By Alan B. Combs. This is among my best or worst work, as the case may be.

There are many different athletic endeavors in Japan, ranging from Sumo to gymnastics. This tale is about a group of female gymnasts who wanted to actually make a living pursuing their art.

Their problem was the competition. Even though they were among the most skillful groups out there, there were just too many similar acts for them to break out of the crowd.

So, they changed the basic nature of their act. They started to give up their gymnastics and began to specialize in becoming contortionists. With amazing athleticism, they would fold themselves into very entertaining shapes resembling birds and animals of all sorts. With this change, they became more popular, but, alas, they still were not able to make an adequate living.

At last, they added one more activity, one that finally guaranteed their success. Our ladies added the world’s oldest profession to the meld. While performing their trickery, they would fold themselves into the most amazing shapes and their patrons would always come back for more.

They became so famous that a new name was created for their unique art — whorigami.