Taiwan Fact: Helmet laws: These are almost universally obeyed. However, people wear "helmets" built like plastic cups waaay back on their occipitals, exposing everything forward of their ears. Also, children under 11 don't have to wear one! (Hey, the real word for the part of the head I was talking about is "occiput/s". No way, man ( Read more... )

Taiwan Fact: As a people, Taiwanese walk impressively slowly. Moreover, their formations are impressively obstructive. Two Taiwanese people in a nightmarket can manage to take up the whole alley, which would be more of an issue if it weren't such a small minority of people who were trying to move any faster. Jeff likes to say they are on "island ( Read more... )

Taiwan Fact: Jīang Shī are "stiff corpses" that are basically Chinese zombies. My kids couldn't really figure out what I was for Halloween until I stuck my hands out in front of me and hopped around. Jīang Shī hop, I hear, because traditionally corpses' feet are bound when they're buried. I've also heard their leave their graves when cemeteries are ( Read more... )

Taiwan Fact: Gross hairy moles are in like Flynn! Especially with older folks, people around here will allow long hairs to grow out of their moles. I'm not sure about ALL moles, but ones on the face and neck are easily visible and men will shave AROUND the moles to preserve their hairs. But women too. It's... a bit of a turn-off ( Read more... )