Zoo Jeans

From Japan Today:

A zoo in Ibaraki Prefecture has taken the catwalk to a wild new level, using some of its fiercest inhabitants to rip and claw jeans to a fashionably distressed look.

The facility in Kamine has unveiled “Zoo Jeans”, styled by the fangs and claws of lions, tigers and bears.

Zoo officials said the material held up well, all things considered.

“We wrapped several pieces of denim around tires and other toys. Once they were thrown into the enclosures, the animals jumped on them,” said zoo director Nobutaka Namae, adding that the pieces were later patched together to create the finished product.

“The denim was actually much tougher than we had thought, and it turned out nicely destroyed.”

The idea came from a Tokyo advertising executive who wanted to give something back to the zoo where he spent time as a child, Namae added.

Two pairs of jeans ripped by lions and a tiger-destroyed version are being auctioned on the Internet with proceeds to be donated to the zoo and the conservation group WWF.

As of Monday, bidding on the tiger-torn denim had soared to ¥121,000 (about US$1,191).

They will be on exhibit at the Kamine Zoo—along with a bear-savaged version—until next week.

虎の「タイガ」 R.I.P.

Last May, at the Kushiro Zoo in 北海道 (Hokkaido, Japan), three baby tigers were born on the brink of death.

The zookeepers were able to save two of them. A male that they named 「タイガ」 (Taiga) and his sister 「ココア」 (Cocoa).

「タイガ」　(Taiga) and 「ココア」 (Cocoa) when they were cubs.

Soon after their birth, the zookeepers discovered that both 「タイガ」 (Taiga) and 「ココア」 (Cocoa) were handicapped.
Their hind legs and back bones had deficiencies and the tigers could only walk by dragging the back of their bodies.

「タイガ」 (Taiga) and 「ココア」 (Cocoa)

I remember when a program about these two tigers was shown on TV here in Japan. They became very popular, and many people went to Kushiro Zoo to see them.

But tragically, today 「タイガ」 (Taiga), the male tiger choked to death on his food. The zookeepers attempted to save him with first aid, but 「タイガ」 (Taiga) was pronounced dead today at 5:28PM.

White Day

Today is 「ホワイト・デー」 (White Day).
(Click here to read my F.A.Q. about 「ホワイト・デー」 (White Day)).

「ホワイト・デー」 (White Day) is the day the men give gifts to the women who gave them chocolate on 「バレンタイン・デー」 (Valentine’s Day)…so I gave chocolate to my wife and daughters today.

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Yesterday was Friday The 13th. Just last month, the 13th was on the Friday too…and I wrote a post about it. (Click here to read it.)

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In Osaka, fans of the Japanese baseball team The Hanshin Tigers are quite zealous.
When their team wins, many fans jump into a nearby river. It’s a Hanshin Tigers tradition.

In 1985, the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Baseball Championship for the first time.
Many fans, of course, jumped into the river…and one fan took the Colonel Sanders statue* from the front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and threw it into the river.

(*In Japan, KFC restaurants have lifesize statues of Colonel Sanders out front.)

The Hanshin Tigers have never won the Japan Baseball Championship pendant again.

An urban legend developed that the Tigers‘ bad luck since 1985 was due to the 「カーネルサンダースの呪い」 (“Curse Of Colonel Sanders“)!
And the curse wouldn’t be lifted, and the Hanshin Tigers bad luck end, until the statue was retrieved from the river.

(I wrote a comment on another post about this “curse”. Click here to read it).

Well…last Tuesday, the statue of Colonel Sanders was found by divers in the river.

As you might expect, the statue’s not in the best condition after sitting on the riverbed for 24 years…but I guess the 「カーネルサンダースの呪い」 (“Curse Of Colonel Sanders“) has ended.
So, the Hanshin Tigers have no excuse if the continue to lose!