UTTARADIT — Deceased conjoined piglets at a pig farm in northern Thailand drew the attention of devout lottery hopefuls Thursday in the run-up to the bimonthly lottery results.
After a sow on Wednesday gave birth to 16 piglets at Kittisak Panya’s pig farm in Uttaradit province’s Laplae district, some residents took in onto themselves to rub talcum powder onto a pair of dead conjoined twins, convinced that winning lottery numbers would be revealed.
Stable hand Songwon Ketbanpat, 76, recounted that during the sow’s hour-long labor, one pair of twins, both female, came out joined at the stomach. They died minutes after birth.
Twins are generally held up as auspicious in much of Thailand. When Kittisak saw the linked little porcine pair, he took it as an auspicious sign – especially since his sow broke her own birthing record with a 16-strong litter. He washed the piglets and placed flowers and incense around them. He then rubbed their bodies with talcum powder to coax from them some winning lottery numbers, and soon his neighbors joined in on the numerological fun.
Residents have reported seeing the lucky numbers 56, 55 and 66 on the newborn corpses.
Some netizens, however, have noted that the chance of the method working is as likely as the dead piglets taking flight.
“So superstitious. The piglets were born crippled, why are you offering them flowers and incense?” wrote Facebook user Atikron Ounkaew.
User Chok’z Ĩnnocent suggested there was an irony to how they were treated.
“Why don’t we wai at disabled people?” Chok’z wrote. “When an animal is disabled we say it’s lucky, but if a person is disabled we say they’re not whole? Sigh, Thai people.”
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Column of Bananas Worshipped for Lottery Luck (Photos)
Baby Golden Turtle Rubbed for Lucky Lottery Numbers
This Giant Snake Ate 5 Chickens. Now They Hope it Will Make Them Rich.
