Shrinkage Can Occur

The Nordic Battlegroup has chopped off the penis of the lion emblazoned on its coat of arms.

[H]eraldic artist Vladimir A Sagerlund was dismayed at what he viewed as an alarming lack of historical awareness. In former times, he said, coats of arms containing lions without genitalia were given to those who betrayed the Swedish Crown.

And as Sagerlund's colleague points out, the heraldry unit would have no qualms about making alterations to the original image if requested to do so by the military.

"We could make the dimensions a bit smaller, for example. Once we were commissioned to create a similar symbol for Swedish Customs. When they thought it was a bit much they sent it back to us and we just shrank the organ," said [Henrik] Klackenberg. [Link]

[Thanks, Nancy!]

Is That a GEDCOM in Your Pocket?

What do I have in common with Dave, Paul, Steve, James, Mark, Robert, Andy, Dick and Dan? We all write about genealogy. And, um, something else...

What's the Bear Hiding Down There?

A controversy has erupted in Madrid over the sex of "El Oso"—the bear which has long been the symbol of the Spanish capital. The Madrid Women's Council insists that El Oso is "una osa." The city's coat of arms depicts the bear looking up a tree, but the relevant parts of its anatomy are not shown.

The Director of the Matirtense Heraldic and Geneology Royal Academy, Faustino Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, told El Mundo that they are not veterinarians, and therefore cannot decide the sex of the bear. [Link]

All the Other Parks Will Be Envious

A Chinese amusement park has erected a 30-foot structure that, the director of the China Folk Culture Association says, "symbolizes our ancestors' pursuit of happiness and prosperity." (Send the kids out of the room, lock the door, and then click here.)

This makes me wonder what kind of happiness their ancestors were pursuing. I'm confident that my ancestors were never that happy.