50,000 Virgins on Display

Some stories just ache to be passed along.

From The Washington Times:

Ludzidzini Royal Village, Swaziland -- Fifty thousand bare-breasted virgins danced for the king of Swaziland yesterday, vying to become his 13th wife.

King Mswati III, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, arrived dressed in a leopard-skin loincloth to watch the ceremony called the Reed Dance, which he has used since 1999 to pluck brides from the ranks of girls dressed in little more than beaded miniskirts.

Wielding machetes and singing tributes to the king and queen mother, called "the Great She-Elephant," the girls danced around the royal stadium in the hope of catching the eye of the 37-year-old monarch.

Human rights groups have expressed disapproval of the king's actions. I don't necessarily approve or disapprove, but I am astonished. Finding and gathering 50,000 bare-breasted virgins in this day and age seems unlikely. I'm fairly certain it couldn't be done in Ohio.