Photo of the Day (10.18.10)

Street markets are a magical place. Various sights, smells and sounds assault your senses and you stuff your face with things you can neither pronounce nor identify. It’s easy to get lost in the excitement and energy of the market. That is, of course, until you see a tail. Americans aren’t used to seeing tails in their grocery stores or butchers. We see finished products. We buy trimmed steaks and boneless chicken breasts. We’re just not ready for the experience of seeing a boiled dog torso complete with tail.

That’s why this photo by Flickr user pirano caught my attention. At first glance, I thought that maybe it was an oddly-shaped pig. Would you believe that it’s boiled dog? After reading the blog post that went along with his photo, I learned the story about his conversation about dog meat in China. It’s worth a read if you want some background on this picture. No matter what you think about eating dog, you have to admit that seeing that tail is pretty mesmerizing.

Have a picture of some unexpected street meat? Or maybe just some great travel photos? Submit your images to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use one for a future Photo of the Day.