Trivia 3:
Curious Customs



In Israel's Negev Desert, camels are required to wear reflectors on the their knees at night.

When New Guinea fisherman need new nets, they leave bamboo frames in the jungle for the spiders to do their handiwork. It isn't long before the spiders have woven intricate webs onto the frames. These nets are waterproof and strong enough to be used for years.

Twins in the Yoruba tribe of Africa command so much respect that a mother holding her twins must be given a gift by every passerby she greets.

Women of the Balanta tribe in Binar, Guinea-Bissau, Africa, annually perform a dance in which they balance on their heads a huge basket containing....their husbands!

A supermarket in Blackhawk, CA, sells Thirsty Pup, a bottled water for dogs.

In Belo Horizante, Brazil, guard lions are used to protect homes from burglars.

Long-necked women are greatly admired by the Padaung people of Thailand. To achieve this look, a five-year-old girl is fitted with a metal necklace ring. More necklace rings are added as she grows until the desired length has been reached. The catch? The stretched muscles are too weak to bear the weight of the head without the necklaces. If they are removed, the woman will suffocate under the weight of her own head.

The polite way to greet someone in Tibet is to bow and stick out your tongue three times.

Medieval monks used a lit candle between their toes as an alarm clock. When the flames singed their skin, they knew it was time to rise and shine. (Never mind movement in your sleep or a foot covered in wax the next morning!)

In Trier, Germany, bald people who wanted to grow hair paid farmers to have their heads licked by cows.

In Germany during the 19th century, all princes had a purgelknaben: a boy who was brought up with the young prince and was spanked every time the prince misbehaved.



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