The leather back turtles, which can grow up to the size of a breakfast table are an endangered species for a very unusual reason...Filipino Muslims catch them because they have a pouch in their neck area which usually holds a handful of "Natural" south sea pearls! They forage for wild oysters and instead of eating the pearls that come with it, they are deposited in this special "neck pouch". They hatch their eggs in Malaysia but eat their oysters in Mindanao, Philippines. The government has had some degree of success in protecting them but with greater success by the Malaysian effort to protect these amazing creatures. Anyone out there have anymore trivia to share? Like how to track and surgically remove those pearls without touching a nail on those turtles, perhaps? Just kidding, sea creatures rule! My sons would be mortified by my insinuation-any friend of nemo's is a friend of mine.

Anastacia
www.leaf-jewellery.dk

Hi Anastacia,

Fascinating!! Did not know that. Thank you. Leatherbacks are beautiful and what a pitiful thing to do to them for a handfull of pearls, even natural ones. Thanks again for bringing this up.

Slraep

Can't think of anything to beat Anastacia's post but I do have a trivia question:

What inventor/ mad scientist(no, not my brother Ted)had a bad case of pernaphobia, cringing at the sight of a woman wearing such a necklace or earrings?

Slraep

Sounds rather horrible this harvesting... knowing that these animals are running out of time.

At least tortoise is no longer acceptable to wear/use! Glad that most have forgotten the look... better that way. What you are describing seems an even more useless reason for killing those creatures than making soup or carving those shells Didn't know that's possible!

Lemme guess who's nutty enough..Nikola Tesla the guy who made the Death Ray in seclusion and purpotedly communicated with other planets (i love the sound of THE DEATH RAY!)....or.....Carl Sagan who had a love affair with cannabis? Aha, maybe Leonardo Da Vinci cause he wanted to wear necklaces and earrings for himself but was unfortunately trapped in a man's body?

Originally Posted by tacy_cc

Lemme guess who's nutty enough..Nikola Tesla the guy who made the Death Ray in seclusion and purpotedly communicated with other planets (i love the sound of THE DEATH RAY!)....or.....Carl Sagan who had a love affair with cannabis? Aha, maybe Leonardo Da Vinci cause he wanted to wear necklaces and earrings for himself but was unfortunately trapped in a man's body?

Well you sort of have to pick one nut only. You can't list them all.

Speaking of Tesla, he had a very odd sense of humour. He invented a vibrating platform that he kept in his home and encouraged visiting friends to stand on it for a couple of minutes or so. It sent them all "running" for the bathroom and him into fits of laughter. Gives a whole new meaning to the term "toilet humour".

Really? Sagan loved the weed?

Slraep

[effisk]

Originally Posted by Slraep

What inventor/ mad scientist(no, not my brother Ted)had a bad case of pernaphobia, cringing at the sight of a woman wearing such a necklace or earrings?

Sorry for my ignorance, what is pernaphobia?

Originally Posted by effisk

Sorry for my ignorance, what is pernaphobia?

La peur des perles. What else?

Slraep

[Josh]

Originally Posted by Slraep

Speaking of Tesla, he had a very odd sense of humour. He invented a vibrating platform that he kept in his home and encouraged visiting friends to stand on it for a couple of minutes or so. It sent them all "running" for the bathroom and him into fits of laughter. Gives a whole new meaning to the term "toilet humour".

Slraep

I would have got on well with Tesla, I'm sure. That is as long as he didn't imbed me in the steel of any battleships.
OK, I've got a really good bit of pearl trivia that I think will be hard to beat. In some Pacific isles far to the west of here, men have been to known to insert pearls under the skin of their you-guessed-it. The lady counterparts of these gentlemen report increased uh... pleasure.

[knotty panda]

Originally Posted by Slraep

La peur des perles. What else? Slraep

My french is horrible. I translate your definition into English as "a fear of pearls." I looked this phrase up a few days ago when it first posted and couldn't find anything on it. Of course, I only did a quick and dirty look-up. Do you have any sources? Thanks!

[effisk]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

My french is horrible. I translate your definition into English as "a fear of pearls." I looked this phrase up a few days ago when it first posted and couldn't find anything on it. Of course, I only did a quick and dirty look-up. Do you have any sources? Thanks!

I did the same. The only page on the internet with this word is.. this very page! http://www.google.com/search?q=pernaphobia

Originally Posted by Josh

OK, I've got a really good bit of pearl trivia that I think will be hard to beat. In some Pacific isles far to the west of here, men have been to known to insert pearls under the skin of their you-guessed-it. The lady counterparts of these gentlemen report increased uh... pleasure.

Japanese yakuza do that too. One reason has to do with jailtime, the other with the above.

Slraep

This one is not quite pearl trivia, but it uses pearls, so that's close enough, eh(??).

Here we go:

You have 80 pearls. One is lighter than all the others. Can you find the odd pearl in just four weightings? Explain why or why not.

Josh is exempt from replying.

Slraep

[knotty panda]

LOL effisk! Are you doing a "Ha ha! Made you look!" Well, it worked! I'm just that dumb.

As for the other posts from our illustrious panelists Josh and Slraep -- I know there's a book deal in this. "1,001 Uses for Pearls You Never Thought Of!"

Originally Posted by knotty panda

As for the other posts from our illustrious panelists Josh and Slraep

Knotty, you know I love you ,right, but can you, in the future, not put my name and Josh's together in one sentence. Especially a sentence where I am graciously called an illustrious panelist.

Slraep