goes berserk and leaps into hotel pool in Spain. With video. [DailyMail]
A war veteran has made history with a hip replacement joint that is still going strong after 60 years. [BBC]
Cows get passports to defeat rustlers. [Times Online]
Home Depot employee fired for catching alleged thief. [Tennessean]
Fan death is an urban legend that originated in South Korea, but has since spread to other countries in the Far East. The belief is that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can result in the death of those inside. [Wikipedia]
Man loses part of his head over refrigerator malfunction. [Brisbane Times]
20 reasons why you shouldn't move to Dubai. [Escape Artist]
How to cut meat using laser. [Instructables]
A thief broke into a family home near Queenstown twice in the same day - once to steal and the second time to say sorry. [NZHerald]
A dog stepped on a wet manhole cover and got zapped by 100 volts of electricity. [NYDailynews]

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Instructor taped scalp back on after crash

A young pilot who crashed in a New Zealand mountain range taped a chunk of his scalp back on and trekked for two hours to raise help for his injured student.

Flight instructor Richard Bateman, 27, is expected to be released from hospital after crashing in the Gammock Range in a Robin R2120 on Sunday afternoon.

Student pilot Nick Eagleson, 33, was knocked out in the crash but Bateman managed to crawl out of the wreckage with a badly gashed scalp and free his companion.

He used his survival kit to dress his wound before walking eight kilometres down a steep valley to get help.

Link & Image: The Age
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A close call for a skier


It was a close call for this skier who almost fell into a deep crevice in the snow that was hidden from view.

Video: College Humor
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Feasting while on a train in Moscow

feast15The sequence of pictures after the jump show a group of people setting up tables and food inside a train in the Moscow subway on Aug. 24, 2007. And they appeared to be feasting while the train is moving. Now that’s an unusual sight. Hit the jump for more pictures.

Link & Image: Ziza & Rulis
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Gmail: A Behind the Scenes Video


Several weeks back, Google posted a video to YouTube giving a behind-the-scenes look at how Gmail messages "really" travels around the world. Users of YouTube were invited to submit their own clips to continue the story. After more than 1,100 submissions from more than 65 countries, this is the result. Hit play to watch this cool video.

Video: YouTube
Source: Gmail Blog
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The amount of junk found in a bird

Laysan albatrossThis bird actually ate so much junk and died as a result. This is horrible!

Cynthia Vanderlip, manager of the State of Hawaii's Kure Atoll Wildlife Sanctuary, cut open the dead body of a fledgling Laysan albatross (nicknamed "Shed Bird") to find more than half a pound of plastic in its stomach.

Concentrated on the right are all the items retrieved from inside the bird: Plastic lighters, bottle caps, and other plastics that are carelessly tossed often wind up floating on the ocean surface, where they are occasionally consumed by foraging seabirds and other marine creatures.

Bigger images can be found after the jump.

Link & Image: TreeHugger
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Babies born during summer are more prone to myopia

BabyProf. Michael Belkin, a professor at Tel Aviv University's Goldschleger Eye Research Institute, makes sure his grandchildren wear sunglasses, even as babies. He advises all parents to do the same.

Belkin has been researching the eye for over 30 years, and is one of the foremost professors in this field. In his latest research, led by Dr. Yossi Mandel, a senior ophthalmologist in the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, Belkin showed that babies born during the summer months of June and July have a 24% greater chance of becoming severely shortsighted than those born between December and January.

The reason: early-life exposure to natural light. According to Belkin, the body has a mechanism that causes the eyeball to lengthen, causing shortsightedness, when exposed to prolonged illumination. Hence, the more light a newborn is exposed to after birth, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the myopia will be.

Link & Image: Israel21c
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Man operates 5 mowers simultaneously

Man operating 5 mowers simultaneouslyDennis Bonkoski, a man who hates to waste time, attached four push mowers to his riding mower because the tractor alone takes too long to do the job at his home in Kimball Township, Mich.

Link & Image: SFgate
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White House pranksters wrap Rove's car in plastic wrap

Rove's JaguarRove's Jaguar, parked in the lot adjacent to the West Wing, has been covered with plastic wrap. Two stuffed eagle toys are mounted on the trunk, and signs posted on the car read "King Karl" and "I love Obama."

Rove, the top White House political strategist who recently announced his resignation, left his car on the driveway while visiting Texas and traveling with President Bush. He was due back in Washington Wednesday evening.

Since the lot is heavily patrolled by the Secret Service, reports Maer, the joke looks like an inside job.


Video: Liveleak
Source: Cbs via Autoblog
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Money Art

Money ArtUnique paper art created from paper money. Can you recognize which city each of these cut-outs represents? More images after the jump.


Money Art
Money Art
Money Art
Money Art
Money Art
Money Art
Money Art
Money Art
Image: Btmypp
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Denise Tassin's candy art

Denise Tassin's Unique Necco Wafers ArtDenise Tassin, a Baltimore-based artist creates scientific art by drawing on Necco wafers (a type of candy) in lieu of paper.

In a new solo show at San Francisco's Zinc Details gallery, Tassin utilizes an assortment of pens — including fine-tipped Sharpies — to create miniature drawings on Necco wafers. Her drawings have currently taken a scientific route and include carefully detailed inkings similar to those found in biology books… she also has a series of Christmas related items featuring dolls and Santas, as well as a series of individually re-sealed wafers featuring random sketches.

Her artwork will be featured at Zinc Details from September 9 to October 31. So, if you live in the San Francisco area, it is well worth a visit. More examples of her work can be found after the jump.

Thanks, Sabrina!

Link & Image: Yum Sugar
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Glowing finger nails

Make your fingers glow with these glow sticks. They are great for ladies who frequently go clubbing. Each box contains 10 nails and retails for $2.75.

Mini glow sticks are built into the plastic finger nails. Bend the nail gently (and only once), attach the included two sided tape to both your own finger nail and the plastic one and watch the reaction.

Thanks, Raluca !

Link & Image: Windy City Novelties via 7gadgets
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Transparent Canoe-Kayak

Wow! For those who enjoy canoeing, this will be the ultimate gift. It costs $1,599.95.

This kayak-canoe hybrid has a transparent polymer hull that offers paddlers an underwater vista of aquatic wildlife and waterscapes unavailable in conventional boats. Seating two people, the sturdy canoe hull is made of the same durable material found in the cockpit canopies of supersonic fighter jets.

Source: Hammacher Schlemmer via Popgadget
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Giant Spider Web Envelops Texas Park

Giant Spider WebEntomologists are debating the origin and rarity of a sprawling spider web that blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in a North Texas park.

Officials at Lake Tawakoni State Park say the massive mosquito trap is a big attraction for some visitors, while others won't go anywhere near it.

"At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland," said Donna Garde, superintendent of the park about 45 miles east of Dallas. "Now it's filled with so many mosquitoes that it's turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs."

Spider experts say the web may have been constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or could be the result of a mass dispersal in which the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one another.

Herbert A. "Joe" Pase, a Texas Forest Service entomologist, said the massive web is very unusual. "From what I'm hearing it could be a once-in-a-lifetime event," he said.

Park rangers said they expect the web to last until fall, when the spiders will start dying off.

Video and more images after the jump.

Image Slideshow: NBC5
Video: Yahoo News
Source: ABC
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30 August, 2007

More links for 30 Aug 2007

Two high-rise Chinese window cleaners got married dangling in the air on their work platforms. [Ananova]
Orchid fossil reveals flowers' domination of Earth. [New Scientist]
Water spiders survive below the surface thanks to a rudimentary "scuba tank" they spin from their own silk, a new study says. [National Geographic]
Can WD-40 oil cure arthritis? [The Sun]
A 65-year-old woman set a world record in the bench press for her age and weight class by lifting 115.5 pounds (52 kg). [Indystar]
A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April. [The Australian]
The world's most bizarre birth defects. [Body-Philosophy]
Historian says gay marriage goes way back as early as 600 years ago in medieval Europe. [Msnbc]
5 pen tricks from Japan. [Tim Ferriss]

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An unusual relationship between birds and fishes

Black swan feeding goldfishA local security guard recently discovered a peculiar scene where black swans can be seen feeding goldfish near the shore of a lake located in Hangzhou, China. According to the guard, 9 black swans will climb onto a raft and start feeding the goldfish with their beaks at 10am every morning. The goldfish can always be seen following the swans closely after that. Locals were astonished to find such an affectionate tie existing between the two creatures.

Link & Image: Zjol
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Record broken, teeth intact

Rathakrishnan Velu pulling a train with his teethA Malaysian nicknamed King Tooth pulled a seven-coach train using a steel rope clenched in his teeth yesteray.

Organisers said the feat set a new world record for the heaviest weight pulled with a set of pearly whites.

Grunting and gasping, Rathakrishnan Velu's neck muscles strained and his face contorted as he hauled the train weighing 297.1 tonnes over 2.8m along tracks.

The feat is expected to be recognised by Guinness World Records within three weeks, said Mr Rathakrishnan's manager, Anna Chidambar.

One more picture after the jump.


Rathakrishnan Velu pulling a train with his teeth
Source: Herald Sun
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How planes are washed

These pictures show how planes are washed. Two more pictures after the jump.

Update: Willie says:

These airplanes are not really being washed, they are going through what is normally called a bird bath. It is used for military aircraft that fly over the ocean at low altitude. The wash-down is used to remove salt deposits that lead to corrosion on the aircraft. It is not a substitute for a traditional aircraft wash, a nice and dirty job.

Didn't know that! Thanks, Willie!




Image: HangZhou
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Smallest butterfly in the world

Smallest butterfly in the worldA species of butterfly named Tongeia minima Shou Et Yuan and discovered in Shaanxi Province, China, in 2002, is now officially confirmed as the smallest butterfly in the world on Aug 27, 2007. It has a wingspan of between 12mm to 17mm.

Link & Image: QQ
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Paddling on a DIY boat

Boat made of empty bottlesA boy paddles a "boat" made out of empty plastic bottles along a flooded street in Suzhou, China, on August 29, 2007. Over 20 shops were flooded due to problems in the district's drainage system.

Link & Image: ChinaDaily
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Baby boy born with 12 tiny fingers, 12 tiny toes

Jeshuah Fuller's fingers and toesJeshuah Fuller is just over 7 pounds (3.2kg), but in the eyes of his proud parents, he's as mighty as Goliath. Like the biblical giant, Jeshuah was born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on both feet.

Jeshuah's father was born with a sixth finger on his left hand. "I was like, wow, I gave him the finger," said the 29-year-old dad, who asked to remain anonymous.

While one in 2,000 babies is born with an extra finger or toe, it's much rarer to have extra digits on each appendage, said Dr. Robert Marion, director of genetics at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore.

Among African-Americans, one in 200 is born with a sixth finger or toe, he said. The condition - known as polydactyly or hexadactyly - is usually genetic.

Video Slideshow: NY Daily News
Source: NY Daily News
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Paris Hilton Photographed Screwing by the Pool

Just when you think it can't get any worse for Paris Hilton, she gets photographed screwing by a swimming pool.

Paris Hilton
Link & Image: Jen's Fun Little Place
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Is this the man who sank the Titanic by walking off with vital locker key?

David Blair and the Titanic keyIt was perhaps the most catastrophic lapse of memory in history, costing more than 1,500 lives.

A sailor called David Blair forgot to leave behind a key as the Titanic set off on its maiden voyage.

Without it, his shipmates were unable to open a locker in the crow's nest containing a pair of binoculars for the designated lookout.

The binoculars were to look out for dangers in the distance including signs of bad weather - and icebergs.

Lookout Fred Fleet, who survived the disaster in which 1,522 people lost their lives, later told an official inquiry that if they had binoculars they would have seen the iceberg sooner.

When asked by a US senator how much sooner it might have been spotted, Mr Fleet replied: "Enough to get out of the way."

Ninety-five years later, the key which may have saved the luxury liner is up for auction - along with a postcard from Mr Blair telling of his disappointment at not being on the maiden voyage.

The full story can be found after the jump.

Link & Image: This Is London
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Sleepwalker falls 10 meters and continues sleeping

Toon by Ron Leishman
Toon courtesy of Ron Leishman. Ron has been tickling the internet funnybone for the last decade or so through his unique clipart site http://www.toonaday.com.


A German teenager accidentally climbed out of a fourth-floor window and fell 10 meters to the ground where he kept on sleeping, albeit with a broken arm and leg.

The 17-year-old had just moved into a new flat in the eastern town of Demmin with his sister. He went walking on Sunday night and climbed out of the window after stepping on a cardboard box, police said.

His sister said her brother often sleepwalked. The boy hadn't taken drugs or drunk any alcohol.

Source: Spiegel
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Amazing golf shot


An amazing shot made by golfer Fuzzy Zoeller where luck plays a greater part.

Video: YouTube
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The biggest tomato battle in the world

Tomato fight in SpainSome 40,000 Spaniards gathered in this eastern town today to hurl 115,000 kilograms of tomatoes at each other in the annual Tomatina festival. Bare-chested participants also included hundreds of mainly British, French and German tourists who were drenched in red juice in a riotous display of self-indulgence during one of the world's messiest festivals. More pictures after the jump.


Tomato fight in Spain
Tomato fight in Spain
Tomato fight in Spain
Tomato fight in Spain
Tomato fight in Spain
Tomato fight in Spain
Video after the jump.

Video: Cbs4
Source: The Age
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The toothbrush that teaches you how to brush your teeth

Toothbrush that teaches you how to brush your teethTriumph with SmartGuide as it is called, is latest gizmo for the hi-tech generation - a toothbrush with a built-in "satnav".

As you clean your teeth, it transmits information by radio to a separate miniature display screen, telling you where you should clean, for how long, and if you're brushing too hard or not hard enough.

It comes with a wireless LCD display which can be stuck on to the shaving mirror as the electric brush whirrs away for exactly two minutes.

Tiny microchips and sensors in the brush feed back information to an inbuilt "brain" which can detect when there is too much or too little pressure being applied.

The LCD display shows a circle divided into four. This represents four different sectors of the mouth and as each quadrant is cleaned, the screen shows how good or bad a job is being done and when to move on.

It counts 30 seconds for each quadrant and two minutes overall. The display also shows when cleaning is uneven, alerts the user to when the brushes have become worn and acts as a clock when not in use.

It costs a whopping £140 ($280) and is set to go on sale in Britain from next month.

Link & Image: DailyMail
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Indestructible! The speed camera that will defy bombs and bulldozers

The indestructible speed cameraThey have been demolished with diggers, destroyed by fire and even blown up with explosives by angry motorists. Now a speed camera billed as the toughest in the world has been designed in an attempt to repel vandals.

The device towers 13ft (4m) above the road and features strengthened glass as well as a fire-resistant body and a stiffened steel base.

It is fitted with smoke and vibration sensors which can detect an attack.

If someone does try to damage the camera, it triggers an alarm at the nearest police station and automatically downloads all its vital digital photographic data back to base so that no evidence is lost.

More information about this speed camera can be found after the jump.

Link & Image: This Is London
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Jet-powered skateboarder sets new world record

Joel King on his jet-powered skateboardA man from West Sussex has claimed to have set a new world land-speed record for a jet-powered street luge.

Joel King, 27, an IT worker from Bognor Regis, clocked an average speed of 112.7mph (181.4km/h) on a disused runway in Woodbridge, near Ipswich.

He described the luge as like a modified skateboard, on which he lies face up just 2in (5cm) off the ground.

Mr King said: "It was just hold on and keep going as I accelerated down the runway.

"The sensation of the speed was second to none, you're so exposed with the tarmac whizzing past, and you're always just on the edge of control.

"Then when you've finished you turn the engine off and use your feet to brake, which at over 100mph is quite interesting."

Video after the jump.

Video: BBC
Source: BBC
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Officials can't stop marijuana from sprouting in prison-yard

Marijuana plantsA Japanese prison is scrambling to eradicate marijuana plants that keep sprouting up on its exercise ground, officials said Tuesday.

The marijuana plants started sprouting at Abashiri Prison on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido about a year ago, said prison official Takeshi Okamura. He said officials plucked out as many as 300 marijuana plants and treated the ground last year, but several more sprouted again this year.

Local botanical experts concluded the marijuana seeds were inadvertently brought in with the soil used for the exercise ground, Okamura said. "It's a headache," Okamura said. "This isn't a farm."

Link & Image: ABC
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Leona Helmsley leaves $12 million to her dog as 2 grandchildren get nothing

Leona Helmsley and TroubleLeona Helmsley's dog will continue to live an opulent life, and then be buried alongside her in a mausoleum. But two of Helmsley's grandchildren got nothing from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate.

Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court.

She also left millions for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who was named to care for Trouble in her absence, as well as two of four grandchildren from her late son Jay Panzirer - so long as they visit their father's grave site once each calendar year.

Otherwise, she wrote, neither will get a penny of the $5 million she left for each.

Helmsley left nothing to two of Jay Panzirer's other children - Craig and Meegan Panzirer - for "reasons that are known to them," she wrote.

But no one made out better than Trouble, who once appeared in ads for the Helmsley Hotels, and lived up to her name by biting a housekeeper.

The mausoleum, she ordered, must be "washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year." She left behind $3 million for the upkeep of her final resting place in Westchester County, where she is buried with her husband, Harry Helmsley.

She also left her chauffeur, Nicholas Celea, $100,000.

Source: Cbs
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29 August, 2007

More links for 29 Aug 2007

Swimming classes for pampered pooches. [Reuters]
Spectacular shot of a Nippon jet being struck by lightning. [Coast to Coast]
Bible in U.S. soldier's pocket stops sniper bullet. With video. [Local6]
Lodi woman sees face of Jesus on fence. [News10]
A woman being sued by the city of San Mateo for painting what she called messages from God on her house spent Friday painting new messages on a second home. [Nbc11]
Beijing police launch Web patrols. [Yahoo News]
The most successful pirate of all time is a female who controlled a fleet of more than 1,500 ships and upwards of 80,000 sailors -- and she did it all without the help of facial hair. [CNN]
Bizarre beetle battles. [Inventor Spot, Thanks Steve!]
Size of English Wikipedia. [Wikipedia]
Self-shifting digital paintings. [CNet]
Diaper-free potty plan starts at birth. [News & Observer]

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Driver continues sleeping soundly after accident

Roadside accidentAt 6am in the morning on August 29, a truck which was traveling along Beijing-Zhuhai highway in Xuchang, China, met with an accident. The vehicle collided with the road barrier and overturned, falling into a six-meter deep drain. The accident was caused by the driver who fell asleep on the wheel due to fatigue. The force of the impact flung the driver a couple of meters from the vehicle. According to news report, the driver was not injured at all and the most interesting aspect is that he continued sleeping soundly beside the scene of the accident.

Link & Image: Sohu
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Typewriter Art

Paul SmithPaul Smith, the typewriter artist, creates work of art by typing. Pictured above is one such example.

Paul was born in Philadelphia on September 21, 1921. Although severe cerebral palsy kept him out of school, it didn't prevent him from having a remarkable life. Never having a chance as a child to receive a formal education, Paul taught himself to become a master artist as well as a terrific chess player.

When typing, Paul used his left hand to steady his right one. Since he couldn't press two keys at the same time, he almost always locked the shift key down and made his pictures using the symbols at the top of the number keys. In other words, his pictures were based on these characters ... @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _

Across seven decades, Paul created hundreds of pictures. He often gave the originals away. Sometimes, but not always, he kept or received a copy for his own records.
As his mastery of the typewriter grew, he developed techniques to create shadings, colors, and textures that made his work resemble pencil or charcoal drawings.

From 1967 until his death on June 25, 2007, Paul lived at Rose Haven Nursing Center in Roseburg, Oregon, USA.


More of his work can be found after the jump.

Image Gallery: Crooked Brains
Video: YouTube
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Graceful 'Manta Ray'

Air RayAir ray, modelled on the manta ray, is a remote-controlled hybrid construction consisting of a helium-filled ballonet and a beating wing drive. Its light design makes it possible for it to “swim” in the sea of air, boosted by helium, in a similar way to the manta ray in water.

Watch its graceful movements after the jump.

Video: Festo via Gizmodo
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Four Seasons In Each Picture

Each of these neat pictures show four seasons combined into one. More pictures after the jump.


Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Four seasons in one photo
Image: LinkInn
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'Breast Scarves'

Breast scarvesThese “breast scarves” were part of an artistic exhibition and not a widely-sold product. They are certainly an unusual fashion items which can only be found in Japan.

Link & Image: Snopes
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