It was unlike anything the villagers had ever seen. The young news reporter who arrived on the scene was quick to point out that the âmysterious mushroomâ felt âmeatyâ. Meaty, sure, but that ainât no mushroom.
On June 17, Chinese investigative news program Xiâan Up Close reported about a âmysterious mushroomâ discovered in the rural part of Liucunbu, outside the capital of Shaanxi province, while digging for a new well.
Wondering what it was, the villagers kept their mysterious discovery in a bucket of water and occasionally poked it. That is, with their fingers.
âWhen we dug down to about 80m deep, we fished out this long, fleshy object,â one villager told reporter Ye Yunfeng (via Shingaiist) Itâs got a nose and an eye, but we have no idea what it is!â
The villager added that even his 80 year-old neighbor has never seen anything like this before.
âAs we can all see, this looks like a type of fungus, on both ends of which youâll find mushroom heads,â said the reporter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHydJ_ZQdmU
âOn this side, you can see what looks like a pair of lips. And on that side, there is a tiny hole which extends all the way back to this side. The object looks very shiny, and it feels very fleshy and meaty too.â
Unknown to the villagers, what they had actually discovered was a male masturbation aid. The âpair of lipsâ represents a vagina, and the âtiny holeâ represents an anus.
Still, the villagers had their own theories, thinking that theyâd found a type of lingzhi mushroom; the reporter seemed to agree, adding that the lingzhi mushroom can be found in the region and even was a secret to longevity.
The news report quickly went viral in China and the rest of Asia as people online knew this was no mystery and pointed out that the villagers had discovered a sex toy; this program seemed to have no idea what it filmed.
The show, however, issued a correction, trying to pawn off the mistake on the reporter who is âstill very young and unwise to the ways of the worldâ (an unfair excuse because the reporter most certainly had a crew, an editor, a producer and others involved in the storyâthis was not rogue sex toy confusion). The program added, âWeâd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for your criticism and correction. Please forgive our oversight!â
âMystery mushroomâ which leaves Xiâan villagers befuddled turns out to be artificial vajayjay [Shangaiist]