Latest Teen Fad: Braces?

Like, oh my God, that metal-mouthed kid is, like, totally hot.

Showing off your fake orthodontic braces at school has become the bizarre latest fashion craze for teens in Thailand.

But local lawmen aren't laughing at the move toward metal mouths — Thai officials said Thursday they plan to slap steep fines and prison time on those selling and manufacturing the pseudo dental gear, according to The Associated Press.

Teen mags have transformed the once-passé orthodontic gear into a fashion statement by featuring cute girl models flashing multicolored metallic grins on their covers.

Stores offer teens do-it-yourself kits rather then getting fitted the old fashioned way — allowing the wannabe metal mouths to select colored rubber bands to match their moods or outfits.

Thailand's Consumer Protection Board Secretary-General Rasamee Vistaveth had the agency sign an order punishing sellers with a $1,300 fine or six months in prison — producers and importers would face a $2,600 fine and up to one year behind bars, according to the AP.

— Click in the photo box above to see a pic of, like, a totally cool metal mouth.

— Thanks to Out There reader Jennifer S.

Call Them Monster Hunters, Inc.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A southern Malaysian state will appoint a team of scientists and experts to hunt for a "Bigfoot" beast after the reported sighting of three giant human-like creatures, officials said Thursday.

Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman said the state will form an official Bigfoot-tracking team in a serious bid to find evidence of such a beast following the reported sightings late last year in the Endau Rompin National Park forest.

"The mystery of Bigfoot's existence has attracted a lot of interest," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama national news agency. "We hope the expedition will be able to prove its existence."

Ghani's aide confirmed the report Thursday, saying state administrators decided to set up the team after a council meeting late Wednesday.

"Bigfoot" is a popular name given in the United States to giant hairy creatures walking on two legs. Sightings of such beasts have been reported in many parts of the world but their existence has never been proven.

Malaysian media have been gripped by Bigfoot fever since November 2005, when fish farm workers reported seeing three giant human-like hairy beasts at the edge of the Endau Rompin reserve. They also claimed to have seen a gigantic footprint which they photographed.

The photo was later printed by local newspapers.

Park officials have combed the site where the men claimed they saw the creatures, but found no physical evidence of their existence.

However, they recorded more reports of sightings from Aborigine villagers who live on the park's fringes.

Tourism authorities are planning to capitalize on the sightings to attract visitors to Johor and the park. Wildlife officials said they may set up camera traps in the jungle to capture images of the creature.

— Thanks to Out There reader David H.

And They Say Romance Is Dead

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — It was love at first sight for Thailand's Scorpion Queen and Centipede King. The couple with a soft spot for creepy crawlers — and publicity stunts — is planning a Valentine's Day wedding at a haunted house, and to consummate their vows in a coffin.

Kanchana Ketkaew, 36, who set a world record in 2002 for spending 32 days in a glass cage with 3,400 scorpions, plans to wed 29-year-old Bunthawee Siengwong — who set a Thai record for enduring 28 days with 1,000 centipedes.

Kanchana's world record was beaten in 2004.

The couple met while performing their respective stunts at a snake farm on the resort island of Koh Samui, said Somporn Naksuetrong, the general manager of the Thailand's Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, which is sponsoring the wedding.

The couple will tie the knot Feb. 14 in a group ceremony dubbed "Til Death Do Us Part" at Ripley's Haunted Adventure House, in the southern resort town of Pattaya, 50 miles south of Bangkok.

They will wear bloodstained wedding clothes and partake in a traditional Thai ceremony in which elders bless the couple with holy water, Somporn said. But instead of following Thai tradition and heading to a "wedding room" after exchanging vows, the pair plans to climb into a coffin to consummate their union.

— Click in the photo box above to see a pic of one creepy couple!

Man Skirts School Policy

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) — A male high school student can wear a skirt to school after the American Civil Liberties Union reached an agreement with school officials.

The ACLU announced the deal Tuesday. It will allow a Hasbrouck Heights School senior to wear a skirt to protest the school's no-shorts policy.

The district's dress code bans shorts between Oct. 1 and April 15, but allows skirts, a policy 17-year-old Michael Coviello believes is discriminatory.

"I'm happy to be able to wear skirts again to bring attention to the fact that the ban on shorts doesn't make sense," Coviello said in a statement.

The Hasbrouck Heights superintendent, Joseph C. Luongo, did not return telephone messages left Tuesday seeking comment.

Coviello first wore a costume-style dress but high school officials told him to go home and change. The district's superintendent then advised the Coviello to purchase everyday dresses and skirts at a retail store, which Coviello did, the ACLU said.

But after a few days, he was sent home with a note from his principal saying if he wore a dress, kilt or skirt, he could no longer attend school.

— Thanks to Out There reader Chris W.

Sheesh, That Church Bandit Is Just So Fussy!

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — Frank Zdanowski Jr. didn't like being known as the "Church Burglar," police said. He preferred the "Church Bandit."

Either way, Zdanowski, 38, of St. Louis, faces charges for allegedly committing more than 15 church burglaries over the past few months. He faces 26 charges, 23 in the city and three in St. Louis County.

Police described Zdanowski as a career burglar with several prior felony convictions. He allegedly told detectives he targeted churches late at night to avoid confrontation.

"He didn't want to run into a pastor on the property," St. Louis County detective Ron Keilholz said.

Another potential reason: Zdanowski told detectives he is a Catholic.

Most of the items taken were cash, electronic gear and other items the suspect could easily trade for crack cocaine, police said.

Investigators said Zdanowski tried to use a credit card taken Jan. 14 from Bayless Baptist Church in south St. Louis County. A surveillance picture from a Schnucks grocery store led to his arrest on Monday.

Real-Life Animal House

DYER, Ind. (AP) — A Roman Catholic church rectory is undergoing more than $100,000 in renovations because of damage caused by more than 13 years of neglect and accumulated animal waste, the church's pastor said.

The Rev. Terry Steffens said in a letter to parishioners that when he arrived at St. Joseph Church in July, he discovered severe damage to the rectory and has been living at a rectory of a church in nearby Schererville.

The letter said Bishop Dale Melczek had advised Steffens to have the rectory in Dyer, 10 miles southwest of Gary, fumigated before he moved in.

The person hired to clean the rectory over a six-week period told Steffens he had become sick to his stomach from cleaning one of the rectory's rooms that was heavily saturated with feces from dogs, rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Wednesday for Steffens at his office. He told The Times of Munster on Tuesday he had been advised not to talk about the situation.

The AP also left a message Wednesday for the Rev. Mark Pavlina, the previous pastor at St. Joseph.

It's the Schenectady Bed and Swingfest

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — There's more than R-and-R going on at a B-and-B in Schenectady, N.Y. And some people aren't happy about it.

Neighbors of the Union Street Bed and Breakfast are trying to get city officials to shut it down because it hosts "swinger" parties for people who switch sex partners.

On his Web site, owner Robert Alexson says the B-and-B offers "lifestyle events" and includes a picture of a woman strapped to a wooden cross.

Alexson lives there and says what he does in the private section of his property is his own business.

But a neighbor has complained to city officials about loud parties and drunken people groping each other outside.

The century-old mansion is in a neighborhood of private homes, doctors' offices and a school.

The City Council president wants an investigation to see if the business is violating any laws.

Compiled by FOXNews.com's Andrew Hard.

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