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What’s That on Your Bumper? A Hairy Kind of Car Insurance What’s That on Your Bumper? A Hairy Kind of Car Insurance
(about 13 hours later)
In some parts of West Africa, ponytails aren’t just hairdos. They dress up taxis, too.In some parts of West Africa, ponytails aren’t just hairdos. They dress up taxis, too.
In Senegal and Gambia, for example, many cabs that cruise along the crowded highways or bounce down sandy streets are adorned with clumps of long, tied horse, sheep or cattle hair attached to the back bumper or muffler.In Senegal and Gambia, for example, many cabs that cruise along the crowded highways or bounce down sandy streets are adorned with clumps of long, tied horse, sheep or cattle hair attached to the back bumper or muffler.
These tails are seen as providing strength and good fortune to drivers who spend hours navigating often treacherous road conditions in countries where traffic accidents are a common cause of death and injury. For a small fee, a Muslim religious figure known as a marabout will bless the talisman. Some drivers also have miniature tails on their key chains, West Africa’s version of a lucky rabbit’s foot.These tails are seen as providing strength and good fortune to drivers who spend hours navigating often treacherous road conditions in countries where traffic accidents are a common cause of death and injury. For a small fee, a Muslim religious figure known as a marabout will bless the talisman. Some drivers also have miniature tails on their key chains, West Africa’s version of a lucky rabbit’s foot.
Animal hair is just one way to dress up your ride. In Nigeria’s major cities, images of Jesus and favorite Bible verses are common on bumper stickers and windshields. One vehicle spotted on a traffic-clogged highway in Lagos had a sign saying “Blood of Jesus.”Animal hair is just one way to dress up your ride. In Nigeria’s major cities, images of Jesus and favorite Bible verses are common on bumper stickers and windshields. One vehicle spotted on a traffic-clogged highway in Lagos had a sign saying “Blood of Jesus.”
In Dakar, Senegal’s capital city, buses, cabs and trucks often display photos of local Islamic clerics, a distinction from some more conservative Muslim societies where doing so would be taboo. In Dakar, Senegal’s capital, buses, cabs and trucks often display photos of local Islamic clerics, a distinction from some more conservative Muslim societies where doing so would be taboo.
Semi-trucks that might bear silvery silhouettes of shapely women in the United States are more likely, in West Africa, to carry religious decals along with their fuel, onions or other big loads. Images of marabouts hang from rearview mirrors, and a giant Jesus is sometimes painted on vehicles.Semi-trucks that might bear silvery silhouettes of shapely women in the United States are more likely, in West Africa, to carry religious decals along with their fuel, onions or other big loads. Images of marabouts hang from rearview mirrors, and a giant Jesus is sometimes painted on vehicles.
Truckers also pay careful attention to their windshield wipers, which they wrap in long, colorful ribbons that blow in the wind as they rumble along the roadways.Truckers also pay careful attention to their windshield wipers, which they wrap in long, colorful ribbons that blow in the wind as they rumble along the roadways.
Dakar is home to the most tricked-out ride of all: the car rapide — multicolored minibuses that zip across the city with painted mud flaps, hubcaps and side mirrors. They are as notorious for their décor as they are for being overstuffed with precariously dangling passengers — and they are being phased out, for safety reasons.Dakar is home to the most tricked-out ride of all: the car rapide — multicolored minibuses that zip across the city with painted mud flaps, hubcaps and side mirrors. They are as notorious for their décor as they are for being overstuffed with precariously dangling passengers — and they are being phased out, for safety reasons.