FACTS ABOUT ASIA
THAILAND
"Punishable"
You should never stand on a banknote or tear it apart. There is a law which states this fact and you can be sent to prison for it. This is because the King's face is printed and engraved on the Thai banknotes. People in Thailand take the royal family pretty seriously. Even if you say anything about the King, like a joke, you'll be in great trouble. You should respect the King and you can be punished for it when you don't.
"Barber"
Thinking about getting your hair cut? Check the day! Thai people don't cut their hair on Wednesday, it's considered back luck and barber shops actually close on Wednesday for this reason. Nobody really knows for sure where this belief came from. There a two stories that have given rise to the belief that cutting your hair on a Wednesday is bad luck.
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Thai idiom
In ancient Siam, Wednesday was viewed as the day of agriculture and gave rise to a Thai expression which translates as ‘Don’t cut on Wednesdays and don’t pull out on Thursdays’. With farming and the land so important to a rural population, it’s plausible that everything would be done to ensure good luck for the crops and it’s easy to imagine how the no cutting crops on Wednesday belief could have extended to not cutting hair on that day too.
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Royal connection
Some older Thais tell of a belief that has been handed down to different generations. Apparently, the Thai king would traditionally have his hair cut on a Wednesday. Because the day became associated with a royal haircut, Thais thought it disrespectful to cut their hair on the same day.
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