Thursday, September 11, 2014

More Exquisite Conkers

After living with my collection of conkers for a few days now I can see distinct differences among them.  The one at the top, for instance, has two flat places on it, and these indicate that this conker was one of triplets.  The one right below has one flat side, indicating that it is a twin.  Twins and triplets are known as cheesers in conker game parlance.  The tiny blackish one is a singleton and very small.  It had a small hull, too.  The one at the bottom left was nibbled by a squirrel through its hull.  The squirrel ate a hole through the hull but never succeeded in opening the dehiscent seam.  The one on the bottom right is smallish and interestingly lumpy, but definitely a singleton.

My research tells me that conkers, besides being used to play games with, have been used for jewelry and for mojo in some voodou traditions.  One process was to drill a hole in the conker and fill the hole with mercury.  The end of the hole was them plugged some way, and the quicksilver-filler conker was added to a pacquet.  All conkers have been used as good luck symbols.  Conkers can be preserved by oiling them with human skin oil (your own).  You simply rub the conker alongside your nose in the indentation between your cheek and your nose.  In a few weeks your conker will be beautifully smooth and preserved.  I am working on mine diligently.  I chose the triplet as my lucky charm.

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