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WHAT THE WORLD

In China, Electric Pole Sit-ups Workout Sparks Power Outage

In China, Electric Pole Sit-ups Workout Sparks Power Outage
Hannah Steinkopf-Frank

A good workout leaves you feeling the burn, but a parkour-style stunt in China could have wound up sparking disaster — and ultimately part of a mega-city blacked out.

It began Sunday night in Chengdu, the central Chinese capital of Sichuan Province, when a 22-year-old man climbed an electric pole to do sit-ups. His gym was too crowded? A search for extra "energy"? A gut instinct to gain celebrity status? Well, no word on the motivation...

The ambitious climber-cruncher finally descended, uninjured. Still, for extra precaution, the local electric company cut power to tens of thousands in Chengdu, with a population of over 16.3 million.

A video of the incident quickly spread on the Chinese social media site Weibo. In the clip (which has so far garnered more than 1.7 million views), the unnamed man can be seen suspended about 10 meters above the ground, feet holding on to the electric pole.

"I was annoyed because we had no electricity, and when I watched the news and found out why I felt annoyed and amused at the same time," said one Weibo user, as reported in Shine.

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Society

Do We Need Our Parents When We Grow Up? Doubts Of A Young Father

As his son grows older, Argentine journalist Ignacio Pereyra wonders when a father is no longer necessary.

Do We Need Our Parents When We Grow Up? Doubts Of A Young Father

"Is it true that when I am older I won’t need a papá?," asked the author's son.

Ignacio Pereyra

It’s 2am, on a Wednesday. I am trying to write about anything but Lorenzo (my eldest son), who at four years old is one of the exclusive protagonists of this newsletter.

You see, I have a whole folder full of drafts — all written and ready to go, but not yet published. There’s 30 of them, alternatively titled: “Women who take on tasks because they think they can do them better than men”; “As a father, you’ll always be doing something wrong”; “Friendship between men”; “Impressing everyone”; “Wanderlust, or the crisis of monogamy”, “We do it like this because daddy say so”.

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