GetkOOky.com.au prides itself on selling wonderfully unusual and unique gift products to entertain the masses. So what defines something as unusual or unique? Jump on to getkOOky.com.au and you’ll see for yourself first hand. But before you press the link to our kooky site, the article below may just shed some light as to what qualifies something as unique or unusual.
That Telephone is shaped like a hand…hmmm…Unusual!
Many of us have had the desire to give a unique or unusual gift to a friend or loved one. Such a gift is most often made as a statement. It could represent undying love and friendship, a bond with a special friend or family member, a bond with a special enemy, unbridled desire and so on. History has many examples of so called unique and unusual gifts. For many the Taj Mahal will come quickly to mind. The Trojan horse is another. Hollywood fans might readily recall the diamond Richard Burton gave to Elizabeth Taylor. These are definitely examples of big gifts, expensive gifts and gifts with serious impact but are they unique and/or unusual?
- What is an unusual gift
- What is a unique gift
- Is a unique gift also unusual by default or are they mutually exclusive?
A recent dinner party I hosted brought these very questions to the table for debate. While we were not talking politics or religion we still managed a colourful and passionate exchange as my 6 guests and I fired opinion after opinion in a verbal tennis match that became more and more prosaic as the red wine splashed as frequently as the interjections.
We thought we sounded wonderful, well informed and bursting with intellect. In hindsight, we had descended into a clumsy tannin stained semantic argument where the only clear winner was the dictionary. Whatever the case, there are some worthy conclusion to report, however loose.
By the end of the conversation I was several steps past tipsy, hoarse from speaking loudly and unsure what we were actually trying to prove. Nonetheless I had come up with a conclusion:
- A gift is likely to be unique if you do it first and it’s never been seen before
- It’s unusual if some have done it before but not many and not many times
- The two are not mutually exclusive, a gift can be unique, unusual or both
- Whether a gift is unique and unusual can be determined by many factors not the least of which might be ethnicity and culture.
I’ll start here with a visit to the dictionary, which in the .com age means Google. My dinner guests and I were a little slow to consult the oracle that evening but this was more a display of our collective desire to demonstrate a retained knowledge base outside the internet than our Commodore 64 age bracket. Google provided parameters for our discussion and the definitions read (thanks to dictionary.com):
Unusual:
adjective
Not usual, common, or ordinary; uncommon in amount or degree; exceptional.
Unique:
adjective
1. existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitaryin type or characteristics
2. having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable.
3. limited in occurrence to a given class, situation, or area
4. limited to a single outcome or result; without alternative possibilities
5. not typical; unusual.
With these definitions in mind I’ll return to the moment where the conversation had begun. Somebody said, and I quote “The Taj Mahal was a unique and unusual gift…” Somebody quipped, “People build monuments as gifts to their loved ones all the time. It’s not unique or unusual.” And so the argument begins.
The Taj Mahal: Is it Really Unique?
For all intent and purpose the Taj is a mausoleum, a burial chamber. Admittedly it’s a little more elaborate than a wooden cross with RIP written on it but a final resting place it is. It is also a great gift of love from Shah Jahan to his third wife Mumtaz Mahal. One could argue it is indeed unique, but on what premise? Is it the sentiment, the sheer scale of the monument or is it the architecture? Perhaps it is what it has become, its myth and legend, its historical significance, not to mention the importance to art, religion and architecture.
Again however, we have to ask, do these parameters define the Taj as a unique and/or unusual gift?
Firstly, one could argue that Shah Jahan did not set out to be unique or unusual. There are suggestions that builders signed contracts not to be involved in constructions of a similar nature but as they are myths, one should conclude unique was not part of his intent. I admit this is purely supposition, I can’t claim to know what was in his mind. I think however it is fair to say unsupported that his intent was more likely to be to create something of beauty and grandeur to represent the depth of his love for his wife. This he did. The building itself could be argued as unique. Its world heritage status clearly identifies it as a building of significance and it is astonishingly beautiful. The architecture is not unique however or unusual. The Taj is often regarded as the pinnacle of Mughal architecture but there are many examples of this eclectic style from antiquity to more contemporary copies.
There are examples of similar edifices that were erected as tombs well before the Taj was built. These building also hold significant cultural importance. In so much that there is no other building exactly the same as the Taj, built as a tomb and monument to a Mughal ruler’s third wife it might be considered unusual and unique. I fear it’s drawing a long bow however. Yes, you don’t see a Taj pop up every other week but monuments to love extravagant and otherwise are dotted throughout history. Examples include the Eleanor Crosses, El Beso and the Petit Trianon. Rulers and Kings and those with access to enormous wealth are often the source of gifts of biblical proportions.
For me, the Taj Mahal would be indeed be a unique gift if John Smith, an Australian diesel mechanic from Western Sydney had bought it for his mother in law as a ‘stay away from me’ incentive!
The Trojan Horse
The Trojan horse presents a more interesting proposition as claiming status as a unique and unusual gift. For the purpose of argument I’ll ask you to suspend any belief in the suggestion that the Trojan horse legend is just that, legend. A tale that has been somewhat skewed from actual events owing to the whims of oral historical recounts. For purposes of my argument the event happened as recorded in the Aeneid of Virgil and the Odyssey, the story we know and love.
As far as history is concerned this was a first. No-one had built a wooden horse, filled it full of warriors and left it as a parting gift at the front door of their arch enemies. The hapless Trojans were indeed fooled and wheeled this unique and unusual gift into the confines of their inner sanctum. We all know what happened next. Take a look at the definitions listed on page one. Seems to me the Trojan horse qualifies on all counts as unique and unusual.
Semantics
Earlier in this article I suggested that a unique gift and unusual gift were not mutually exclusive. One could field a hopeful argument that they actually are. This is where my dinner guests and I got tragically lost in semantics. If for example, a gift is unique, by definition it would be a one off, one of a kind, with no other example in existence. The term unusual suggests that it is not one of a kind but moreover, just not common. There are multiple examples and therefore not unique. Wouldn’t being unique negate the possibility of being unusual? It would at the very least seem an understatement to suggest something unique is unusual.
It’s All Zebras and Snow Flakes
It is possible to be unique and unusual at the same time. To illustrate this point let’s look at the finger print, the snow flake and Zebra stripes. These natural patterns are totally unique. They are literally one offs. There are however, Zebras that have patterns of spots. Snow flake may have a triangular shape and the human fingerprint might be the rare pattern of a Peacock eye. These examples are quite rare so indeed unusual. They are also totally unique.
To conclude, I feel the dinner party discussion about unique and unusual gifts finished up with me slightly on top. It was a hollow victory however because nobody else seems to have much of recollection of the evening at all. I stand by my argument. If a gift has never been seen before in any style or form and you are the first to give it, then it is likely a unique gift. If it’s a thing that is not so common then it will easily fall into the unusual category. Rest assured if you purchase a goat for a person that lives in the city, the gift could well be considered unique and unusual, if not totally stupid and impractical. Ultimately, I think unique and unusual, where gifts are concerned, is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to give your spouse an unusual and unique gift you’re not going to win any prizes with a dozen red roses or underpants. Try taking a stone from your gravel driveway, mount it on an Oryx hoof and glue on some sequins and Yak fur. Just a tip! If you’re not as creative as the
kOOky mOnster log onto getkOOky.com.au. There’s a bunch of unique and unusual gift ideas for all your friends and family. It’s cheaper than the Taj!
Chief kOOkologist
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