- Gingerbread man
A gingerbread man is a sweet
biscuit made ofgingerbread , usually in the shape of a stylizedhuman , as per the name (though making other shapes, especially seasonal themes, is quite common).Most gingerbread men share the same roughly humanoid shape, with stubby feet and no fingers. Many gingerbread men have a face, though whether the features are indentations within the face itself or other candies stuck on with
icing orchocolate varies from recipe to recipe. Other decorations are common; hair, shirt cuffs and shoes are sometimes applied, but by far the most popular decoration are shirtbutton s, which are traditionally represented bygum drops .According to the
Guinness Book of Records , the world’s largest gingerbread man weighed 168.8 kg (372.13 lb) and was made by chefs at theHyatt Regency Hotel ,Vancouver ,Canada , onNovember 19 ,2003 . It measured 4.23 m (13 ft 11 in) in height, 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) wide and 5.08 cm (2 in) deep.In culture
The gingerbread man is popularized in the fairy tale of the same name, in which the titular confection comes to life before he can be eaten, and gleefully flees from various hungry assailants, before a
fox promises to help him across a river, then double-crosses and eats him. This version of the Gingerbread Man also appears in the "Shrek" movies and Jasper Fforde's books, though in Fforde's version, the Gingerbread Man is a homicidal, sadistic psychopath who enjoys ripping apart his victims limb from limb.L. Frank Baum created his own gingerbread man in the character ofJohn Dough from "John Dough and the Cherub ", who also appeared in "The Road to Oz ". John Dough is life-sized and also scared of being eaten. He ultimately sacrifices his hand to save a child's life, then becomes ruler of a dual island nation at war until they found their prophesied monarch.In the
mixed martial arts event "UFC 83", gained competitor Starnes the nickname "The Gingerbread Man" after he fled from his opponent for fifteen minutes.International analogues
A character from Russian fairy tales,
Kolobok ( _ru. Колобок: from "kolo", around, and "bok", side) is also made of bread and shows similar behavior of avoiding dangers to be eaten by various animals. The difference is that Kolobok has a spherical shape and propels himself by rotating.The mythological Thai protection spirit Mantou, also shares some traits with the Gingerbread man. Although, the Mantou was called upon for protection quite frequently by aboriginal jungle tribes from Cambodia in the past, the Mantou protection spirit has lost favour amongst its believers for its perceived ineffectiveness following the French colonial periods.
External links
* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/gingerbread/index.html SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com: "The Gingerbread Man" with annotations, illustrations, modern interpretations and more]
*imdb title|id=0119196|title=The Gingerbread Man
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
