Althouse: A new luxury: toothless fish nibble the dead skin off your feet.

July 21, 2008

A new luxury: toothless fish nibble the dead skin off your feet.

48 comments:

Ruth Anne Adams said...: First thought: Oooooh! Ich-thy!; 7/21/08, 8:00 AM
MadisonMan said...: Hey, who cruelly put the piranhas in this tank?

Skeletonizing those sacred toes would not be done with impunity.; 7/21/08, 8:06 AM
AllenS said...: Right around the corner is Gladys' Funtime Salon. She uses
Tetraodontidae which is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish. One of them is called the blowfish.; 7/21/08, 8:06 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Customers were quickly hooked.

Everyone can pun-ish this story.; 7/21/08, 8:06 AM
Ron said...: This reminds me of how they make poltices (sp?) of maggots to remove rotted, infected or decaying skin...that seems to do the job as well!; 7/21/08, 8:12 AM
Bob said...: As a child I lived beside a lake in Florida, and we would occasionally let the bluegill nibble on us, and pretend that they were piranha.

This carp pedicure sounds relaxing, but it will only be a matter of time before someone gets a case of salmonella or some other disease, which will lead to a lawsuit and discontinuing the practice, at least for the general public.; 7/21/08, 8:15 AM
dbp said...: Are these regular carp or highly trained medical carp? That is what I would like to know.; 7/21/08, 8:28 AM
al said...: This was one of the rewards given to the winning team on "I Survived a Japanese Game Show".; 7/21/08, 8:28 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Can PETA be far behind? Maybe they'll make dentures for the poor fish.; 7/21/08, 8:29 AM
AllenS said...: "Waiter! Oh, waiter! Yes my garra rufa fish sandwich tastes like my feet smell. What's up with that?"; 7/21/08, 8:37 AM
kjbe said...: No. Way.; 7/21/08, 8:41 AM
KCFleming said...: PETA would make the fish sign consent forms to participate.

the treatment, which costs $35 for 15 minutes and $50 for 30 minutes.

Current Medicare fees
15 minutes $64
30 minutes $96
Subtract fixed costs and malpractice insurance, and now you see why it's easier for an 80-year old woman with Parkinsons, hypertension and cardiomyopathy to get a pedicure than to see a doctor.; 7/21/08, 8:45 AM
rhhardin said...: A cat can do that.; 7/21/08, 9:10 AM
Trooper York said...: Next they will be working on bikini waxing.; 7/21/08, 9:34 AM
KCFleming said...: Manly men have pedicures with real pirhanas.; 7/21/08, 9:35 AM
Christy said...: I'm tempted.; 7/21/08, 9:56 AM
vbspurs said...: Second thought: Ooh! Sounds like one of the tortures invented by McCain's captors...

Cheers,
Victoria; 7/21/08, 10:23 AM
vbspurs said...: Channelling my inner sexist, I've come up with these correlative male-female activities.

MALE = FEMALE

Cold beer = talking on the phone
Back rub = getting your hair done
Watching sports = mani/pedi
BJ = spa massage
Sex = shopping

Hmm.

Men are from Firestone, Women are from Bloomingdales?

Cheers,
Victoria; 7/21/08, 10:30 AM
Ron said...: Victoria!

The spanking I would give you for such nasty musings! Where would that be on that Male-Female scale?

:); 7/21/08, 10:41 AM
vbspurs said...: Since there's a pleasure-pain factor involved, Ron, I'd say:

= Maxing out credit card.

;); 7/21/08, 10:43 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: Trooper York said...
Next they will be working on bikini waxing.

I ain't even going there!; 7/21/08, 11:21 AM
Ron said...: The wacky geneticist that comes up with the full-on Hooker Fish? Noble Prize, baby!; 7/21/08, 11:28 AM
vbspurs said...: Okay, who's tickling my foot?; 7/21/08, 12:58 PM
Jake said...: "Next they will be working on bikini waxing."

From what I hear, they're already doing that in the Yankee club house.; 7/21/08, 1:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Dick Morris approves.; 7/21/08, 1:28 PM
Trooper York said...: No worries. A Rod arranged for Madonna to take care of it for the Yankees. She is used to having to spit pubes out of her mouth. That's what made her a star in the first place. She wants to get back to basics.; 7/21/08, 1:39 PM
KCFleming said...: But how many times can you be "like" a virgin?; 7/21/08, 1:53 PM
Methadras said...: I'm just waiting for Trumpit to gate crash this discussion to condemn such violent acts against these innocent fish who will now have to endure cleaning that which would squish them. As a matter of a fact, he is probably suing the makers of this story for any video that they may have of the cruelty that is being shown to these animals in hopes of overturning a recent court decision that depicting animals being killed, abused, or tortured in a video is protected 1st Amendment speech.; 7/21/08, 3:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Gosh, it's awful quiet on the righty blogs today after the Maliki government reaffirmed that it wanted American troops out on something resembling Obama's time line. What a shame: All those words expended by conservatives and Republicans (here and elsewhere) trying to spin out of that little tight spot. And just like that, Maliki's spokesman renders it moot with a few words, spoken in English (heh). Can't blame those translators this time?

Meanwhile, here's a nugget from Juan Cole that Althousians may find interesting:

"Despite all the talk about Iraq being 'calm,' I'd like to point out that the month just before the last visit Barack Obama made to Iraq (he went in January, 2006), there were 537 civilian and ISF Iraqi casualties. In June of this year, 2008, there were 554 according to AP. These are official statistics gathered passively that probably only capture about 10 percent of the true toll."; 7/21/08, 4:31 PM
blake said...: I think Verso wins a prize to be the first to spit out a random lefty meme on an unrelated topic.

That prize would be a pirahna pedicure.; 7/21/08, 5:14 PM
knox said...: Verso,

thanks for proving you have no life. I should say, "confirming"; 7/21/08, 5:15 PM
knox said...: I had my first pedicure last week, in preparation for a wedding. I am running out of young, single friends and family, so I am hoping this is the last one for a while. The last few I've been to have been pretty dreadful.

Anyways, I am not used to "pampering" myself as such, so it really did feel like a luxury, even though no fish were involved, toothless or otherwise.; 7/21/08, 5:17 PM
vbspurs said...: That prize would be a pirahna pedicure.

LOL!

...not just about the Leftbot reference, but because I still can't get my head around a toothless fish pedicure.

I mean, it's like something out of a bad 50s horror film, you know?

Attack of the Creature from the Beauty Lagoon; 7/21/08, 5:41 PM
vbspurs said...: I am not used to "pampering" myself as such

I always feel so bad when I hear ladies say this, Knoxy. A pedicure is one of life's supreme, rare, desexualised physical pleasures.

Of course, you have to try to go to a chi-chi salon where they have English-speaking manicurists, or else it resembles going to the Hanoi Hilton. Literally...; 7/21/08, 5:45 PM
Ron said...: That prize would be a pirahna pedicure.

Maybe those pedicure fish have an exploding suicide pufferfish model as well...what a charming surprise!; 7/21/08, 5:45 PM
Trooper York said...: My wife is forcing me to get my annual pedicure soon because we are going to Vegas for the trade show and I will be wearing flip flops and sandals and stuff like that and quote "You can't look like Fred Flintstone. Well at least not your feet."; 7/21/08, 5:45 PM
Trooper York said...: I mean having Chinese women touch my feet with a razor just freaks me out.; 7/21/08, 5:47 PM
Ron said...: I wonder if we could make combination dishwashers/aquariums with these fish...they come out of the castle, past the deep sea diver,just to gnaw the lasagna off your plates...no chemicals, plus highly entertaining...; 7/21/08, 5:48 PM
knox said...: Victoria,

I must say, I did enjoy it. THey even had those massaging chairs to sit in while they do your feet. But I felt guilty because it was one of those walk-in places where all the women were Korean and all the customers were white. Pretty weird dynamic. However, I had time restrictions, and strappy heels, so no other option.; 7/21/08, 5:56 PM
Luckyeldson said...: Around here in the desert, you won't find too many fish nibbling your toes. What you do have to look out for is scorpions in your shoes. And, ladies, if you're walking around with open-toe shoes, be real careful of fire ants. You don't want them giving you a pedicure, 'cause it sure won't tickle.

Say the wife says, "Leave them dirty boots on the back porch!" Next morning, you better turn them over and hit them on the side of the stoop before you put them on, because scorpions love to hide under porches in the daytime and go out hunting at night. Morning comes, and they scurry into the darkest place they can find, which could wind up being real close and personal unless you watch out.

It's real rare, but sometimes you get a baby rattler in there, too. Happened to me once. Also happened to Cousin Bob out in Cabezon. Freaked him out, 'cause he almost stuck his hand in, but he heard something move just in time.

He must have gotten real spooked, because after that he started seeing snakes. They were coming out of the air conditioner. He saw them coming up through the drain in the bathtub. (He shot the bathroom up real bad with his 12-gage.) The worst was when he saw them coming out of the radio in his rig on I-81 in Tennessee. Almost sideswiped a tanker. That kinda scared him, so he decided to do something about it.

One day he shows up at my house in his rig, and he has a big wicker basket with a lid on the seat next to him.
"What's in the basket," I said.
"Mongoose," says Bob.
I started thinking, "Oh shit. Now he's going to get in trouble with the Dept. of Fish and Game. You can't bring a freakin' gerbil into California, and he's got a mongoose!"
So I said, "Uh, Bob, why did you get a mongoose?"
Bob says, "They eat poisonous snakes!"
"But, Bob," I said, "Them snakes ain't real."
Bob says, "Neither is this mongoose!"; 7/21/08, 5:58 PM
vbspurs said...: dishwashers/aquariums

That's another thing!

What is the lifespan of these fishies? My God, I remember when I had a Beta fighting fish, that if I so much as altered his water temperature, or God forbid, moved him from one bowl to another for its cleaning, he would freak, and become schizo for a week.

Do they change the water? Do they use soapy warm water?

The mind boggles.; 7/21/08, 5:59 PM
Fred Drinkwater said...: Scuba divers have been doing this for years. If you approach a cleaning station (cleaner fish or shrimp, depending your taste ;-) carefully enough, you can sometimes get them to nibble on your cuticles. Never done this myself, but I've seen it done.; 7/21/08, 5:59 PM
Jennifer said...: Toothless fish certainly sound preferable to the skeevy guy who did my pedicure last week. I can handle fish getting into it, I'm not a fan of skeevy guy enjoying the process a little too much.; 7/21/08, 6:13 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey Verso can't spend all his time passing out Barack Obama pamphlets. A guy has to make a living you know.; 7/21/08, 6:16 PM
blake said...: A pedicure is one of life's supreme, rare, desexualised physical pleasures

Jennifer and Troop beat me to it.

Desexualized to whom?

A foot fetish is not uncommon, I think.; 7/21/08, 7:16 PM
vbspurs said...: A foot fetish is not uncommon, I think.

Side note: Have you noticed how men are mostly the ones with the foot fetishes?

(Owning a gazillion pairs of shoes may qualify some women -- but I own exactly 10. I am a watch and handbag girl)

What I meant is the receiver of the pedicure has a desexualised experience.

Now, the pedicurist may get her jollies from her trade, but Jennifer's experience aside, I have never gotten one from a man, nor have I ever felt like I was being sexually used by a female pedicurist.

Finally, I don't feel any sexual vibes when I get a pedicure, anymore than a guy would feel hot and bothered at the barbershop.

Cheers,
Victoria; 7/22/08, 12:32 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Side note: Have you noticed how men are mostly the ones with the foot fetishes?"

Is anyone interested in men's feet? That would be very strange.

"(Owning a gazillion pairs of shoes may qualify some women -- but I own exactly 10. I am a watch and handbag girl)"

So some woman might be in love with her own feet.

"Now, the pedicurist may get her jollies from her trade, but Jennifer's experience aside, I have never gotten one from a man, nor have I ever felt like I was being sexually used by a female pedicurist."

I've never seen a male pedicurist... but now that I think of it, every single person who works at the large salon I patronize is female.; 7/22/08, 11:59 AM
blake said...: Finally, I don't feel any sexual vibes when I get a pedicure, anymore than a guy would feel hot and bothered at the barbershop.

Now I'm thinking of a movie--I can't remember which one, dammit--where a guy is getting his haircut by a girl, and the whole thing is slow-mo and showing the way she's moving around his body....

That's gonna bug me now, trying to remember that.; 7/22/08, 7:26 PM

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