# Is there any point to collecting beads (showing tits) at Mardi Gras? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631 "2013-07-16T02:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/41 "2013-07-16T18:46:46Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Oh, dear. Last year I gave my 4yo niece about a bushel of old Mardi Gras beads along with other dress-up costume jewelry and a jewlrybox. They were immediately deemed BEST PRESENT EVAR, and all other b-day stuff was summarily ignored in favor of her bedecking herself and anyone nearby in Mardi Gras gewgaws. > > … in retrospect, I may have conveyed the wrong lesson there. Ha ha ha ♫ [Guilty](http://www.flickr.com/photos/63727045@N07/9303048636/in/photostream)! ♫ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/42 "2013-07-16T19:06:26Z")
Is there a point? Of COURSE there is! After the coming Apocalypse, purple plastic beads will be the only truly valuable items left, and you’ll NEED to have them to barter for food and water. When the End Times come, sober prudes will wish they’d exposed themselves more. So remember: get as many purple beads as you can- and guard them with your lives. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/43 "2013-07-16T19:10:25Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Is there a point? Of COURSE there is! After the coming Apocalypse, purple plastic beads will be the only truly valuable items left, and you’ll NEED to have them to barter for food and water. > > When the End Times come, sober prudes will wish they’d exposed themselves more. > > So remember: get as many purple beads as you can- and guard them with your lives. Finally our time has come to be the breadwinners of a new age. Get in the kitchen boys, we got this! (o)(o) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/44 "2013-07-17T01:17:52Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I call BS. Either the pant-lowering is BS, or the no-alcohol is BS. > > Take your pick. > > Unless “some woman” was planning to execute more personal attention. He honestly doesn’t care for alcohol. Me, I enjoy alcohol, but I have no tolerance for it. Bill used to get drunk, but he drank to get drunk, not because he liked the taste. And he drank because that’s what everyone else was doing (this was when he was in his teens). It’s just as well that he doesn’t really like drinking. He does enough stupid shit because it seems like a good idea at the time. I got confirmation from two people that he wasn’t drinking, and that he was lowering his pants. He also got targeted by a bachelorette scavenger party, who were collecting acts from men. The bride managed to get him to get down on one knee and sing to her, for instance. Then he told her to go get someone else to do other stuff. Bill’s mother’s family is from NO, his mother was Cajun. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/45 "2013-07-17T03:22:14Z")
It’s just a social convention that some people find fun. Why do I put a tree in my living room every December? Why does my husband give me roses, and not daisies? Why do I wait until midnight and go out and bang on pots and pans once a year? Why do we pick one day, and one day only, to set of colorful explosives? Social rituals can be kind of strange when looked at from the outside. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/46 "2013-07-17T03:25:46Z")
What is the day when pots and pans are banged upon at midnight? 😕 Also, we have two colourful explosive days in Canada: Victoria Day, and Canada Day. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/47 "2013-07-17T03:28:42Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What is the day when pots and pans are banged upon at midnight? 😕 > > Also, we have two colourful explosive days in Canada: Victoria Day, and Canada Day. We have much to learn from them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/48 "2013-07-17T05:08:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Also, we have two colourful explosive days in Canada: Victoria Day, and Canada Day. Four if you’re in Toronto for Chinese New Year and Diwali. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/49 "2013-07-17T05:50:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Four if you’re in Toronto for Chinese New Year and Diwali. Pretty much 365 if you’re in New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/50 "2013-07-17T05:55:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Women would love to expose their breasts in exchange for beads, or anything else, at any time, but for some reason it’s only socially acceptable at Mardi Gras. I can’t prove that, but it’s the only explanation that makes sense. Except for the alcohol part. That might be a factor. On Reddit they do it for “upvotes.” Or so I’ve been told. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/51 "2013-07-17T05:55:36Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I call BS. Either the pant-lowering is BS, or the no-alcohol is BS. > > Take your pick. > > Unless “some woman” was planning to execute more personal attention. I’ve been to Mardi Gras in NO twice. I have shown my penis in exchange for beads. Yes, I still have them. About women. One this is that women are competitive as shit with other women. They may think “I’m not going to show my tits” but then they see this other woman with all these beads, and all this attention, and they say, “I can get more”. As for me, it was very “nice” to have a young lady approach me and say, “I want to see your dick and I’m willing to pay.” Not those words exactly but that was the basic exchange. Not my friend, or my other friend. ME. That’s right. She wanted to see MY dick. So that’s cool. And I really wasn’t drunk and neither was she. There were other exchanges with other women. Man, I’ve got to back there sometime. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/52 "2013-07-17T11:00:36Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > We have much to learn from them. My parents on New Years? I guess so. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/53 "2013-07-17T12:41:09Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Is there a point? Of COURSE there is! After the coming Apocalypse, purple plastic beads will be the only truly valuable items left, and you’ll NEED to have them to barter for food and water. > > When the End Times come, sober prudes will wish they’d exposed themselves more. > > So remember: get as many purple beads as you can- and guard them with your lives. Whew, glad for the heads up. [When my crate of eleventy billion for $29.99](http://www.mardigrasspot.com/33-inch-07mm-round-metallic-purple-mardi-gras-beads-6-dozen-72-necklaces.html?gclid=CICDyIXGtrgCFZCe4Aodu3AAhA) comes in I’ll be the ruler of the world! Never even had to go to Mardi Gras to get them. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/54 "2013-07-17T16:02:34Z")
You know, I’ve been thinking…maybe I should get a big bunch of beads, and offer them to Bill in exchange for him doing chores. Loading and unloading the dishwasher would be worth a necklace each. Taking out the trash would be worth another necklace. Cleaning up the cat horks, though, would probably cost me a King necklace. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/55 "2013-07-17T17:32:31Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You know, I’ve been thinking…maybe I should get a big bunch of beads, and offer them to Bill in exchange for him doing chores. Loading and unloading the dishwasher would be worth a necklace each. Taking out the trash would be worth another necklace. Cleaning up the cat horks, though, would probably cost me a King necklace. You might get further offering to show him your boobs in exchange for doing chores. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/56 "2013-07-17T19:10:01Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You know, I’ve been thinking…maybe I should get a big bunch of beads, and offer them to Bill in exchange for him doing chores. Loading and unloading the dishwasher would be worth a necklace each. Taking out the trash would be worth another necklace. Cleaning up the cat horks, though, would probably cost me a King necklace. Maybe he’ll even show you his peen. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/57 "2013-07-17T19:41:32Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > There are plenty of exhibitionists in the world and New Orleans is their Mecca. On the other hand, you really shouldn’t flash your tits in Mecca. People are likely to object. And if you get beheaded, you’ll have nowhere to hang your beads anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/58 "2013-07-17T22:28:14Z")
I got invited to a party overlooking Bourbon Street (or one of the similar parallel ones) about 15 years ago on Mardi Gras. The party hosts had purchased beads for us to throw, etc. However, we were so sick of nudity that we were asking for other body parts (naked feet, shoulder blades, etc.) but people get shows us the boobs. We were far more entertained by watching drunk people (it made it equal for both sexes) trying to take a shoe off and back on or trying to lift their shirt to show us their upper back. They had a good laugh at their own inabilities and realizing their own inebriation level. But 50% of people still would flash us as we yelled, “show us your ankle!” So I think that there is some basis in the attention-wanting-and-getting by the flasher. ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/59 "2013-07-18T21:47:12Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > i think a couple of good points have been made. I see what you did there! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631/60 "2013-07-19T01:03:49Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I’ve been to Mardi Gras in NO twice. > > I have shown my penis in exchange for beads. Yes, I still have them. > > About women. One this is that women are competitive as shit with other women. They may think “I’m not going to show my tits” but then they see this other woman with all these beads, and all this attention, and they say, “I can get more”. > > As for me, it was very “nice” to have a young lady approach me and say, “I want to see your dick and I’m willing to pay.” Not those words exactly but that was the basic exchange. Not my friend, or my other friend. ME. That’s right. She wanted to see MY dick. So that’s cool. And I really wasn’t drunk and neither was she. > > There were other exchanges with other women. Man, I’ve got to back there sometime. I would think it’s the opposite. Part of the attraction of flashing at some event like Mardi Gras is how non-judgmental it is. It doesn’t matter if a woman looks like Megan Fox or Rosie O’Donnell - when she lifts her top, the crowd is going to cheer for her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-point-to-collecting-beads-showing-tits-at-mardi-gras/663631.md?page=4)