THAILAND: Woman spends 33 days caged with scorpions

Record ID: 245847

  • Title: THAILAND: Woman spends 33 days caged with scorpions
  • Date: 26th January 2009
  • Summary: PATTAYA, THAILAND (JANUARY 24, 2009) (REUTERS) TOURISTS LOOKING AT KANCHANA HANDLING SCORPIONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOYER FERNAND FROM FRANCE ,SAYING: "Very dangerous. But she is now, she is immune to biting from a scorpion. It's not easy to stay 33 days inside here." KANCHANA HANDLING SCORPIONS SPECTATORS COUNTING DOWN TO END OF 33 DAYS KANCHANA LEAVING THE ROOM WITH
  • Embargoed: 10th February 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVADH1X670DCIFZNT0YBED5PR2U6
  • Story Text: A Thai woman -- known as the "Scorpion Queen" -- enters the record books after spending 33 days in a room with 5000 poisonous scorpions, suffering 13 stings in the process.
    Thailand's "Scorpion Queen" on Saturday (January 24) broke her own world record for staying in a confined space with thousands of the poisonous creatures.
    In 2002, Kanchana Ketkaew (pronounced Kan-ja-na Ged-kaew) spent 32 days and nights with 3400 scorpions to go into the Guinness World Records book. She has now beaten that by a day and another 1600 of the scuttling invertebrates which carry a vicious sting in their tails.
    The record was set in a 12 square metre-glass walled room in a shopping mall in the tourist resort of Pattaya where the 39-year-old was the centre of attention for tourists and locals.
    British visitor Jean Reed, who was there on the evening before the record was set, was full of admiration for Kanchana, saying: "She's very brave because I couldn't do it. She was very tearful one day, she was crying, and now she's very much happier now nearly the end of her last day."
    Kanchana, who makes her living by handling scorpions, was allowed a 15 minute toilet break every eight hours during the 33 day ordeal. She was stung 13 times during the record attempt but apparently suffered few ill-effects.

    "It's not easy to stay 33 days inside here," said another tourist, Boyer Fernand from France.
    Hundreds of people were counted down the final few seconds before Kanchana, her arms and chest draped in scorpions, finally left her self-imposed imprisonment to cheers, a presentation of flowers and a new entry in the famous book.
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