# Were hairballs once considered things of beauty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 18, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631 "2014-02-18T17:07:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631/1 "2014-02-18T17:07:26Z")
From this column: > **[Were hairballs once considered things of beauty?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342254/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty)** > [@](#): > > I surgically removed the large bezoar in the enclosed photo. Any chance of posting a copy of said photo? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631/2 "2014-02-18T18:05:28Z")
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bezoare.jpg) of some that could be described as attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631/3 "2014-02-18T18:37:15Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631/4 "2014-02-18T23:32:35Z")
Here’s a [picture](http://www.artofbleeding.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/misc/bezoar-gold.jpg) of one. It’s done in gold as some sort of crown jewel. Here’s a [picture](http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/goat-bezoar_135319853/showimage.html) of goat bezoars. If I didn’t know, I’d say they were some rather pretty little gem stones. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631/5 "2014-02-20T18:45:31Z")
I used to have a fish bezoar in a gold frame as a hanger. It was shaped like a lumpy kind of [camee](http://www.degoudeneeuw-antiek.nl/WebRoot/Pins/Shops/0909013/4D8B/5A08/F52F/5190/A7B2/6D47/302D/13C9/br173-2.jpg). It was an heirloom piece from my Surinam grandfather. [Fish pearls](http://www.bezoargeligapearls.com/fish.html), 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. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-hairballs-once-considered-things-of-beauty/681631/6 "2014-02-20T18:55:35Z")
Ah, here’s a picture of someone offering [a set of cufflinks in gold made with Kubi stones,](http://i.marktplaats.com/00/s/NzY4WDEwMjQ=/z/XywAAOxyVLNS68LN/$_85.JPG)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.