It takes all kinds

Life with 6,000 scorpions loses charm

The Associated Press


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Malaysian woman who is trying to reclaim a world record by living in a locked glass box with more than 6,000 scorpions is pessimistic about succeeding.

She has been stung once, is suffering a fever and scarcely sleeps because the creatures keep crawling over her.

Nur Malena Hassan, 27, said Wednesday she has a “50/50 chance” of reaching her goal of being cooped up with the poisonous arachnids for 36 consecutive days to set a new record for the longest stay in a room full of scorpions.

“I'm feeling so much tension,” she said by telephone from the specially built glass room that she moved into Saturday in a shopping mall in Kuantan, about 160 miles northeast of Kuala Lumpur.

“Nighttime is the worst,” she said. “I can only sleep two or three hours, since scorpions get so active at night. But I want to show that Malaysians are capable of world-class efforts.”

Scorpions rarely sting unless they are disturbed, so she remains cautious while moving within the room, which measures about 12 feet by 10 feet.

She set a world record in 2001 by living for 30 days with 2,700 scorpions. Her record was shattered a year later by a woman in Thailand.