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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
SEPTEMBER 2012
•
ICONS BY ALEX EBEN MEYER
25
HERE, FISHY-
FISHY
ON THE PERILS OF TROLLING
FOR PIRANHA
It’s approaching dusk on the Amazon
River, and the air is thick with
moisture and mosquitoes. A small
cluster of DEET-slathered Americans
bait wooden fishing rods with scraps
of beef, their eyes scanning the water
for the seething piranhas just below
the surface.
“Stick the tip of your pole in and
swoosh it around,” instructs Johnny
Balarezo, a guide with tour company
International Expeditions, agitating
the murky water as he speaks. “Piran-
has are attracted to movement.”
Patience is not a requirement of
piranha fishing. About 15 seconds in,
a 13-year-old California girl screams,
jerking her pole and catapulting a
piranha into the air. All eyes follow
the silver-orange blur as it arcs into
the boat, landing with a thud. The fish
flounders, its jaws snapping, awaiting
the introduction of a finger or toe.
Another yell erupts, this one from
Balarezo. He’s at the end of the boat,
beneath an overhanging branch
infested with Aztec ants. His flailing
arm alive with tiny biting dots, the
guide grabs a machete and hacks
at the branch. It falls into the water,
but not before hitting the boat and
scattering more ants. People scurry
away from the invaders, only to be
snapped at by the piranha again.
Having hurriedly evicted the
offending insects and safely con-
tained the piranha, Balarezo turns his
focus back to the fish in the water,
which have now surrounded the
boat. “Bring it up! Bring it up!” he
says, encouragingly. In the frenzied
minutes that follow, a handful of
tourists do well; on the journey back
they pose with their catches, grinning
and sweating in the waning light.
—KATIE MORELL
PERU
U.S. STATE WITH
MOST GIFT SHOPS:
CALIFORNIA
(2,658)
U.S. STATE WITH
FEWEST GIFT
SHOPS:
WYOMING
(73)
NUMBER OF
GREETING CARDS
SOLD IN THE U.S.
EACH YEAR:
7 BILLION
NUMBER OF
E-CARDS SENT
WORLDWIDE
EACH YEAR:
500MILLION
THEMUGS GAME
THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR NOVELTY ITEMS
LAS VEGAS •
The trickiest thing about being in the sou-
venir business can be figuring out what business you’re
in. “‘Souvenir’ is French—it means ‘remembrance,’” says
Sco Borowsky, the executive editor of
Souvenirs, Gi s
& Novelties
magazine. “I can take three different items
and get three different views on what they are.”
The accepted standard for defining a souvenir—or
novelty or gi item—centers on
intent
: If it’s a soap dish
withawhale on it and it’s sold inanaquarium, then it’s in.
Anoldbo le of Pepto-Bismol, not somuch (even if it does
remind you of the time you rode the Tower of Terror).
Thismonth, industryfigureswill descendonLasVegas
for theSouvenir&ResortGi Show, anannual event that
showcases the latest in Derek Jeter key chains, Justin
Bieber pillows and hats for dogs.
Laugh not: According to the research firm Barnes
Reports, the U.S. novelty, gi and souvenir market will
generate almost $15 billion this year. Visit the Vegas expo
and youwill hear the phrase “recession-proof” almost as
o en as “breakfast buffet.”
“Peoplemay not consider buying a car right now,” says
Borowsky, “but something for 15 or 20 bucks? Why not?”
The numbers suggest that consumers are asking the
same question.
—CHRIS WRIGHT
SIZE OF WORLD’S
LARGEST PRIVATE
COLLECTION OF
MICKEYMOUSE
MEMORABILIA:
2,760 ITEMS
SIZE OF WORLD’S
LARGEST PRIVATE
COLLECTION OF
BALLPOINT PENS:
220,000
ITEMS
TOTAL SALES BY
U.S. BALLOON
STORES IN 2011:
$83.1
MILLION
TOTAL U.S.
GIFT-BASKET SALES
IN 2011:
$304
MILLION
AMOUNT PAID
FOR “VALLEY OF THE
SKY” METEORITE
IN 2006:
$93,000
AMOUNT PAID
FOR 2-GRAM PIECE
OF THE MOON
AT SAME AUCTION:
$4,250
AMOUNT
THAT NEW
YORK PAID
DESIGNER
MILTON
GLASER FOR
HIS 1977
“I
♥
NY”
LOGO:
$0
DISPATCHES