Silkie : The ornamental chicken

The Silkie is a breed of chicken named for its uncommon fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk .


The Silkie Chicken is the lap dog of the chicken world, with many people owning them because of their docile temperament and amazingly soft & fluffy feathers. It looks like a living cotton ball when walking in your backyard and they are most likely originated in ancient
China.

The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin, flesh, and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most chickens only have four. They are often exhibited in poultry shows, and appear in various colors.
Although in the Western world silkie chickens are sold mainly for
ornamental purposes, in countries like China they are considered a super food and are appreciated for their deep, gammy flavor.


All Silkies have black skin, bones and grayish-black meat; their Chinese language name is wu gu ji literally meaning "black- boned chicken".Melanism which extends beyond the skin into an animal's
connective tissue is a rare trait, and the Silkie is one of only a handful of chickens to exhibit it.

WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.
( but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.



They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,
“After i hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”



The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Do not value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life!

Strange custom : The tribe where kids start having sex at 6

The Trobriand Islands (today officially known as the Kiriwina Islands) or Love Islands are a 450 km² archipelago of coral atolls off the eastern coast of New Guinea .
They are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are situated in Milne Bay Province . Most of the population of 12,000
indigenous inhabitants live on the main island of Kiriwina , which is also the location of the government
station, Losuia.

One interesting thing about this people is that children "enjoy
considerable sexual freedom and
independence ". At seven or eight years of age, Trobriand children
begin to play erotic games with each other and imitate adult seductive attitudes. About four or five years later, they begin to pursue sexual partners in earnest.
They change partners often. Women are just as assertive and dominant as men in pursuing or refusing a lover. This is not only allowed but encouraged.






The attitude of the grown-ups and even of the parents towards such
infantile indulgence is either that of complete indifference or of
complacency -- they find it natural, and do not see why they should scold or interfere. Usually they show a kind of tolerant and amused interest, and discuss the love affairs of their children with easy jocularity. It is possible to hear benevolent gossip as this among the parents: «So-and-so (a
little girl) has already had intercourse with So-and- so (a little boy).» And if such were the case, it
would be added that it was her first experience. An exchange of lovers, or some small love drama in the little world would be half-seriously, half- jokingly discussed. The infantile sexual act, or its substitute, is regarded as an innocent amusement . It is their play to "kaita" (to have intercourse). They give each other a coconut, a small piece of betelnut, a few beads or some fruits from the bush, and then
they go and hide, and "kaita".» But it is not considered proper for the
children to carry on their affairs in the house. It has always to be done in the bush.





The unregulated intercourse for these early years becomes systematised in adolescence into more or less stable intrigues, which later on develop into permanent liaisons. Connected with these latter stages of sexual life, there exists in the Trobriand Islands an extremely interesting institution, the bachelors' and unmarried girls' house, called by the natives "Bukumatula"; it is of considerable importance, as it is one of those arrangements sanctioned by custom which might appear on the surface to be a form of "group-marriage".





In the Trobriand Islands, there is no traditional marriage ceremony. And it is not unusual for a teenaged girl to sleep with many boys as this was a good practice to determine who would make a good husband .
A Trobriand couple wishing to marry, could also display their interest by not only sleeping together but spending time together and staying with each other for several weeks. The girl's
parents approve of the couple when a girl accepts a gift from a boy. After that, the girl moves to the
boy's house, eats her meals there and accompanies her husband
all day. Word subsequently spreads that the boy and girl are married.

BEATING DEVIL TO HIS GAME !

An American, an English man, and a Nigerian were on a ship. Suddenly the Devil appeared and said,
“Drop anything in the sea, if I find it I will eat yiu, If I can’t, I will be your slave!”

The American dropped a pin, the Devil found it and ate him.
The English man dropped a coin the Devil found it and ate him too.

The Nigerian opened a bottle of salty water, poured it in the sea and said, “Na today be today, go find am make we see !”.

That's how Devil became slave to Naija man and respect everything Naija.

The ungrateful horse that wanted more beauty

A cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many good qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become beauty unparalleled.

One day the horse said to the cosmic god, “0 Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful.”




The cosmic god said, “I am more than ready to make you more beautiful. Tell me in what way you want to be changed.”
The horse said, “It seems to me that I am not well proportioned. My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body.”
The cosmic god said, “Amen!”

Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse.


The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, “0 Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful. In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?”




The cosmic god said, “This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel.” The horse cried, “Oh no, I do not want to become a camell I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel.”

The cosmic god said, “Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a desire-life, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen.

Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility.'
So be contented with what you have because many will die to have that which you don't appreciate.

Strange culture: Sharo, the fulani's festival of flogging to get a wife.

Fulani are the largest migratory ethnic group in the world. They are
among the "super" ethnic groups of Africa with members numbering 30
million and above and spread over western part of African continent. Fulani people despite embracing Islam still practise their culture and. traditions, and one of such is Sharo cultural festival or Tradition festival of flogging. The Sharo cultural festival is a very unique festival observed by the fulani tribes of Nigeria and some other West-African countries.

Sharo is a test of bravery, a rite of passage to adulthood and marriage
ritual ceremonies . According to the Fulani custom of sharo, rival suitors underwent the ordeal of flogging as a means of eliminating those who are less persistent. The
point, however, is that the victim being beaten does not flinch but shows utter indifference to pain and even sneers at his attacker. If he is able to achieve this, his family and friends surround him with joy, offering gifts and congratulations and he's consider worthy of a woman to marry.

The significance of this festival is that the lashing of the groom is to determine the willingness to endure marital pains and ability to undergo hard ship for his wife. But the sad part of it is that many people lose their lives while proving
their manhood.

Stand firm and believe your dream.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk
programs. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses.
As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted.

When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

“That night he wrote a seven- page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200- acre ranch, showing the
location of all the buildings, the
stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a
4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’

“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse
ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added,
`If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said,
`Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’

“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”




Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square- foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.”

He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that
same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”

“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.”

- Author Unknown

What goes around comes around!

A true story, happened in 1892 at Stanford University:
An 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $ 1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque at the soonest possible.

“No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $ 1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised, and thanked him
profusely.

It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being.
Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think “If I help them, what would happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help.
He reached out to the US Food and
Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of foodgrains to feed the starving Polish people.

A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You
shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”

The world is a wonderful place and What goes around comes around!

Weird body modification: The plated tribes.

The lip plate, also known as a lip plug or lip disc, is a form of body modification. Increasingly larger discs (usually circular, made from clay or wood) are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it.

Archaeological evidence indicates that labrets have been independently invented no fewer than six times, in Sudan and Ethiopia (8700 BC), Mesoamerica (1500 BC), and Coastal Ecuador (500 BC). Today, the custom is maintained by a few groups in Africa and Amazonia.

In Africa, a lower lip plate is usually combined with the excision of the two lower front teeth, and sometimes all four.
Among the Sara people and Lobi a plate is also inserted into the upper lip. Other tribes, such as the Makonde, used to wear a plate in the upper lip only. In many older sources it is reported that the plate's size is a sign of social or economical importance in some tribes.






However, because of natural mechanical attributes of human skin, it seems that the plate's size often just depends on the stage of stretching the lip and the wishes of the wearer.






The tradition to wear plates has appeared not because of beauty, rather vice- versa. For example when Ethiopian Mursi,were captured and taken into bondage, they violently had crippled themselves, and nobody wanted to take them after that. Now the size of a plate is a beauty criterion. The more is plate, the more cattle will be given for the bride. Girls-
mursi always have a choice to do the hole in a lip or not. But for the girl without the stretched lip a very small repayment is given.







The original purpose of lip plugs may have been to deform, affording women a sort of protection against Arab slavers. However,David Livingstone asked a
chief the reason for them and in surprise the chief answered; for beauty!




He continued in his wisdom that " They are the only beautiful things women have. Men have beards women have none. What kind of person would she be without Pelele? She would not be a woman at all."

What a beauty enhancer ! I hope most female readers will get a lip plug or plate too to make them look beautiful.

The Wodaabee: The tribe where stealing a wife is no big deal.

In the Wodaabe tribe of Niger in
West Africa, men are known to
steal each other's wives. The
Wodaabe's first marriage is
arranged by their parents in
infancy and must be between
cousins of the same lineage.

However, at the yearly Gerewol
Festival, Wodaabe men wear elaborate makeup and costumes and dance to impress the women – and hopefully steal a new wife.
If the new couple is able to steal
away undetected (especially from a current husband who may not want to part with his wife), then they become socially recognized. These subsequent marriages are called Teegal (love) marriages.

But such marriages often cause
friction,since it usually involve
"wife-stealing," often with the consent of the woman but never with that of her husband. Teegal marriage is also a source of friction
between the new wife and previous ones. More wives means that fewer resources, such as milk from the
husband's herd, are allocated to each.

Eloping in a Teegal marriage that
carries little stigma allows a Wodaabe woman considerable freedom, but she must leave her children with the ex-husband. The
system guarantees the children's place in society while permitting spontaneity and flexibility to the
parents.

Strange Sickness:Proteus Syndrome

Proteus syndrome causes an
overgrowth of skin, bones,
muscles, fatty tissues, and
blood and lymphatic vessels

Proteus Syndrome is an extremely
rare disease and named
after a Greek god who could
change his forms.

In
Lancashire, England, Mandy
Sellars, suffering from this rare
Proteus syndrome with her
legs growing non-stop and
doctors might decide to
amputate her legs. They
weigh 98 kg and worse is
her leg never stop growing.











For more

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Sellars

http://www.mandysellars.com/

Life is not a race, so enjoy every moment of it.

Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. Suddenly a rich businessman passing by
approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working.

To this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day.
Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time?

Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could become a rich businessman like me.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could then enjoy your life peacefully.

Fisherman: Isn’t that what I am doing now?

Moral – You don’t need to wait for tomorrow to be happy and enjoy your life. You don’t even need to be more rich, more powerful to enjoy life. LIFE is at this moment, enjoy it fully.

As some great men have said “My riches consist not in extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants”.

Weird Custom; The Bizzare Funeral rite of Chewa Tribe

People from Chewa tribe are
known as Achewa. The Chewa
Tribe has an African culture that
has existed since the beginning
of the first millennium, A.D.
Their local language is called
Chichewa, Malawi national
language. There are presently
over 1.5 million Chewa
throughout Malawi and Zambia,
however the Chewa are not
considered people of Malawi or
Zambia; instead they are people
from the Nyanja group of
Bantu.

There is a very
disturbing ritual popular in Chewa.
When somebody belonging
to Chewa culture dies, his
relatives take the dead body
to a sacred place, take a
knife ,slit the throat open.

They then pour water
through to clean the bowels
of all filth by squeezing the
stomach to let it all out
through the rear, stopping
only when the water is
clean.

Now the worst part is that
they use this water to cook
the food for rest of the
people .

Mmmmmm ! Don't be quick to judge them and remember "one man's poison is another man's food.

Weird Cultures :Long-Necked KarenHill tribes

The padaung or kareni
tribes of Myanmar, Burma
are now forming their
community in Thailand.
They coil around their necks
copper to extend their neck
and extremely make their
neck long to 40 cm. and it is
a sign of beauty for them.

They are also called the
“giraffe people”. Their necks
are very weak and cannot
hold long without the
copper coil support.

There are many different
accounts of why the Padaung
practice this bizzare custom.
Their own mythology explains
that it is done to prevent tigers
from biting them! Others have
reported that it is done to make
the women unattractive so they
are less likely to be captured by
slave traders.

The most
common explanation, though, is
the opposite of this — that an
extra-long neck is considered a
sign of great beauty and wealth
and that it will attract a better
husband.

Adultery, though, is
said to be punished by removal
of the rings. In this case, since
the neck muscles will have been
severely weakened by years of
not supporting the neck, a
woman must spend the rest of
her life lying down.