8 Truly Bizarre Services Around the Globe

The woman who charges $60 an hour for spooning

It used to be that a hug was a comforting gesture of companionship between friends or lovers but one woman in Penfield, NY has turned cuddling into a business. Jacqueline Samuel, 29, opened The Snuggery in June 2012, a place where, from upwards of $60, clients can snuggle with the petite Master's student in a strictly non-sexual context.

Sessions of up to 90 minutes take place in a private room while friends and family members mill around the house offering protection from any over-enthusiastic clients.

(Link | Via)

The man who hired someone to slap him in the face when he went off task

Like many of us, Maneesh Sethi gets distracted by the Interweb at work and his productivity suffers because of it. But the man has got a pretty unique solution to this problem: he hired someone via Craigslist to slap him in the face if he went off task.

His productivity went from 38% to 98% with the experiment. (Link | Via)

The Japanese men who are seeking more and more ear cleaning parlors

Japanese associate ear-cleaning with their childhood and many of them are willing to pay to return to those carefree days if only for just a few minutes. That's what makes ear-cleaning salons one of the most popular businesses in Japan right now.

Ever since Japan authorities decided to deregulate ear-cleaning as a medical profession, making it available without a medical license, hundreds of salons offering the service started popping up all over the country. The vast majority of clients are men looking to relax their minds after a stressful day, and travel back to the days when they used to rest their heads on their mothers' laps for the occasional ear cleaning session. Three out of four clients claim it's so relaxing they actually fall asleep while the kimono-wearing cleaners excavate the wax out of their ears.

Women who want to work in ear-cleaning salons have to become masters of the “mimikaki” (traditional cleaning tool), so they go through a one week course to acquire the proper ear-cleaning skills. They have to learn to remove just the right amount of ear wax, because it protects the ear canal, lubricates it and has antibacterial and antiviral properties. If all the wax is removed the canal is left vulnerable to a variety of outside threats. (Link | Via)

The company who charges $100 an hour for having your house cleaned by naked maids

If you've ever asked your significant other to clean in the buff and you were rebuffed — and you happen to live in Texas — think about calling Lubbock Fantasy Maid Service. For $100 per hour, Melissa Borrett, who started the company in February, will clean your house in lingerie or completely topless. For $50 more, you can order two topless maids at the same time.

Despite the inherently sexual nature of naked mopping and dusting, the company's website says, “While we do offer nude maid service, this is not a sexually oriented business.” But the shirtless Swiffering has caught the attention of the Lubbock Police Department, who says the business is in fact sexually oriented, and that it is acting without the proper permit. “Just the fact that employees are topless or semi-nude in this case — it's just not allowed,” Sergeant Jonathan Stewart told KCBD. “Without a permit it would result in a penalty of a $2,000 fine. Each day would result in another penalty,” Stewart said. (Link | Via)

The company that offers hand-written personal notes

Emails are so common nowadays that they're pretty much the expected form of communication. In fact, it's that way for virtually all occasions, not excluding birthdays and holidays. However, emails can get pretty boring after a while, because no matter what font you choose, the emails are still in a “perfect” computerized writing. This takes away some of the personal touches in writing a letter.

Epistly is a service which lets you send a hand-written letter to whomever you'd like. No, this isn't a delivery service specializing in hand-written letters, but the people at Epistly will hand-write those letters for you. Just enter in your message along with the address, and your recipient will receive that exact message, hand-written, in their physical mailbox. You can even enter in an email address instead, and Epistly will look to see if they have a matching physical address, or they'll go ahead and ask the recipient for a physical address via that email address. Through this service, you can send those personal letters (with a nice touch because it's hand-written) without having to take the time to write it out and mail it. (Via)

The company that offers grandmas for rent

Rent-a-Grandma is a real company in Texas and Virginia. Basically, it's babysitting with a clever if not compelling advertising pitch. The company hires older women with childcare experience to provide in-home care. (Link | Via)

The email service that anonymously notifies about nose hair if you are too shy to do so

Some people hesitate to approach people and inform them that they should trim their nose hairs. Why? I have no idea. It appears to be some weird social taboo about commenting on other people's body hair. But now it's not necessary to speak up. Chololi, the nose hair email notification service, will send an anonymous message to someone who needs a reminder. (Link | Via)

The company that offers a mobile hangover service in a bus

Hangover Heaven is a pretty simple service to use. The bus runs between 8 AM and 3 PM every day. Once on it, you can choose between two packages. There's Redemption, including intravenous hydration, or Salvation, including intravenous hydration, anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory medications that have been proven to cure hangover effects, and vitamin supplementation. Well, you can't really escape the IV, so you've got to go in there prepared for needles. An appointment can be booked through their website or on the phone, and they will come get you. Once the treatment is complete, you will be dropped off at the same place where you were picked up. Other services include coffee and refreshments on request, and iPads with headphones for entertainment.

This service would be really appropriate to rent for your bachelor party. (Link | Via)

 

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