Posts From the Way Back Machine #4: Rhymes with Chariman Mao

Editors Note: In this latest installment of our Hong Kong retrospective, Ian offers insightful commentary on some general Hong Kong strangeness.

A lot of what we saw in Hong Kong were little things too brief to warrant their own posts. I've collected five of our favorites and done a short write-up for each.

Item #1: Snowman Bao

He's smiling because he knows none of us like bao enough to actually eat him

Hong Kong has a lot of bakeries - there were four within a block of our apartment. Anyone who's ever been to China (or Chinatown) knows the Chinese are fans of sweet and/or savory stuffed buns known as 'bao.' A few of the bakeries in Hong Kong like to get a little creative and shape their bao into assorted figures and animals. Presumably this appeals to youth who, after being exposed to countless violent video-games and television programs, prefer a graphic demise for their bakery treats.

Item #2: Very large time-piece

"I said I have a really big clock"

I have two theories to explain this thing:
1) There is long-standing animosity between Japan and China, which can express itself in unexpected ways. Japan has a well known love/fetish for miniaturization and very small things. This monumental chronometer may be a subtle jab at the Japanese aesthetic.
2) Hong Kong strives to provide free or subsidized public services to its residents. Standardized time is a convention that generates tremendous social value, and has a strong network effect. However, most Hong Kong residents live in lofty high-rises, rendering a stationary, normal-size public clock illegible. This giant clock may be the first in a planned network of thousands, designed to insure that anyone can see the time by glancing out their 45th floor window.

Item #3: Safety Eggs

Humpty Dumpty: Never Forget

After an outbreak of Avian Flu instilled panic throughout Hong Kong, the government has taken a major focus on poultry-related food safety. While most of their public awareness campaigns have proved effective, their efforts to ensure that all eggs be equipped with safety harnesses and hard hats has largely been viewed as a failure.

Item #4: Santa Carnage

Santa's been hitting the nog pretty hard

China is not known for its celebration of western religion - the phrase "godless communists" comes to mind. That said, as Special Administrative Regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau have no beef with celebrating the largest commercial holiday of the year. We noticed that once the candy cane fueled holiday buying frenzy was over, Santa was literally thrown out on his ass.

Item #5: Greased-Up Educational Guy

A sino-Adonis prepares to show off his kickin' bod

Hong Kong has a wonderful science museum - admission is free on Wednesdays. Anyone familiar with the San Francisco exploratorium has a rough idea of the kind of hands-on science learning found there. Tiara and I are essentially six-year-olds, so we had a lot of fun. However, one exhibit was a little disconcerting. An interactive display allowed you to select a muscle group to learn about. Upon making your selection, a video screen plays a clip of a ripped, oiled, and almost naked man jumping around to demonstrate the muscles for you. In short, the exhibit provides young children with an introduction to musculoskeletal anatomy and homo-erotic video.