Mar 15, 2009

Strange Souvenirs: Earthquake Detectors Mexico

Only in Mexico could an earthquake detector come in the form of folk art. Made out of wood the heads of the brightly painted animals, reptiles and insects wobble when seismic activity begins. Turtles appear to be the most popular.

Eco-friendly they require no electricity or batteries. And the pocket-sized critters are easy to take home or bring with you the next time you travel to an earthquake zone.

Previous Posts in this Series:
Ojamas
Lucha Libre Masks
Autopsy Cell Phone Straps

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

How they work ?

Anonymous said...

haha!! lovely souvenirs.. I love things a bit "bizarre" like this..
=)
http://travelandtrips.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

Could have used these a couple of years ago, we were in the main zone of the 8.0 earthquake in Peru.

Catherine said...

These look eerily familiar...I really love mexican folk art and as you know one of these is in kitsch korner!!

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Thanks for visiting my blog and your comments..

Have a nice week..

=)

http://travelandtrips.wordpress.com/

kristine said...

oh is that what those are?? they have those in indonesia too (i lived through quite a few earthquakes there and could have used a few of these, but never put two and two together - d'oh!)

Anonymous said...

Never seen these earthquake detectors before. Wherever I travel, I tend to avoid buying souvenirs. But if they're for something useful, why not?

Anonymous said...

Ha ha, very enterprising Mexicans! I experienced an earthquake in Sicily in September 2002, and these would have been handy!

GMG said...

Intelligent and eco-friendly...
Have a great weekend!
Blogtrotter

Anonymous said...

Oh, they are so cute and attractive.

Yes, how do they work exactly ? Only wobbling or do they make any sound also? What if a person like me keeps them on a table and sleeps off ?

Baron's Life said...

Looks good...just love it

Wendy said...

Hobo, their heads wobble.

Travel and trips, thanks for stopping by.

Gennaro, 8.0 Yikes!

Catherine, photographed these on the last trip. Perhaps I'll buy some on the next.

Kristine, too funny.

Erica, good for you for having some restraint.

Travel Tart, I've experience a few and that was quite enough.

Gil, have a nice weekend as well.

Cuckoo, They don't make a noise so I have a feeling you's be woken up by a rumble.

Baron, glad you like.