Looks like caffeine is old technology for Chinese students now studying for their Gao Kao university entrance exams. The latest phenomena in boosting exam prep effectiveness? Oxygen tanks. Apparently getting hooked up to some good ol’ O2 improves concentration levels, so some parents are having their kids study in hospitals for optimal oxygen intake.
The incredibly intense stress levels associated with this nine-hour long national exam has led to some extreme measures and cash incentives from parents. NYtimes says:
Some girls take contraceptives so they will not get their periods during the exam. Some well-off parents dangle the promise of fabulous rewards for offspring whose scores get them into a top-ranked university: parties, 100,000 renminbi in cash, or about $14,600, or better.
Still, with China’s rapid rise from developing nation to economic giant–and the promise of a better life for the educated demographic– it’s no wonder that college degrees are taken very, very seriously.
Suzie
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time to smuggle some adderall into China