Thailand recently held a heavyweight beauty pageant at the Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo in order to promote elephant conservation. The annual contest, is open to women aged 18 to 35, as long as they weigh at least 80 kilos.
Judges score the women not only on their performances and an interview, but on how well they exhibit the qualities of an elephant, something of a compliment in a country where the animals still have a respected role.
The winner of the Miss Jumbo Universe prize for the heaviest contestant was 182-kilogram Thanchanok Mekkeaw.
The Miss Jumbo Queen award went to Tarnrarin Chansawang, 18.
In addition to the 50,000-baht (1,250-dollar) cash prize, Tarnrarin becomes an elephant conservation ambassador, taking part in awareness campaigns to highlight the plight of Thailand’s herds.
Thailand’s total elephant herd population is nearly 5000, with up to 2000 of them in the wild. Experts have warned that the wild population could be wiped out within 15 years if no action is taken.
Despite taking part in the competition and declaring that they are proud of their size, some of the woman also admitted they are planning to try and lose weight in the future.
Doctors in Thailand removed 50 maggots from the ears of an 84-year-old man who went to the hospital complaining of itching.
“We believe flies might have gone inside his ears to lay eggs, which hatched into larvae and caused the itching,” said Somsak Nonthasri, the doctor who treated him.
Doctors kept the man in the hospital for observation in case more eggs hatch.
Protests by Buddhist monks have led to the indefinite postponement of listing of Thai Beverages, Thailand’s largest brewer, on the nation’s stock market. The monks staged their protest because of fears of growing alcohol consumption in Thailand.
Opponents to the listing claim that alcohol is against Buddhism, Islam, and traditional Thai culture, and that Thailand is already “an ill society already damaged by excessive alcohol consumption.”
Listing of the shares was expected to raise more than $1 billion for Thai Beverages, which would have made it the largest float in Thailand history. There are currently no brewers listed on the Thai bourse.
An employee of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been arrested for hiding an alien in his house.
A Japanese version of Roswell?
The latest episode of X-Files?
No, none of the above. The alien is a 19-year-old Thai prostitute who had overstayed her visa.
Police say the man was a client of the young woman when she worked as a hooker in Chiba Prefecture. When he found out she had overstayed her visa, he took her home with him and started paying her an allowance of 50,000 yen per month.
