From this column:
Any chance of posting a copy of said photo?
It’s probably not a good idea to use the terms bezoar and hairball interchangeably. While a bezoar can be composed of hair, it isn’t always.
The Wikipedia page on bezoars has a picture of some that could be described as attractive.
My younger daughter had to have a bezoar removed a couple of years ago. The surgeon took a picture of it and gave it to us. It was stomach shaped and stomach sized.
It was scary and awesome at the same time.
Here’s a picture of one. It’s done in gold as some sort of crown jewel.
Here’s a picture of goat bezoars. If I didn’t know, I’d say they were some rather pretty little gem stones.
I used to have a fish bezoar in a gold frame as a hanger. It was shaped like a lumpy kind of camee. It was an heirloom piece from my Surinam grandfather. Fish pearls, as they are called, are rare finds. And considered talismans of good luck, much like finding a four leaf clover is a sign of luck.
So bezoars may be pretty, but mostly they are rare and considered lucky.
Ah, here’s a picture of someone offering a set of cufflinks in gold made with Kubi stones,as they are called. These look exactly like my hanger. My grandfather, born and raised in Suriname, where these fish and these bezoars are found, gave a glod-and-kubi-stone-hanger to each of his three daughters. My mom gave hers to me, and I sent mine to my niece in New York when she had a daughter.
It is a cool piece of history, but more of a curiosum then something you’d actually want to wear to the office.