Miss Massachusetts Shared Some Weird Things During the Miss America Pageant

Screenshot via ABC

Twenty-three-year-old Boston native Lauren Kuhn, also known as Miss Massachusetts, caught some extra attention at the Miss America pageant on Sunday night, but not for her piano skills or swimwear.

The pageant tried something new this year and cued up some “fun facts” for the viewers at home about each contestant. Kuhn’s fun fact revealed that she was attacked by a cheetah in Zambia. So maybe “fun” isn’t the best word?

According to the Miss America blog, Kuhn was on a study abroad trip in Zambia posing for a photo when a cheetah lunged at her, leaving a scar on her right thigh. She is apparently doing well now considering she was the fourth runner-up in the pageant and ousted 48 other ladies last night.

Miss Massachusetts wasn’t the only one who had some weird facts to share. Miss New York, now the newly appointed Miss America, “enjoys street hot dogs” and “loves anything Jane Austin [sic].”

Mashable rounded up more funny facts shared during the pageant, including:

“Terrified of frogs.”

“Can say the alphabet backwards in 5 seconds.”

“Posts daily fitness tips to Instagram.”

“Wants to take Al Roker’s job.”

And the best: “Family wrote their own theme song.”

As for the ever-popular Q&A section, Kuhn addressed sexual assault on college campuses. She said, “We need to talk about this in schools. We need to make this something that’s mandatory for freshmen women and men to attend, and talk about safe drinking because unfortunately it does happen as well.”

Kuhn, who is a current student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, competed against 52 other young women in the pageant in Atlantic City on Sunday night. She received a $10,000 scholarship for her fourth place ranking. Her platform is “The Opportunity of Education: Encouraging Today’s Young Women.”