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Sex toy mistaken for rare double headed mushroom

The discovery of a double-headed sex toy mistaken for a mystical rare fungus brought national notoriety to a Chinese village and TV program this week.

Villagers from Liucunbu, a rural community outside western Chinese city of Xi'an, encountered the sex toy while drilling a new well shaft. Hard-pressed to identify the flexible, fungi-like object, perplexed residents alerted the local news station, which immediately sent reporter Yunfeng Ye to the scene.

In her coverage of the finding, broadcast last Sunday on the station's investigative journalism program Xi'an Up Close, Ye thoroughly probed different aspects of the discovery, interviewing locals and inserting her own research on the alleged mushroom. Despite Ye's earnest reporting, her and the villagers' obliviousness of the object's real identity has now lent itself to national amusement.

The report opens with Ye proclaiming the discovery of the mysterious object, the likes of which "not even an 80-year-old local man has seen." Villagers crouch around the object, floating innocently in a water-filled bucket. "It has an eye and a nose, but we don't know what it is," says a man who was among the drillers who discovered the sex toy.

Describing the object's qualities in explicit detail, Ye and the villager determine that it is a type of lingzhi, a shelf fungus of the Ganoderma lucidum species, which according to legend has the ability to give immortality. Asserting that the mushroom is rarely seen because it grows underground, she says, "When the Emperor Qin Shi Huang [the First emperor of China] was on the hunt for the secret to longevity, it is said he discovered this lingzhi was the answer."

After the program aired, many viewers immediately recognized the object as a sex toy modeled after female genitalia, and online video of the report gained millions of views overnight. While the video received many comments lauding the station's and villagers' "purity," the day after the program aired the Xi'an news station posted an apology on Sina Weibo, a Chinese blogging website.

"Our program last night made everyone laugh," the apology said, expressing regret for an "uncomfortable and misleading" report. "Our reporter is very young and sheltered."

The original report from Xi'an Up Close can be found here .

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bd popeye said:

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Equation said:

I just read that article during lunch time and nearly choke on my lunch laughing. I can only imagine my late grandmother discovering that "mushroom" and proudly showing it to my late grandfather.

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Graduates from Civil Aviation University of China walk out of graduation ceremony hall in north China's Tianjin Municipality, June 20, 2012. A total of 370 students dressed in air hostess uniform of their future airlines graduated on that day. (Xinhua/Liu Dongyue)

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bladerunner said:

My late grandfather would have diced it up and thrown it into a pot with all the other herbal stuff and made a tonic out of it.

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Equation said:

Wouldn't it be hard to cut it up and he should be suspicious of the peculiar "mushroom" by then?

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HAIYANG, CHINA - JUNE 20: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white) Ho Lung Cheung of Hong Kong competes in the Men's Wakeboard Quarterfinal Heat 3 during the Day 4 of the 3rd Asian Beach Games Haiyang 2012 at Zone of Flat Water Sports on June 20, 2012 in Haiyang, China.

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Hong Kong lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung (R), a member of the League of Social Democrats, has his burning copy of the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper extinguished by a policeman (back C) during a protest outside the SCMP's offices in Hong Kong on June 21, 2012. The protest was organized after the group claimed that the editor-in-chief of Hong Kong's largest English language paper censored a breaking story on the recent death of dissident Li Wangyang in China.

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Hong Kong lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung (R) attempts to enter the offices of the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper to deliver a petition during a protest in Hong Kong on June 21, 2012.

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China's Song Yufei prepares for her routine during the waterski women's tricks competition at the 3rd Asian Beach Games in Haiyang, northeast China's Shandong province on June 21, 2012. Among the more mainstream sports at the seven-day tournament, held every two years, are sailing and beach volleyball, with top players due in Haiyang ahead of the Olympic showdown on London's Horseguards Parade this summer.

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In this undated photo released by the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tenzin Kedeup, a 24-year-old local herder, sits in a car, in China.

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This undated photo released by the Tibetan Youth Congress shows Ngawang Norphel, a 22-year-old migrant carpenter from Aba prefecture, in China. Ngawang Norphel and Tenzin Kedeup, a 24-year-old local herder, set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule on a street in Yushu prefecture in China's Qinghai province Wednesday, June 20, 2012. The exile group and the official Xinhua News Agency said Ngawang Norphel was seriously injured and Tenzin Kechok died after the immolation.

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In these images made from amateur video footage released by the Tibetan Youth Congress, two Tibetans hold Tibetan independence flags as they set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule, on a street in Yushu prefecture in China's Qinghai province Wednesday, June 20, 2012. The exile group released a graphic video showing two Tibetans collapsing in flames during another suicidal protest against Chinese rule. The group and the official Xinhua News Agency said one man died and the other was seriously injured.

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A keeper checks on two beluga whales as they swim in their enclosure at the Beijing Aquarium June 21, 2012. The aquarium is the largest in China, and promoted as "the world's largest inland aquarium", with more than 1,000 marine species and freshwater fish on display.

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Employees work at a Geely Automobile Corporation assembly line in Cixi, Zhejiang province June 21, 2012. Car sales in China rose 22.6 percent in May from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on June 9.

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Can you say nerd? or they may be SDF members! Equation is that you?

Participants interview each other during a blind date party in Shanghai in this May 26, 2012 file photo.

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Participants interview each other during a blind date party in Shanghai in this May 26, 2012 file photo. In traditional Chinese society, marriages were arranged by families and matchmakers and tying the knot was never in question. Although customs are changing rapidly, the one-child policy in modern China piles on even more pressure on children to get on with the business of producing offspring. Matchmaking events are increasingly common, with eager singles - often accompanied by concerned parents - gathering in parks on the weekends to search for love among personal information strung up on trees and notice boards.

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Employees stand next to a container ship at Ningbo port in Ningbo, Zhejiang province June 21, 2012.

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Police officers ask foreign journalists to leave the area prior to a court hearing for Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei against a multi-million-dollar tax fine in Beijing on June 20, 2012.

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Astronaut Liu Yang's first night shift in Tiangong-1

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Visitors play video games at the 2012 China (Dalian) Game show in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 21, 2012. The exposition offers free entrance and will last for three days. (Xinhua/Li Ang)

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A robot serves the meal at a restaurant in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 21, 2012. A total of 18 robots with different division of labor serve the meals at the restaurant. (Xinhua/Zhang Qingyun)

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A robot cleans a pot at a restaurant in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, June 21, 2012. A total of 18 robots with different division of labor serve the meals at the restaurant. (Xinhua/Zhang Qingyun)

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Workers install rails at the construction site of Hami-Lop Nur railway line, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 19, 2012. The rail laying operation of the 367.8-kilometer-long Hami-Lop Nur railway line entered the final phase recently. It is the first railway line in Lop Nur, a former lake that is known as "the sea of death,". The railway would speed up exploitation of potassium salt, one of China's rarest resources used in fertilizer production. (Xinhua/He Junchang)

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A model presents an Oldsmobile F30 Coupe car during the 2012 China International Auto Repair, Maintenance Technology and Equipment, Auto Parts Show in Beijing, capital of China, June 20, 2012. More than 20 classic cars were displayed at the show here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Zhen)

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A model presents a 1958 Chevrolet Belair classic car during the 2012 China International Auto Repair, Maintenance Technology and Equipment, Auto Parts Show in Beijing, capital of China, June 20, 2012. More than 20 classic cars were displayed at the show here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Zhen)

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The roll-on/roll-off luxury passenger liner Bohai Crystal was built by Bohai Ferry Co Ltd in Weihai, Shandong province. Built oat the price of 400 million yuan ($62.88 million) and it is at present the largest, most advanced, safest, and most luxurious roll-on/roll-off passenger liner in China.

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A tea art performing contest was held at the Maliandao street in Beijing, capital of China on June 19, 2012. A total of 20 teams from Beijing as well as Jiangxi, Anhui, Guizhou and Jiangsu provinces took part in the contest here on Tuesday.

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Divers of Jiaolong, China's manned deep-sea submersible, celebrate after the Jiaolong completed its second dive on June 19, 2012. The Jiaolong reached a depth of 6,965 meters below sea level on Tuesday during its second dive into the Mariana Trench, surpassing a fresh national record set earlier in the day. The vessel sat on the sea bed and started working at that depth. (Xinhua/Luo Sha)

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Can you say nerd? or they may be SDF members! Equation is that you?

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HAIYANG, CHINA - JUNE 22: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This digital image has been converted to black and white) Zhenkun Duan of China competes in the Waterski Women's Wakeboard Final on Day 6 of the 3rd Asian Beach Games Haiyang 2012 at Jiulong Lake on June 22, 2012 in Haiyang, China.

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HAIYANG, CHINA - JUNE 22: Chinese hostesses wait with bouquets of Medals during the medal ceremony of the Beach Kabaddi Women's Team Finals Gold Medal Match on Day 6 of the 3rd Asian Beach Games Haiyang 2012 at Zone D of Fengxiang Beach on June 22, 2012 in Haiyang, China.

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A Chinese child, center, adjusts his rice dumpling shaped hat while performing on a stage during the opening of the Duanwu Festival held at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China Friday, June 22, 2012. Rice dumplings are traditionally eaten during the Duanwu festival, also known as the Dragon Boat festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period.

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Chinese dancers perform on a stage during the opening of Duanwu Festival held at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China, Friday, June 22, 2012.

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Chinese dancers dressed in traditional costumes wait for their performance ahead of the opening ceremony of Duanwu Festival held at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China Friday, June 22, 2012.

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Chinese children dressed in traditional costumes prepare for the opening ceremony for the Duanwu Festival at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China Friday, June 22, 2012

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Citizens buy wormwood for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival in Bozhou City, east China's Anhui Province, June 22, 2012.

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HAIYANG, CHINA - JUNE 21: CHIU Yu-Ting Chiu of Hong Kong China shoots at goal during the Beach Handball Women's Team Semifinal Match 1 on Day 5 of the 3rd Asian Beach Games Haiyang 2012 at Zone A of Fengxiang Beach on June 21, 2012 in Haiyang, China.

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A zookeeper feeds a hippopotamus with forage wrapped in the shape of a rice dumpling (zongzi) to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival at a wildlife zoo in Shenzhen, Guangdong province June 21, 2012.

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A worker exits his office at the main building of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba.com, Wednesday, June 20, 2012, in Shanghai. China

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Shoppers walk through a street market selling electrical products in Hong Kong on June 22, 2012.

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Passengers wait to the platform at Hohhot Railway Station in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 22, 2012. A total of 74,000 passenger trips are expected for Hohhot Railway Station during the three-day holdiay of Dragon Boat Festival this year, which lasts from Friday to Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

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Children play outside temporary tents in Zhouxi Township of Kaili City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 21, 2012.

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Temporary tents are seen on a square in Zhouxi Township of Kaili City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 21, 2012. Heavy downpours hit Zhouxi on June 10, triggering mudslides in which three people died and another seven were injured. At least 19,784 residents of 4,736 households from 19 villages were affected. Up to now, 1,030 victims from worst-hit areas were transferred to safe villages and 370 of them got sheltered in temporary tents in the township, according to local authority. (Xinhua/Du Juanjuan)

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A model presents a FORD 730 De Luxe Sedan car during the 2012 China International Auto Repair, Maintenance Technology and Equipment, Auto Parts Show in Beijing, capital of China, June 20, 2012. More than 20 classic cars were displayed at the show here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Zhen)

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