The Strange World Of Oddities

Once again had lured me to its front door and then shuffled me in. Every year around Thanksgiving I start to think about what it is I’m going to get my coworker for Christmas. Sometimes we have a Pollyanna at work with all the employees, but this year no one wanted to participate so it was just me and another coworker. He’s so hard to buy for, but one thing I know for certain is that he loves strange things.

So began my exploration of an Etsy oddity store ..

And all its wonders, early on a Saturday morning. I was up early, Molly was already let outside, already and fed and cuddled, and I had coffee in hand. I sat down not expecting to spend the next three hours sifting through gift ideas. I guess you could say rather one particular gift idea. I quickly ruled out all the others after finding what I wanted inside a strange little oddity store.

There were some strange things found in that store and most of them included some sort of taxidermy. It wasn’t long before I was drawn to the bats. These strange mammals with their arms and legs attached to wings, always fascinated me. I thought this would be the perfect gift to give! A strange gift but cool at the same time.

I searched what I perceive to be hundreds of different specimens before I located the perfect one. Some of them were hanging from a stick within a glass jar, others completely immersed in fluid, while others like this one were stretched out and attached onto some sort of bored and framed. I decided to go with the framed version of this particular species due to its colorful nature and high quality details.

Before I purchase this item I did ask the seller if these bats were killed in order to sell or they were found dead and then preserved. She says there are a lot of places in Asia that will sell killed bats but she actually travels and collects her own specimens from caves around the world. She said they are already dead when she finds them, so she is able to preserve their bodies via dehydration, then applies for special permits to transport them across borders. It all sounds very complicated and interesting at the same time.

I am not want to preach to anyone on what to do and not to do, but if some species is being killed just for the purpose of selling oddities like this, then I don’t agree with it. I think you have to do your research and make sure you’re purchasing something sustainable and on harmful to animals and the environment. Ask the right questions and ask for proof, and if you don’t get either one then walk away as what I say.

This particular bat is the Painted bat or otherwise known as Kerivoula picta. I believe it’s also known as the butterfly that. They are found in all sorts of Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal, China, India and others. It’s bright orange and reds in contrast to the dark black wings make an interesting and beautiful body type.

I gave my friend and coworker his gift a few days before Christmas, during one of the last days of work before the break. I prefaced the moment of opening with a simple comment of “Your either going to love this or hate this gift”. Well it turns out he loved it! Winner winner chicken dinner!

I did snap off a few pictures of this gift before I gave it to him. You’ll see those above scattered in between the paragraphs. I got one near the front door on top of the sleigh, by the fireplace near Santa Claus, and one just simply lying on the table.

I was really excited about the quality of this specimen, and the reception of the gift by the recipient. But that doesn’t answer one simple question that I have rolling around my head… What am I going to get him next year?!

I suppose the answer to that question is yet to be determined. Give me about 11 months to think about it.

*“If all the eccentricities and all the strangenesses in this world suddenly disappear, people will fall asleep from the boredom! Every kind of oddities make life more interesting, less boring!”
― Mehmet Murat Ildan

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