Body Modification in Japan "Bagheads"

A recent trend in body modification is implanting objects, such as magnets, in the skin. Why is beyond me, but apparently something small and barely noticeable isn’t good enough for some Japanese individuals. Introducing “bageheads.”

Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like, though there are a few differences between the process and standard body modifications. Instead of an actual object being placed in the skin, a saline solution drip is used to cause inflammation and swelling in various parts of the body.

For many, the result is a large, bagel-shaped “implant” on the forehead. Tankfully, it’s a temporary modification, lasting only around 24 hours or so before wearing off.

Of course, there are side effects, such as pain (obviously), stretched-out skin, pressure, and headache. Other individuals are placing the saline in the arms, leading to bizarre, disfigured “muscles.”

Fashion among Japanese teens is weird enough as it is, but this definitely takes the cake. Or bagel.

Weird Japanese Food

There are ‘weird’ food in every culture without exception, even in Western countries. One man’s meat is indeed another man’s poison. Many others will be disgusted at foods like French escargots, American Rocky Mountain ‘oysters’ (cattle testicles) and English black pudding. If you’re talking about insects, there are also candy & lollipops made by US companies that contain real scorpions, worms & crickets.

There are also plenty of other countries who eat insects, regarded as nutritious & full of protein, like Thailand, Japan, South America, Africa etc. Even Americans are becoming more accepting, with over ten insect festivals each year like the Bug Bowl at Purdue University and restaurants like Typhoon, in Santa Monica, that serves insect delicacies.

Insects have enjoyed a place at the Japanese dinner table for many centuries. There insect foods are exotic, local niche items that the vast majority of modern Japanese have never – and likely would never – try even once in the course of their lifetimes.