Also note that this machine represents a huge advancement in the production of Yomogi Mochi, and is far safer and less tiring than the traditional method:

Courtesy of japanvisitor.com

P.S. We are purposely not revealing our current location to make things a bit trickier.

We learned a lot about our readers this round as we saw guesses roll in related to gangs, “professional women,” and illegal business. It’s not that these activities do not occur, but they are advertised in different ways.

We’d also like to recognize Dani for the research she posted related to these sand-crabs. We were positively fascinated by the patterns these little animals create. Our first half-hour on the beach was spent hunched over the sand inspecting these and trying to figure out what exactly they were. We knew that if we posted to the blog someone would help out with that task.

For further proof, here is a shot of one of the many resident sand-crabs.

Travel Status Update:
We are in Bangkok right now, delighting in the frenetic energy, hot/dirty air, and ample street food. We are getting up at 5:30a.m. tomorrow to watch the election returns roll in from a restaurant where we hear other Americans are gathering. Our votes are in. Our hopes are high. Expect a more detailed Bangkok post soon.

Rose is the winner with her quick response, less than three hours after we posted the challenge. Congratulations, Rose!

Good luck!

No one really knows what causes the circles, but theories range from fungus to termites to radioactive soil. We’re pretty sure it’s aliens.

We’re going to pull a Palin and also give a “shout-out” to Deanna, who correctly identified the photo as a view of the desert from a plane. But Senior Beller is our sole winner this round for correctly identifying the fairy circles. Great job, Dave! And thanks to all who participated in this round of What Is It??

Note: Now that we have a faster internet connection, we’ve replaced the original picture with a higher resolution version. (See the original post)

(hint: click on the image for a larger version)

Excellent work, Austin! And thanks to everyone else who participated.

Hint: click on the photo to view a larger version of the image in Flickr.

Allison – she was the first to recognize the contraption as some sort of Karaoke device (and even we had to zoom in on the photo to appreciate her reference to garlic)

Dan’s Mom – she was the first to call it out as a dental chair.

Yes, this device was a combination dental chair / internet / karaoke machine in the basement of the wine bar. The owners were extremely proud. We thought they were nuts, but really want to go back anyway.

I should mention that we’ve posted both of the last two posts from the only free wi-fi we were able to find in Nice: an ultra-hip club / lounge / bar with loud techno music, an array of flat panel TVs, and spinning purple lights. The weird thing is… we’re the only patrons. This is a sign of our dedication to you, our loyal readers.

Following a day or two of guessing, this item will be further explained in our next posting on the hill towns of Tuscany.

Best of luck!

To recap, the correct answer is Julius Caesar’s grave. This mound of dirt is located in the Temple of Julius Caesar — a freestanding building within the Roman Forum. Before our team of graphic artists (originally employed by the TV show “Cops” in the ’90s) did their magic on this photo, the pixelated words read: “AVE CESARE!”.

You can see the pickled peppers for sale in the bottom right of the photo. We actually had a little trouble ordering these, as the woman working behind the counter did not speak any English, and thought that we wanted two tenths of a kilogram* of peppers, as opposed to just two of them. While they were tasty, a full plastic bag of them may have set our stomachs a-rumblin’.

Allison is the winner, with extra credit given for providing the correct Hungarian name of the dish. Austin and Sarah came in a close second, impressing us with their reference to a patented technique for making them, despite initially omitting the fact that they are pickled.

Stay tuned for “What is it??” Round II!

* – note that unsurprisingly, everything here is metric. We’ve had 200 milliliter portions of wine and 500 milliliters of beer. Ordering drinks in this way strangely reminds us of graduated cylinders in Chemistry class. “I’d like 150 ml of your finest champagne, please!”

Today’s post is a picture of something we bought in Budapest at the market down the street. Quite tasty. Can you guess what it is?