Friday, September 28, 2007

Oktoberfest reveller stuck in chimney for 12 hours

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who had been drinking heavily at Munich's Oktoberfest beer festival got stuck in a chimney for 12 hours while trying to climb into a friend's apartment, police said on Friday.

After finding his friend was not at home, the 27-year-old climbed on to the roof of a neighbouring building at about 2 a.m. (1:00 a.m. British time) on Thursday and headed for what he thought was a gap in the wall between the two houses.

He found himself sliding almost 30 metres (98 feet) head first into a chimney, a spokesman for Munich police said.

An 82-year-old janitor from the hotel next door eventually heard the man's calls for help and he was rescued at around 2 p.m. by fire brigade officers who knocked a hole into the side of the chimney to liberate him, the spokesman said.

He had managed to turn around and had removed his clothes to try to help him squeeze back up.

"Miraculously, he was only slightly injured in the fall, sustaining just grazes and bruising," police said. The man was taken by helicopter to the hospital, where he is being treated for hypothermia, they added.


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Why did I post this article today? Well, it got me thinking; if I'm ever lucky enough to be able to attend "Oktoberfest", and I find that circumstances have presented themselves in such a way that I find myself drunk, naked and in a chimney, I really hope that:

1. I'm thin enough to not get stuck. In a perfect world I'd be able to simply slither down the open chimney shaft and land quietly and with grace in an unlit fireplace. I'd deliberately dust of my shoulder and be on my way.

2. I'm in good enough shape so that if those circumstances do happen to unfold in a such a way that I need assistance in extracting myself from said shaft, that I'm not embarrassed of my pale, nude stomach and behind as they are being pulled out by the 82 year old man and the local police force.

After all, everyone should have that look of good proportion, muscle and dignity as the camera catches them being forcibly yanked from a chimney shaft at 2pm in the afternoon in the middle of Oktoberfest.

So here we have reason 9,345 to lose weight and get/stay in shape:
Some day you may find yourself drunk, in a chimney shaft, naked, being videotaped: - you need to be prepared.

Also, always keep a power bar in your back pocket, because 12 hours alone in a chimney with no food is a long time.

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So it's time for another busy weekend. It's now wedding time for my friend who had the bachelor party last weekend. That means more drinking, eating, and little time for exercise. Am I worried? No. I'll do what I've been doing for over two months and watch what I eat and drink, and hopefully make up for some lost exercise next week.
I think the weight loss is coming a little slower now than it was initially, but I'm still doing 2 pounds a week or so which is admirable. The last 3 days my weigh-ins have been exactly the same down to the 1/10th pound. If this keeps up I'll have to make some changes, but I'm going to give it a few more days.

It's time to get some work done so I can leave work early. With any luck, you won't read about me and a chimney on Monday morning. I'm just not quite that happy with my body just yet, but give it some time.

8 comments:

Kristen said...

2 lbs a week is an excellent number. Have a good time this weekend, but try to think about how good you'll feel on Monday if you limited the damage.

billy said...

I thought the same thing when I saw a guy being pulled nude and blue from the New River when we went whitewater rafting. I was like "I don't want to be the fat naked guy with shriveled genitals that they pull out of that river. I'd much rather be the lean, fit guy with shriveled genitals."

Jay said...

Haha. You know, there's an outside shot that I could be that guy! I might be in Europe through october which means that I'll be attending Oktoberfest for sure! I'll make sure I'm slim enough to do it like you described if it ever comes up. :)

Ripx180 said...

Great post Brian.... I think I will stay away from chimneys for at least another 40 lbs. Good luck with the weekend, that would be tuff one.

Rob Tucker said...

LOL! Our brains must be in the same place. The second I read that the guy got stuck, I was thinking that if that happened to me, I hoped it was AFTER I lost my weight.

I really, really want to make an Oktoberfest myself, being all German and everything.

David said...

Brian, i'm very impressed by your results again this month. You are a force of nature !

Have a good weekend !

Anonymous said...

LOL, Brian. Great post...way to think OUTSIDE of the box. lol

Marcol said...

Good post. Pretty funny and sad. Instead of outside the box, perhaps we should say outside the chimney - lol

2 lbs a week is great by the way Brian.