Recycling isn't exactly the right word for what happens to New Orleans' Mardi Gras beads. Aside from those used for art projects, they aren't being melted down and turned into something new.

I knew not the art of catching a ... feathered-women to throw beaded brassieres and edible underwear to find the spectacular floats. I walked inside Mardi Gras World, the largest float designing ...

So many beads. Mardi Gras is a long-standing tradition ... Cart Blackwell, Mobile Carnival Museum Curator "They encompass the fine art of sculpture, literary currents in their diverse array ...