Gararufa pedicures – is the latest fashion fad a cruel luxury? A man falls asleep on a window ledge on the third floor and - what do Czechs spend 800 million crowns on every year ? Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarová.
Photo: archive of Radio Prague
The Czech Transport Ministry has stepped in to prevent the automated process of issuing car numbers from producing license plates starting with SS in the town of Strakonice in south Bohemia. Cars with the symbol of the elite Nazi unit were frequently seen in Bohemia during the Nazi occupation. The Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich drove a car with an SS 3 license plate, reflecting his place as the third most important man in the Reich. SS1 was reserved for Hitler, while SS 2 for his right-hand man Himmler. There have been other occasions when the authorities stepped in to prevent the automated numbering of plates such as when they threatened to produce the notorious STB combination – the abbreviation for the dreaded communist secret police or vulgar expressions of which there are quite a few three letter ones in Czech.
Photo: www.tn.cz
A police officer on his beat in Prague’s Vinohrady district was shocked to see a man lying on the ledge of a third storey window with his back to the street. Fearing the man might topple at any minute the officer called a rescue team and when a platform was raised up to the window they found the man was fast asleep balancing precariously on a ledge several centimeters wide. Had he turned over in his sleep he would have fallen six metres down onto the pavement. When the officer woke him up the man – a Polish national –couldn’t remember how he had got there, saying he had had a few drinks and taken a sleeping pill in order to get some rest. Whatever the explanation – his guardian angels must have been working overtime.
Photo: Wikipedia
Czech beauty salons say they want to offer their clients the experience of Gararufa pedicures, which are now fashionable in France. The process entails putting your legs in a basin of water containing Gararufa fish – also known as doctor fish or nibble fish –who feed on dead skin – and provide incredible peeling jobs leaving skin smooth and healthy. However while clients may be interested, the Czech Health Institute and Veterinary office have both put their foot down on the grounds that in order to provide this treatment effectively the little fish are kept undernourished which amounts to torture. The institutions argue that with so many effective peeling products on the market using the Gararufa fish is a cruel luxury. As a result only medical institutions will be able to continue using the fish for medical purposes such as curing psoriasis.
Photo: www.tn.cz
Last weekend the Pardubice arena featured a unique performance by 106 drummers. They came from all parts of the country – never having seen one another before – and had three hours to practice before performing for an enthusiastic audience. The youngest was just 7 –the oldest well over thirty and together they raised the roof – giving a concert at 30 decibels. The equivalent of a fighter jet taking off behind you – but much, much better.
Would you venture a guess what Czechs spend 800 million crowns on every year? No, not beer or cosmetic products. The answer is greenery: trees, shrubs, garden plants. Having abandoned their vegetable patches from the communist years people are now working with a vengeance to turn their gardens into an oasis of peace where they can relax after a hard day’s work. Even the economic crisis has not lowered the profits of businesses in this field. In fact psychologists say it may be quite the opposite- hard times may be driving Czechs into their gardens and back-yards where they can put their worries behind them and focus on a little world of their own making.
Ralf Klug
The Prague International marathon has for some years been dominated by Kenyan runners - who are far and away the best in the 42 kilometre race – covering it in just over 2 hours. However this year a German runner shared the spotlight by running the entire marathon backwards for charity. Ralf Klug covered the 42 kilometre distance in just over 7 hours. For every kilometer covered he got 3 thousand crowns from a private company - which he generously devoted to an orphanage in Žatec.
Photo: Kristýna Maková
A detective from the Prague anti-corruption police made headlines this week when he managed to shoot himself in the leg while waiting to crack-down on a ring of fraudsters. The police chief decided to use his own men for the arrest –instead of calling a special squad trained to deal with dangerous criminals. But the operation backfired so to speak when one of his own detectives – most likely in a fit of nerves – shot himself in the thigh while still sitting in the car outside the respective building. Malicious commentators reporting on the accident the next day said it was lucky that the gun had not been set in automated mode, when pulling the trigger would automatically set off a spray of bullets. The officer is reported to be doing well – but by the look of it it will take sooner to heal his leg than live down the shame of that incident.
