Samantha Gray-Proyrunthong, 32, business owner

While I was window shopping, I grabbed my boyfriend by the balls to get his attention, but turned out it was a stranger.

Nikki Pichaya Piyassapan, 29, curator

I tried 95-degree Russian vodka in an underground pub in London and swam in my own puke 15 minutes after that. I definitely don’t advocate it, especially after beers, whisky and some cocktails. It felt like someone hit my neck with a baseball bat.

Jojo Tichakorn, 25, co-creative director

I took someone’s motorcycle back home because I thought it was mine. It turned out to be a pregnant woman’s motorcycle. When I went back, the women came with the police. Apparently my key works with every motorcycle.

Waranya Tieammuang, 26, program acquisitions officer

Does trying to lick my elbow count? It’s pretty dumb, especially because I was doing that to impress a guy I liked. Why didn’t anyone tell me that trying to lick your elbow isn’t attractive at all?

Bandit Kaewanna, 31, music programmer

I drank my own cigarette ash, once. I was talking to a guy I liked and was a bit nervous so I took a drink of my beer, not remembering that I had been ashing my cigarette in it. I had two options: spit it out in front of him or play it cool. So I swallowed it.

Mike Wong, 25, VJ

I missed my plane back to California because I was stuck in jail in Brooklyn. [BK asked what he was in for, but he wouldn’t say.]

Mental Breakdown

NUMEROLOGY: Tablets in Class

HOW TO Get Smarter

1. Get Bilingual

Signing up for those language classes that you’ve been putting off could deter early bouts of dementia and Alzheimers’s Disease, says a study from the Neurology Journal. Another study from Penn State also found that bilinguals are better at prioritising, multi-tasking, and focusing on important things.

2. Get Literary

Packing a paperback in your bag is a better time killer than Angry Birds if your commute involves the BTS or MRT. Reading regularly increases your cognitive ability and vocabulary. If keeping up a conversation is one of your problems, try hitting the books.

3. Get Physical

Martial arts practiced in Shaolin Temples was developed by a Buddhist priest, Tamo, when he observed that his students lacked the mental stamina needed to perform basic Buddhist meditations because they weren’t exercising their bodies. Getting fit will increase your memory function and help prevent depression.

4. Get Musical

Who would have thought that strumming your guitar is actually medically proven to boost your IQ? Making melodies forces the left and right hemispheres of your brain to coordinate. It’s one of the only activities that makes you use many parts of your brain at the same time.

5. Get Nerdy

Video games are actually good for your brain health (depending on the video game). Role playing games and strategy games will give you the mental challenge that your mind needs to keep on being healthy. Though gaming is proven to increase your problem solving skills and eye-hand coordination, too much of it can actually damage your frontal lobe. Old school games are better for you, like Sudoku, Rubik’s cube, chess, and Scrabble.

6. Get Nutritious

Get your brain food by eating apples, carrots, grapes, most vegetables and nuts. USDA says that this will improve coordination, attention and memory. Also, fatten up your brain by eating fish which has essential Omega 3 fatty acids that offer your body a myriad of benefits and your brain increased focus and a decreased chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease.

7. Get Hydrated

All of these tricks are useless if you don’t drink enough H2O. Seventy-five percent of your brain is made up of water and if you don’t get enough of it, your brain cells will lose efficiency and impair your short-term memory function.

B4 billion

Estimated total price of Thailand’s Tablet for Every Child campaign.

B5,000

Estimated cost of a tablet to be distributed to Thai school children.

800,000

Estimated number of tablets to be distributed.

B1,500

Approximate manufacturing cost per tablet for school children in India.

B750

Approximate amount Indian students will be charged for a tablet after 50% government subsidy.

2014

Estimated year South Korea’s elementary-level education turns completely digital.

B71.9 billion

Estimated cost of tablets for school children in South Korea.

B13,900

Cost of a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the most likely candidate for South Korea’s school tablets.

Sources: Bangkok Post, IBN Live, Miami Herald, MIT Technology Review, PC Mag.

Mental Breakdown

HOW TO Get Smarter

BK Asks: What is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done?