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World of the Bizarre

Man spends two months in a barrel up a pole

By T.K. Randall
January 19, 2020 · Comment icon 13 comments

Imagine living like this for two months... Image Credit: YouTube / Up The Pole In Dullstroom
52-year-old Vernon Kruger is well on his way to beating his own existing world record for 'pole sitting'.
High above the South African town of Dullstroom, Kruger has spent the last two months living in a small wooden barrel which is itself situated at the top of a 25-meter pole.

Each night he has to curl up in a fetal position in order to get to sleep in such a tight space and each morning he has to stand up and stretch to avoid cramping up.

The barrel is equipped with a special drainage system "for all the waste" and he is supplied with a selection of food and drink via a small basket that is hoisted up to him on a daily basis.

A bowl of water is also sent up for him to wash himself twice a week.
According to Kruger, the idea for this bizarre stunt first came to him while he was on holiday.

"Somebody said... why don't you break the record for sitting in a tree ?" he said. "First it was a joke and then I got a dare from my friends to actually do it."

After discovering that someone had already set a record for 28 days spent up a tree, he decided instead to attempt the record for 'pole sitting' by spending over 64 days up a pole.

Now, 20 years later, he is back at it yet again in a new bid to beat his own previous best.

So far he has been in his barrel for almost 67 days and is not planning to stop anytime soon.

"It does get a bit frustrating up here especially because I can't do many things for myself," he said. "I need to rely on other people for absolutely everything."



Source: The Guardian | Comments (13)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #4 Posted by Seti42 5 years ago
Wuss. He should be stewing in his own waste like a real pole-sitter.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Tatetopa 5 years ago
Well, good to hear he is not wasting his life. Plus he will have all kinds of things to talk about in social gatherings. Day 1 Stood in barrel. Night 1 Slept in barrel..... Day 50 Stood in barrel. Night 50, slept in barrel. Maybe he will write a book about his experience.
Comment icon #6 Posted by freetoroam 5 years ago
The book would be interesting. 4 interesting things to do in a barrel. Chapter 1 :Stand Chapter 2 : Eat Chapter3 : S * * t Chapter 4 : Sleep
Comment icon #7 Posted by OverSword 5 years ago
Hey, is that @XenoFish?   jk brother, we love you!
Comment icon #8 Posted by XenoFish 5 years ago
The barrel of fish event is this summer.
Comment icon #9 Posted by 'Walt' E. Kurtz 5 years ago
I wish more politicians would do this.... 
Comment icon #10 Posted by jbondo 5 years ago
Maybe this will catch on with the challenge (social media/pop culture/look at me/I want to be a reality show too) idiots. The sit, eat and **** in a barrel challenge. More mindless nonsense to flood youtube and IG with.
Comment icon #11 Posted by freetoroam 5 years ago
They do in England, the only difference is they call it "House of commons sitting".  If they are really good at it, they move onto the next stage "House of lords sitting".
Comment icon #12 Posted by 'Walt' E. Kurtz 5 years ago
I know but What do they do with the corpses
Comment icon #13 Posted by freetoroam 5 years ago
Take them back to house of commons.


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