Spotted in Bangkok: Collectible Lighters Featuring World Ethnicities
I saw these lighters for sale in a 7-11 here and I knew I simply had to have them all. Click on the photo to read the writing — they say, from left to right, “Thailand,” “Indian,” “Chinese,” and “African.” Collect ‘em all! (At 15 Baht, or roughly US $.40 each, these remarkable artifacts are a bargain at twice the price.) Culturally insensitive? Yes.
A few things:
– I find it strange that the lighter for the Thai person says “Thailand,” as in the nation, and not “Thai,” as in the people, as the others do.
– The graphical representations of the stereotypes are rather interesting.
– How come there’s no lighter featuring a white dude? I totally feel left out.
– Because this is Asia, the illustrations are, more than anything else, CUTE!
– This latest acquisition, of course, comes on the heels of the “Brack Power” condoms I documented in Korea.