Pearls of Thai Wisdom

[Guest route67]

I know that Thais believe some crazy things, but these two were thrown at me yesterday:

You can't take antibiotics AND drink soda soon after, as soda will stop the meds from working.

Don't give chocolate (chocolate brownie, to be precise) to dogs - their hair will fall out.

I'm sure these will probably prove to be the least crazy before long...

[globetrotter]

They don't think they need to use condoms as they can't get pregnant anyways

[Rickshaw]

Chocolate contains a stimulant called theobromine (a bit like caffeine) that is poisonous to dogs. The amount of theobromide differs in the different types of chocolate (dark chocolate has the most in it). 

 

Theobromide mainly affects the heart, central nervous system and kidneys. Symptoms will occur from 4-24 hours after the dog has eaten chocolate and will vary depending on the amount of chocolate (theobromine) eaten and include:

• Vomiting (may include blood)
• Diarrhoea
• Restlessness and hyperactivity
• Rapid breathing
• Muscle tension, incoordination
• Increased heart rate
• Seizures

And death in which case, the hair often falls out. So they are right after all!

 

You can get dog chocolate which does not contain theobromine. Personal experience allows me to say that it is not one of the culinary highlights of the world.

[Rickshaw]

My favourite Thaism involved a friend of mine who was going down the street on his bike when a car pulled out in front of him, giving him no option but to hit it. Luckily he wasn't hurt seriously; the police attended and having got all the information from him, the other driver and a crowd of onlookers, went over to him and said.

 

"This accident. Your fault"

 

My friend explained again that no way was it his fault - the other driver pulled out in front of him.

 

"Oh yes" said the policeman dismissively "but if you were not here, there would be no accident".

 

As my friend said, you couldn't argue against the logic.

[stoolpusher]

I was told years a go if your in a Thai taxi and it has a smash get out and run away because it is your fault , If he didn't stop to pick 

you up he would not have been there at that time....Its all in the timing. 

[SiamSam]

Lets hope the Thai bar gals don't subscribed to this type of logic. Imagine walking into a bar and being forced to buy all of them a drink just because I walked in and was there. Their reasoning would be, if I hadn't walked in there would be no one to ask.  

[xyzzy]

My favourite Thaism involved a friend of mine who was going down the street on his bike when a car pulled out in front of him, giving him no option but to hit it. Luckily he wasn't hurt seriously; the police attended and having got all the information from him, the other driver and a crowd of onlookers, went over to him and said.

 

"This accident. Your fault"

 

My friend explained again that no way was it his fault - the other driver pulled out in front of him.

 

"Oh yes" said the policeman dismissively "but if you were not here, there would be no accident".

 

As my friend said, you couldn't argue against the logic.

 

  Stuff like this unfortunately isn't all that unusual. A guy I know was a passenger in a car near Pattaya. A Thai girl on a motorbike merged onto the road and ran into the side of the car. It was completely her fault. The driver of the car had to pay for the damage to her bike and her medical bills but was given the opportunity to personally tell her she was a bad driver...

[rxpharm]

Actually there are some antibiotics that have reduced activity when taken with carbonated drinks - cloxacillin is one. Carbonated beverages are acidic. Medications are generally best taken with liquids with pH 7.0 - water being the best medium.

 

The story regarding the accident, and being the fault of the non-Thai person, is not unique to Thailand. This is common in the Arabian Gulf countries whenever there is a traffic accident with an Arab national. 99% of the time the police and judge (if it goes to court), will give fault to the ex-pat.