In an earlier thread, reader Sadaiyappan reminds us of the reverence with which many cultures in India regard paper and books:
Ok, I’m a tamil. Tamils were raised to respect paper because you get education through paper and all legal documents are of paper, if my foot accidentally touches a paper, I must touch the paper with my hands and then touch my eyes much like I am praying / being blessed. So we are not supposed to use paper to wipe our ass because it is disrespectfull to the paper… [Link]
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Sheep poo paper, complete with flecks! |
The Elephant Poo Poo Paper company makes stationery and related goods out of dried, odorless elephant shit:We can make about 25 large sheets of paper from a single piece (or turd) of elephant poo poo!!! That translates into about 10 standard sized journals including the front and back covers! Neat, huh!?!?!?… [Link]
There is also paper made from Moose Droppings (site in Swedish), Sheep Droppings, and even Panda droppings. Yeah, I can’t see this going over in India at all …
Although I’ve got no problems with people standing on books, I myself treat books with the utmost care and respect. Originally, it was definitely cultural. Now the respect is for whatever’s written in it. This is the default situation, i.e., even if I haven’t read the book to know what’s in it. If I do find it to be a book of no value at all, then it’s just another cuboidal block. One Cornell prof commented that his new tome had been judged by another prof to be useful as a doorstop. Another demonstrated a principle in dynamics by grabbing someone’s dissertation and tossing it in the air!
@Runa
I aver to such universal discrimination, always thought the other were dubious 🙂
(Now you know which way “Adiyen” flocks)