Purple polka dotted swimmers??

[SoCalDem]

ick...



A Chinese swimmer, with suction cup marks
on her back after traditional treatment,
attends practice at the National Aquatics Centre
ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
August 4, 2008.
REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA)

[AllegroRondo]

1. looks like she survived a giant squid attack

[DS1]

2. Or an organized scallop attack

:D

[SacredCow]

3. Or her date the night before....

gives very consistent (and big) hickeys.

[Chan790]

4. Cupping.

It's a not-uncommon alternative medicine treatment here in the US...the aftermath is just kinda funny-looking. They place heated glass "cups" on the torso, usually the back, and as the cups cool they suction onto the flesh. It is supposed to draw toxins out of the body.

It also has a growing usage in the BDSM community as a form of erotic play.

[RadiationTherapy]

5. That is from 'cupping'

a process that chinese medicine uses. The doctor lights a small piece of paper, puts it in the cup and quickly sticks it on the patient. The paper burns and creates a vacuum which causes the suction marks you see. I believe they stick it on to 'meridians' similar to acupunture.

[graywarrior]

6. I had that done by an acupuncturist.

It was great!

[Iggo]

7. I don't see any polka dots...

...in that picture of a butt.