The juvenile homophone created in English by the international name for Thailand’s capital, long a source of snickering for Western children and the occasional adult, nearly claimed a tween’s budding manhood this past week.
Surgeons labored desperately to save the testicles of a 12-year-old British boy maimed in what is actually described as a “sick ‘bangcock’ craze sweeping schools” by a newspaper covering the northern English community of Teeside.
“This is a craze that has come back into trend that boys randomly punch their target in the balls to cause intense pain,” the boy’s mononymously identified mother “Emmajayne” told Teesside Live. “I don’t want to share my private business but this ‘bangcocking’ has been going on for a while in school and has come back as a stupid phase.
The boy’s predicament began Thursday morning when he was approached by some lads with an apparent test of his geographical acumen: What is the capital of Thailand? When he correctly responded “Bangkok,” they walloped him hard in the bollocks.
Find all episodes of The Coconuts Podcast
Surgeons made her sign a waiver that she was okay with them removing her son’s testicles if necessary. But he emerged whole, if modified.
“He was very very lucky,” mum Emmajayne said. “They have been nipped and tucked, with four stitches to each testicle.”
If Emmajayne is to be believed, this prank is a scourge sweeping the British education system. While that seems far-fetched, the authority that is the Urban Dictionary does define the word “Bangkok” thusly:
“A sharp and swift blow taken to the genital region of a male. Action taken in response to the question, “What is the Capital of Thailand?” This should only be asked of one angry male or female to another male who has wronged them in some way shape or form.”
In a related development, reported incidents of male farang commuters wisecracking “But I don’t even know her” while waiting for a subway have fallen significantly since the Purple Line was extended past Bang Sue two years ago.
Reader Interactions