The Laughing Tree

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I am fascinated by Simulacra and the meaning we ascribe to them. This week the Drudge Report had a link to an article about a betel nut tree with a frond resembling a Pacific Island ritual mask. They call it The Ghost Tree.

As you might imagine, this event is causing quite a stir in its local community. Some are even selling photos of it for 2 ringgit (under $1.00). That’s cheap compared to the religious image in the grilled cheese sandwich that sold on eBay for $28,000. This shows that the more specific a simulacrum, the more valuable it is. This is too bad, because I saw a cloud this morning that looked just like Abe Lincoln.

The Laughing Tree grows in the neighboring woods near our home. It’s a much better simulacrum than the tree that received all that international attention because it looks just like one of those trees from the “Wizard of Oz”. Finding trees with simulacrum is easy because we have many neurons dedicated to face recognition. The search gives them something to do on their time off. Using these abilities is a great way to supplement our income because there are always plenty of people willing to pay for good simulacra on eBay. As for The Laughing Tree, I’ll just let it grow. I won’t sell it on eBay, and I won’t issue a press release to bring in the crowds (especially if it somehow got linked to the local legendary Jersey Devil).

By the way, I wonder what The Laughing Tree finds so funny. - Korba