All I'm Saying Is Just Don't Get Near Me On Space Mountain....

A few days ago, the owner of a Chinese toy manufacturer committed suicide by hanging himself.

Cheung Shu-hung, whose Lee Der Industrial Co. manufactured lead-tainted Sesame Street toys at the centre of a massive U.S. recall, hanged himself, a state-run newspaper said yesterday.

I'm not here to merit the justice or injustice of his actions, but as James Lileks today notes, the fact that the guy's name is "Hung" is a story that just about writes itself.

Obviously, "hung" in Chinese doesn't mean the same thing that "hung" does in English... nevertheless I was quite dismayed to learn that in Chinese, "Barry" means "bludgeoned to death by a frozen tunafish when riding a defective roller coaster that has been doused by sulphuric acid rain from tear in the ozone layer, while suffering an aneurysm brought on by excessive ingestion of iced tea and used tires".

Who knew?

Meanwhile, in Chinese "Hung" actually means "tricycle". Wow, the things you learn....