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Chinese farmer grows Buddha-shaped pears to sell in Europe

Are you tired of boring old pear-shaped pears? Do you enjoy eating foods shaped like religious figureheads? One farmer in China is hoping more than a few people will answer yes to both those questions, and is growing pears shaped like Buddha.

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Yup, you read that right. The farmer hails from the village of Hexia, in Hebia, northern China, and has spend six years perfecting his method. The baby pears grow inside a clear Buddha shaped mould, and are plucked from the tree in the shape of a tiny seated Buddha. From the top of the figure's head extends the pear's stem which the farmer has opted to leave attached, perhaps as an indicator that this is in fact still a fruit.

So far he's made about 10,000 of the fruits, and locals are eagerly forking out about $8 for the deity shaped treats, according to the Daily Mail. The inventor has plans to export his idea to Europe.

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This isn't the first novelty fruit item to hit the market. You may recall the craze that swept Japan a few years ago as people shelled out hundreds of dollars for watermelons shaped like squares, hearts, pyramids and even faces.

Japan is certainly no slouch in the oddly shaped fruit department. They've also designed cucumbers that make cute little hearts and stars when sliced. No word yet on whether the Buddha pears are coming to Canada, but the moulds for the star and heart cucumbers are available for purchase online.