Many Mastodons Mulling Mighty Masks

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our TENTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "M".

MANNEQUIN

I love it when a mannequin has an expression or an attitude of some sort. Much preferred than the vacant stares that they tend to have. This one is quite expressive. Almost "Twilight Zone-ish", I dare say.

MASK

Masks. They've been with us for a long time, haven't they? I know this one is pretty intriguing. Wonder what it was for and why such a restful face. Maybe it was a funerary mask (used in burials?). This mask is in a funky antique store in Taos, NM. Wikipedia has a very long section in regards to the meaning, history, etymology, culture, etc. Give it a visit if you feel so inclined.

Here's a monkey mask for  you too (this one is at the International Folk Museum in Santa Fe):

I have a lot of mask images. I find them fascinating and in our neck of the woods, you only see them in museums.

MASTODON

Mastadon. The animal. Apparently there is a band by the same name. Who knew.  Here's how Wikipedia describes them:

"While mastodons had a size and appearance similar to elephants and mammoths, they were not particularly closely related. Their teeth differ dramatically from those of members of the elephant family; they had blunt, conical, nipple-like projections on the crowns of their molars,^[3] which were more suited to chewing leaves than the high-crowned teeth mammoths used for grazing; the name mastodon (or mastodont) means "nipple teeth" and is also an obsolete name for their genus.^[4] Their skulls are larger and flatter than those of mammoths, while their skeleton is stockier and more robust.<sup>[5]"

Not a wooly mammoth, but a mastodon. Well, at least it's a mammal! And, a monumental one at that!

I suppose this is enough mayhem for one day.</sup>