Perhaps it is in human nature but people are inadvertently drawn to superstition, particularly when it comes to crucial moments in life.
In Japan, gaining admission to top universities is the first step in the right direction in adult life and those involved will stop at nothing to find the right path.
Recently, believe it or not, thi has come in the form of excrements from Koala bears which an increasing number of Japanese high school students are carrying to college admission exam sites.
The all-important exams are scheduled for Jan. 18-19 and the local media are reporting that the latest trend in exam gifts is nothing other than that.
In fact, the Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya has been giving away free presents to exam takers which include not only Koala bear feces but that along with hand-written notes cramped into a milk pack.
The package was gone in less than 10 minutes.
The reasoning behind the nature of the gifts is the fact that Koala bears hang on to trees for more than 20 hours at a time to sleep without falling.
Likewise, the tenacity of the lovable bears is hoped to rub ff on those who have prepared so hard for the university admission exams.
There are numerous other gifts and superstitions ― in Korea, you do not eat slimy foods or crack an egg prior to taking exams because it is supposed tobe bad luck ― and it is getting more and more ingenious by the day and year, the local media quipped.