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It’s a simple and elegant concept: saw a coconut in two, then reattach the halves with a zipper. The result is an instant handbag. These are popular crafts for sale to tourists on Lamu Island off the coast of Kenya.
Link via Make | Photo: AfricaGadget
Some religious rituals are so bizarre that they leave you scratching your head. This one, however, may lead to a cracked skull. Literally. Here’s the strange practice of cracking a coconut on devotees of Goddess Lakshmi – and it may just be the fault of the British imperialism:
Many of the visitors believe that it was the British presence in India in the 19th Century that spawned the idea for the festival.
A former village council president tells the story.
P. Mani, Former Council President, Mettu Mahadanapuram Village: "When the British were trying to draw a railway line against the wishes of the villagers here, they found big stones just like coconuts, beneath the ground. They sarcastically told villagers that if they could break these stones with their heads, they would change the course of the railway line. The villagers broke the stones and the line was shifted."
Some of the locals say since then the ritual has been performed at the temple using coconuts, and that these rituals draw thousands.
Link [Flash video]
Photo: C.G. Muthana
From National Geographic Magazine’s Daily Dozen, a collection of user submitted photographs as selected by photo editor Susan Welchman, here’s an amazing entry. I’d like to think of it as celebrating eternal optimism – as in pile-an-extra-one-on-it’ll-surely-fit can-do spirit of third world countries.
Photographer C.G. Muthana has this to say about the overloaded auto rickshaw (looks kind of like Phil Spector’s hair!):
A three-wheeler transport vehicle carrying a huge load of dry coconut husks one early winter morning in the suburbs of Mysore, India. The husks are all tied to each other using their own fibers. (Source: Daily Dozen – April Week 2)
At least they’re not doing it with people and trains …
Revenge is a dish best served cold. And in this case, with a coconut. Here’s the story of a monkey named Brother Kwan, who was overworked by his master climbing trees and fetching coconuts to sell:
The newspaper said that Leilit Janchoom, 48, had beaten the monkey whenever he showed any hesitance to climb a tree.
The owner was insistent because he got the equivalent of 4p for every coconut picked.
But the monkey – it is claimed – apparently found the work boring, strenuous and unrewarding.
So, the monkey chucked a well-aimed coconut on Janchoom, and killed him!
From the Upcoming 
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