True or April Fool?

To celebrate April Fools’ Day (Apr 1) and prepare you for the barrage of hoaxes and false news, I’ve come up with a quiz to help you practise your discerning between true or false. Here are seven either unbelievable-but-true or outright fake stories that have happened in Thailand.

Your fun job is to decide which one is true (T) and which is an April Fool (F) joke and to write the corresponding letters in front of each story. The answers are at the end so no cheating or Google-ing!

..... 1. Minister of Tourism and Sports, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, discussed with Nestle a plan to produce Kit Kats in durian, tamarind and mangosteen flavours to boost tourism, similar to how the green tea Kit Kat became synonymous with Japan.

..... 2. Grab has introduced a new service called GrabTukTuk in addition to its taxi service. A ride on the signature three-wheeled vehicle was elevated. The passengers would get to pay fixed-fares instead of negotiating prices on the spot and they’d also be able to see the driver coming to get them on the map in real time.

..... 3. The Chiang Rai Municipality organised a rat-and-cockroach catching contest at a fresh market in order to keep it clean. Niyom Norkaew, the winner of the rat category, bagged 687 rats and was awarded with B10,305, a certificate and 1,374 chicken eggs. In the other category, Thip Insarn collected 3.5kg of cockroaches, becoming the champion for catching the universally hated insect. ..... 4. Two cats with a rare optical defect known colloquially as “diamond eye” were wedded in a lavish ceremony. Phet, the groom, arrived in a Rolls-Royce wearing a tux while Ploy, the bride, (not to be outdone) arrived in a helicopter wearing a pink gown. They were wedded human-style with a dowry, rings, and the likes. Vicharn, their owner, organised this happy occasion. ..... 5. A high-ranking police officer came up with an idea to punish police officers for their minor misconducts. The guilty officers would be moved to work in an office under supervision and forced to wear a shiny Hello Kitty armband with two hearts on it for a day. He reasoned that making his officers feel embarrassed for committing minor wrongs would deter them from committing bigger misconducts.

..... 6. The Nonthaburi Municipality organised a swimming contest between two men, a buffalo and a wild boar as part of its traditional annual boat race. The four contestants had to swim 600m across the Chao Phraya River. ..... 7. The US Embassy posted a job vacancy ad for a Feline Wellfare Specialist whose main duty is to take care of the meow population living on the embassy’s ground. The position also requires organising vaccinations and check-up trips with the vets and creating cat-themed content for social media use. Desirable candidates must be fluent in Thai, English and Felinese. ANSWERS:

1. T - You may already have seen this story on your Facebook news feed recently. Green curry and tom yum Kit Kats are, perhaps, in the pipeline too?

2. F - It was an April Fool joke Grab did last year but it sounded rather plausible. They may try to pull GrabLongtailboat on you this year.

3. T - This eww-inducing contest was reported by Manager Online in September of 2014. The rat catcher won the title for the third time in the row at the time of report, btw.

4. T - The two cats were wedded for real back in 1996. The ceremony took place at Ratchada Square Tower. Footage of this wedding is available on the AP Archive YouTube channel. The owner believed they brought him luck for his successful cosmetic business.

5. T - It’s true according to various reports.

Manager Online reported it in August of 2007. You got to accessorise your uniform with a cute Hello Kitty armband after you did something wrong? How was that a punishment?

6. T - It’s real according to various reports. The race took place on Nov 30, 2009. You’ll be happy to know that no animals were drowned in this unnecessary race. The pig finished last, of course. Animal cruelty, much?

7. F - Another April Fool joke from last year. The job ad was posted on the embassy’s Facebook along with a serious-looking letter and a link to its official website to fool the overly gullible ones. It was a rather obvious joke to me but one I remember wishing was true.