Stretch yourself into a new Chinese job

From the country that brought you thousands of years of traditional foot binding comes the latest craze in painful bodily structure modifications: leg stretching! Ok, so we can see that when a nation's populace enters the billions the job market becomes so flooded that the only way to confidently seek employment is to have the edge of a "stretching machine," which will draw (but not quarter) a user into being a bit taller. We're not saying it's not disconcerting, of course, but apparently jobs there actually list height requirements, so if nothing else one must appreciate the recursion of creating jobs at companies making stretching machines for stretching people to help them get jobs.

[PG @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

Yao Ming?

[Chinaman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

First stretch!!

[Frangible @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

Hurray for being 6'3"?

[David @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

The "draw" part of "draw and quarter" is the process by which the condemned's abdomen is cut (drawn) with a knife, allowing his guts to spill out on the ground. I hope the stretching machine won't do that.

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

You know, some hanging entrails add 3-4" visually.

[Dario @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

Does this thing stretch you permanently? It can't be good for you...

[Rocky Chang @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

And I thought the whole leg streching scene in GATACA was sci-fi. I guess it's sci-fa (science-fact)!

[Kieth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

the rig they're using is an Ilizarov fixator, and it doesn't put you out of commission for months, unless you're trying to hide the obvious thing. It's not the most pleasant thing, especially as you need to stretch constantly, as you're cranking your body apart a mm a day, in increments...

[lan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

I've heard of this from a long time ago in a Japanese article. It explained that many men were getting the bones on their legs cleanly broken and then spaced slightly farther apart to add an inch to their height.

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

My wife and I were in China over last Christmas and we saw that TV ad pop up. I don't think I have ever laughed that hard. The best part was when the "American Doctor" came on to say how good it was ... and then there was the endorsement by the Chinese Basketball Assocation.

[doraemon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

mmm cool device invented in 1600 by the inquisition.

[shadow @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

one of my friend did took up this treatment and she's taller by 5 cm, but she's suffering from pain and torture whenever the weather changes... she knew when will the rain comes just like the weather station...

[ts @ Dec 19th 2005 12:54AM]

Where can I get one? That looks like it would be great for my disc pain.