The world has become a disturbing place. Standing between a podium and the German flag somewhere in Nuremberg is Mattel's Angela Merkel Barbie.

Something about it just doesn't seem right. (The worst part: the doll won't even be mass-produced. You won't be able to buy one. Ever. Mattel made the doll, just the one, as part of a Barbie 50th birthday celebration. They don't think it would sell, evidently, regarding it only as a novelty.) In a similar vein, I opened a box from my sisters on Christmas morning.

It seems as though there is something inherently wrong in cannibalizing a typewriter to make cufflinks. In a sense, it's a dirty trade in modern ivory, and represents a popularizing trend. A quick search of eBay listings shows many sellers post two shipping rates: one for the entire (often fully functional) machine, and one for the severed keys. Feel free to buy the entire elephant, or simply the tusks, whichever is simpler. In some cases, it isn't even ivory these poachers are trafficking--many of the machines offered are too modern to feature the type of keys used in cufflinks, rings, or bracelets.

What could I say to my sisters except thank you? I appreciated the gift, and was impressed with their efforts to find something that incorporated two of my favorite lifestyle aids. What could I do apart from hope the keys had been salvaged from a dead typewriter, beyond hope of repair?

The phenomenon is pandemic in both the industrial and industrializing world. A thing of beauty is a joy forever, unless it can be harvested for a profit, in which case, good luck trying to save it.