Something a little different...

To those not faint of heart,

Defn of TABOO: proscribed by society as improper or unacceptable. The word is thought to come form the Tongan word "under prohibition" but is often used today to mean "sacred" or "holy" (Wikipedia).

National Geographic has taken this word to showcase the "seemingly bizarre and shocking practices from around the world." They've launched a TV show exploring everything from stomach scraping in New Guinea to the horimono in Japan and though some of the practices are absolutely disgusting to witness I find myself strangely drawn to these so-called taboos.

The traditional "long-necked" women found in Northern Thailand.

These rituals occur all over the world and for a plethora of reasons. Initiation rituals (and you thought pimples were bad...), sexual identity, identity in general, paying homage to one's ancestors, and just general freedom of expression are only some of the motives behind doing these unusual practices.

To add a sweet cherry on the bodily mutilating ice cream, NG has created a game called "How Taboo Are You?" which gives players two options from a long list of global cultural practices. Think about it as a wee game of "Would You Rather" except these choices are far beyond what I have ever thought of. Maori face tattoos.

Compare this to one of those "car-crash" analogies....or rather there is somebody next to you on the subway with an extremely large goiter and all you want to do is force your eyes to look away but all you are able to do is stare. All I can do right now is contemplate whether I want some rad crocodile skin etched into my back or be hung by metal hooks pierced through my chest for a few minutes. Tough choice. Literally.