Thai culture lesson #1

I haven't left for Thailand yet, but I have learned quite a few things already from my Thai friends in the states. Here is one usage that a friend told me is one of the essential ways of communicating by Thai people online.

555

Three numbers? What? What's a triple five and why is it on so many photos and walls on Facebook?


Here are scenarios where I've seen it used:
1. There is a photo of someone who is apparently on a trip somewhere and has fallen asleep in his seat with his mouth hanging like a grouper in an awkward position.   555

2. An older lady comments on her birthday that she is one year younger on her Facebook wall.    555

3. You are laughing so much that you can't open your mouth, but to communicate that what is happening is ridiculously funny, you flash your five fingers three times 555. (okay, I confess I haven't witnessed this before, but I do think it is entirely possible)

The first thing I thought of was that people were referring to 555 cigarettes. I have never seen them sold in the US, but they were everywhere in Burma. I used to even go to the cigarette store often when I was little with no intent of purchasing cigarettes, but to persuade the storekeeper with my cuteness (now gone according to my mom) to give me little calendars advertising the cigarettes. I don't know why I liked these things so much and I can hardly recall why I needed several calendars, but I would go to that store often.

In any case, 555 does not refer to cigarettes.

I am proud to say that I figured out what these numbers meant without anyone's help. I slowly started counting in Thai to five (because I still can't say what five is in Thai without counting from one first), and HA! The number five is Ha. Nung, Song, Sam, Sii, Ha.... So 555 = ha ha ha.

Completely ingenious and much more so than LOL.

I hope 555 enters American culture and displace LOL someday. 555

So, 555 = ha ha ha