Sunday, September 9, 2007

If you had RM1 Million, would you buy this tortoise ?


This is Janus. It is a 10-year-old two-headed tortoise. It is presented to the crowds at the Natural History Museum in Geneva, on his birthday.


A genetic malformation caused Janus to be born with two heads.

From the BBC

A tortoise or land turtle is a land-dwelling reptile of the Order Testudines (Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins). Order Testudines are oldest reptile groups; much more ancient group than lizards and snakes. The earliest known Order Testudine has its origins since 215 million years ago.

Tortoises generally have lifespans comparable with those of human beings, and some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years. Because of this, they symbolize longevity in some cultures, such as China. The oldest tortoise ever recorded, indeed the oldest individual animal ever recorded, was Tui Malila, who was presented to the Tongan royal family by the British explorer Captain Cook shortly after its birth in 1777. Tui Malila remained in the care of the Tongan royal family until its death by natural causes on May 19, 1965. This means that upon its death, Tui Malila was 188 years old.

See Wikipedia

What's the difference between Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins ?

A simple generalisation is as follows:

Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins are the same type of animal with different names.

Turtles - Tortoises or Terrapins that live in the sea.

Tortoises - Turtles or Terrapins that live on land.

Terrapins - Turtles or Tortoises that live in fresh water (river, ponds etc)

For the Chinese the tortoise symbolises longevity, support, wealth and prosperity. It is believed that the tortoise possess the secret of heaven and earth within its body.



7 comments:

the reviewer on September 10, 2007 at 7:54 AM said...

If that tortoise can bring me a million more, I would.

The Malaysian Life on September 10, 2007 at 9:50 AM said...

the reviewer - First you'd have to buy the tortoise first. I have a tortoise with one head, going for half the price RM500,000. Interested ? LOL

AdrianC on September 10, 2007 at 9:55 AM said...

hoho

one million?
wah.

can go eat BBQ tortoise already. exotic food anyone? use chopstick to dig out the meat.

btw two headed sounds EVIL. maybes its cursed. haha i wouldnt want to buy it with RM1mil and in the end get eaten by it!

The Malaysian Life on September 10, 2007 at 10:49 AM said...

AdrianC - You've eaten a tortoise before ? Terrapin ? "Sui Yee".
For some people its considered lucky to find a 2 headed tortoise.

keeyit on October 9, 2007 at 12:43 AM said...

No no.. I won't!

Alot of this kind of feng shui stuffs, people said dragon fish, coin fish also bring good luck.

bongkersz on October 28, 2007 at 3:49 AM said...

Janus, what a name. A million of a two heads tortoise? Crap.. haha! Em, how they came to the conclusion that two heads tortoise will bring luck? What about other animals?

The Malaysian Life on October 29, 2007 at 12:54 AM said...

keeyit - So I suppose you dont believe in feng shui stuff if it costs RM1 million.

bongkersz - People believe in lots of things. They always have and always will.

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