Once upon a time there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. And they grew next to each other. And every day the straight tree would look at the crooked tree and he would say, "You're crooked. You've always been crooked and you'll continue to be crooked. But look at me! Look at me!" said the straight tree. He said, "I'm tall and I'm straight." And then one day the lumberjacks came into the forest and looked around, and the manager in charge said, "Cut all the straight trees." And that crooked tree is still there to this day, growing strong and growing strange.
Chinese farmer Hao Xianzhang has perfected the process of growing pears inside Buddha shaped plastic molds. They are sold at 50 yuan (about $7.32 USD) in the village of Hexia, China and are thought to bring good luck.