Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to Friday. . . which also means welcome to this week's online edition of "Snippets and Soundbites." We're doing everything we can to help you get your weekend started off right.

That's why we've been reading through some of stranger news stories reported this week and all ready to share some of the. . . err. . . more interesting ones with you. Ready?

Stand tall.
It appears the title of world's shortest man now belongs to Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal. The 18-year-old man measured in at 26.4 inches tall and his title was certified by Guinness record officials. Magar took the title form a Colombian man, Edward Nino Hernandez, who is 27 inches tall. Magar's family has been campaigning for years for him to be declared the world's shortest man, but Guinness officials rejected all earlier attempts because Magar was under 18 and there was a possibility that he would grow. So the family waited until he was 18. In addition to receiving the coveted shortest man title on Thursday, Magar also received presents for his 18th birthday. Magar's parents say that he's always been tiny. He only weighed 1.3 pounds when he was born and now weighs in at just over 12 pounds. His father says no one has ever really given them an explanation for why Magar will never grow any taller. His younger brother is 13 and of normal height. Magar's doctor for the past five years says he has the body of a 3-year-old. “His body structure is like that of a small child and he also thinks and behaves in that manner,” Hum Prasad Newpane said. To learn more about Magar and his new title, go here. To see a video about Magar's big day, go here.






He passed?
We all have worse-case scenarios in mind when it comes to taking the driving portion of the drivers license exam. What if you can't remember which way to turn the wheels when parking on a hill? What if you speed? What if you run a stop sign? What will cause the administrator NOT to give you your license? Well, one Pennsylvania teen had just passed his driving test when one of those worse-case scenarios actually happened. He was driving back to the state drivers license center in western Pennsylvania to drop off the man who had administered his driving test. The teen driver thought the car was in park, but it wasn't. And then the bad thing happened: the car crashed into the building. Three people were injured in the accident, but officials say none of the injuries were serious. To learn more, go here.

The role of a lifetime.
These days, people in any area of finance or stocks is used to drama—but Thailand's minister of finance is taking on drama of another kind: a soap opera. Korn Chatikavanij, the minister of finance, appeared on an episode of the popular Thai soap opera “Wanida” on Wednesday. The appearance was part of the government's effort to garner attention for their plan to help the public repay high-interest debt. The soap opera is set in the 1940s and Korn appeared in a scene with a debt-ridden character. During their discussion, he detailed how the government's real-life plan works, saying: "The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has helped over 500,000 people and reduced debt burden by about 3 billion baht ($100 million) per month. It's lucky that Mr. Prajuab [the character] registered." To learn more about Korn's appearance, go here.

And if today's edition of “Snippets and Soundbites” simply isn't enough news of the weird for you, be sure to check out page 38 of this month's (and every month's) issue of ec!