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Submitted by NOTCOT on December 19th, 2008

Small children love repetition. If their toy beeps, giggles, sings,squeaks or gongs then you can be guaranteed they will make it do so as many times as possible. And if they can hit something and produce a loud noise? That is like kid nirvana.

Giving children a full drum set or a certain ticklish doll who shall remain nameless will no doubt make them light up with joy … and make their parents curse the day you were born. The same goes for encouraging someone else’s child’s budding musical talents by giving them a kazoo, mini-accordion or sing-along CD by [insert name of fictional musical teenagers or brightly colored puppet here].  Of course, sometimes we give these kinds of gifts on purpose. Whether it’s as a joke on a friend, revenge on a formerly obnoxious younger sibling or a passive-aggressive payback ~ there are endless ways to drive a parent crazy. We know, it’s wrong. But damn if it isn’t funny.

Submitted by NOTCOT on December 18th, 2008

Flowers are a no-brainer gift, right? Well, like most gifts, they can get a little complicated. In Europe, it is considered bad luck to get an even number of flowers as a gift. White flowers symbolize death in Japan, and white chrysanthemums are mainly used for funerals in Belgium, Spain, China and France. In the states, we think of yellow as the color of friendship. However, yellow flowers symbolize death in Mexico and infidelity in France. Flowers have traditional meanings associated with them in U.S. culture as well. Each flower has a meaning. Most of them are positive, but there are some surprise negative meanings. Marigolds symbolize cruelty and jealousy. Snapdragons symbolize deceit. Hydrangeas are “heartless,” and foxglove is “insincere.”  Of course, not all flower meanings are negative. For instance, the gardenia means “secret love.” Probably not the message you want to send to your boss, mother-in-law or accountant.

Submitted by NOTCOT on December 4th, 2008

There are so many beautiful and crazy clocks out there ~ alarm clocks that trigger LED lights to help plants grow, exposed-gear timepieces, a Rubik’s Cube clock … However, in Chinese culture, it is considered bad luck to get a clock or a watch as a gift. Getting a clock as a gift is interpreted as the gift giver counting down to the recipient’s death. Also, the spoken word for “clock” in Chinese sounds similar to a phrases relating to death and funerals. If you didn’t know this cultural taboo and have accidentally offended a Chinese person with a bad luck gift, there is an out. You just have to allow the person to give you a small amount of money so that the item is no longer considered a gift.