For centuries, Hindu women have worn a dot on their foreheads. Most of us have naively thought this was connected with religion, or marriage or something, but the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC has recently revealed the true story.

 

When a Hindu woman marries, she brings a dowry into the union. On her wedding night, the new husband scratches off the dot to see whether he has won a convenience store, a gas station, a donut shop, or a motel in the United States.

 

If there is nothing under the dot, he must take a job in India answering telephones and giving technical advice that no one can understand.