Souvenirs
 

I was thinking of putting this in the Dodads thread, but I'm not sure if it would fit in.

I've got this lighter I picked up from a street vendor in Singapore. I actually bought two of them at the time, for maybe US$1 each. They were "merlions," a symbol of Singapore being sort of a combination of a mermaid and a lion.

Open the top, and it starts playing the theme from Titanic... off-key.

When I had both of them, I could open them both at once and they would both play off-key, but in different ways. I've joked often that this lighter could make me stop smoking.

I gave one to a friend of mine, just to make fun of her because she likes the theme from Titanic (she actually thought the lighter was pretty cool). Now mine has a hard time lighting, so it's pretty frustrating having to listen to more and more of the song before the bugger actually lights. For that reason I no longer use it.

Yeah. A red light goes on when you open it too.

Anybody else have interesting souvenirs?

That's pretty wild. Do people ask you for a light, just to see it? What kind of fuel? Someone gave me a lighter for Christmas that was a female torso with 3 red lights. It went right in a drawer and I haven't seen it since.:eek:

Maybe like these?

Yup, RG 7100.:blush:

People who've seen it before run when I take it out of my pocket.
:p

I haven't taken it to parties or anything in a while though. I don't know much about lighters, so I'm not sure what fuel it takes. It looks like it's refillable though.

Wedding Ring
 

Also, if you are a fan of off-key renditions of "My Heart Will Go On," there is a good one in a short film by Steve Oedekerk, "Thumbtanic".

Back on topic, this is not a souvenir from my travels, but my grandparents. They were missionaries in Tanganyika (Tanzania) in the late '40s - '50s.

This is a wedding ring meant to be worn around the NECK. It is hard, heavy, pounded brass. I wish I knew more about it than that.

(Candy shown for scale).

Hrmm, now there's an idea for a spouse you think may wander....just weld one around their neck :)

Dagney
(going back to planning stuffs)

Wow, some ring. Hard to slip off in the singles bar.:D

and Brian sees that and goes "Hmmm!"

I'm surprised no one asked how one puts this on or how they get it off. I'm assuming someone wore this once. How did she (I'm assuming "she" as well) get it off? Well, I don't know the answers to any of those questions.

This used to be displayed in my grandmother's living room. I'd say it was in the very early '80s when I overheard some adults talking about it. "How do you get that off?" "I suppose we'd have to cut off your head!" Group laughter. Nightmares for weeks for little bmgb.

(Now, I've inherited the thing. But at least the nightmares have stopped.)

It appears to be brass and because of its origin I'd guess it soft brass. I'll bet it could be spread by hand by a strong man. It might take two. Like a bracelet it doesn't have to be completly closed to be worn without falling off.

That's what I was hoping. :D

It feels pretty solid to me. My dad can't get it to budge (but this is a guy who asks me to open jars for him). Next time I have a party I'll have to dare a couple guys to play tug of war with it.

Egyptian Scarabs
 

I will always associate these with the terrific creatures in The Mummy and other movies. In Egypt, though, they have always been amulets of protection.

Scarabs 2
 

I don't remember buying these. I was very ill the day we went to the marketplace.

The hieroglyphics on the back are of shoddy craftsmanship, but they're pretty cool.