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Betel Nut 'Beauty' In The Eye Of The Beholder

Instapundit tells us that China is blocking access to Flickr, and a good thing too! Can't have the people, you know, learning things on their own. Glenn Reynolds thinks the People's Republic of China probably fears the Betelnut Beauties of Taiwan, pictures of girls in glass booths wearing skimpy outfits preparing and selling betelnuts to passing motorists.

He must not be talking about this 'beauty' over here to the right, obviously addicted to betelnuts for many decades. Ironically I found this picture of a woman from northern Vietnam on Flickr.

This must be something new - I lived in Taiwan during the nineties and never saw this phenomenon. Betelnut chewing is one disgusting habit though. It ruins the teeth, and Taiwan is spattered all over the place with rust-colored patches of slobber everywhere you walk. Indeed, as Wikipedia so elegantly puts it, "trails of bright red sputum lining the sidewalks are a sure indication of the popularity of betel chewing in an area." Wiki P also tells us that betel nut is a mild euphoric due to arecoline, a compound similar in structure and effect to nicotine, and that *surprise!* betel nuts are a known carcinogen.

In Taiwan betel nut chewing is the exclusive province of men; because the women have far more sense than the men, the Betelnut Beauties are not likely to end up with blackened stubs for teeth.

Posted by Ken McCracken · 9 June 2007 09:42 PM

Comments

Posted by: Michael Turton at June 9, 2007 11:44 PM

Posted by: Ken McCracken at June 10, 2007 04:10 AM

Posted by: zsa zsa at June 10, 2007 11:07 AM