Beetlenut

I have yet to actually try it myself... luckily I have yet to be formally offered (as it would be a true social no-no to refuse)! Pinang, or beetlenut, might be the South-East Asian equivalent to chewing tobacco, but natural and untreated. It is a reddish-brown slimy nut encased in a green husk. The villagers rip off the husk with their teeth to get to the inner-goodness which inevetibly turns their mouth and teeth bright orange! There isn't much funnier than the men of the village looking like they're wearing lipstick! Chewing this 'nut' into a pulp produces a natural high, although it is said to have the added bonus of strengthening teeth... HOWEVER, every elder I see chewing it has a mouthfull of awfully stained, rotted out teeth!