Friday, July 13, 2007

Friday the 13th is Stupid

Sorry to disappoint you. I thought there might be a fascinating tale behind the superstition. (Yes, I read The DaVinci Code.) But apparently it's due to the pairing of the traditionally sinister number thirteen with Friday, which was once considered the unluckiest day of the week. (Long before the modern work/school week was created, I'm sure.)

So for today's post, I'm turning to an old standby, the wonderful country of Japan. (Where they don't give a hoot about Friday the 13th.) Seems the Japanese aren't just interested in creating the perfect dog (see below), they've also turned their talents to the fruit and vegetable world. Now, thanks to farmers in the "Land of the Rising Sun," all you have to do is hop on a plane to purchase watermelons with human faces or cucumbers shaped like hearts and stars.



Of course these not-so-natural wonders don't come cheap. I couldn't find a price for the melon with a face, but square watermelons cost almost $100 US, and the going rate for a pyramid-shaped fruit is around $650. (And they don't even taste very good!)




For more pictures and information, visit the wonderful PingMag.

5 comments:

Jessica said...

How weird.. I was just thinking about cucumbers, and I had watermelon recently...

LittleChar said...

Weird, neverfinished the davinci code, it got boring--and my brother stole it so he could read it too, I also forgot it was Friday 13th

Andrea V. said...

Hi, Ananka! I'm really enjoying your blog. It's as fascinating as the books! (I got my fingers on an ARC at the library where I work.)

These heart and star cucumbers make me happy in the same way the happy-face fireworks do. There are fireworks cubes, hearts and planets, but the happy faces make my summer.

Anonymous said...

I sorta believe in Friday the 13th cause my mom's car almost go totaled by a drunk driver at 11:30pm he did'nt even have a license!

International Mastermind said...

The cucumbers remind me of carambola which are long fruits, that when sliced, are star shaped. They were my favorite fruit as a child.