How could someone possibly resist such a headline with this story?
[A] 26-year-old passenger’s arm became trapped up to the shoulder by the powerful suction flushing system on board the packed high-speed TGV train from Paris to La Rochelle.
Firefighters took more than an hour to free the man, before lifting him from the train on a stretcher with the entire toilet still stuck to his arm.
A fire spokesman said: “He was cut free from the toilet on the platform and apart from suffering bruising and smelling a bit, he suffered no other injuries.”
A spokesman for French rail operator SNCF added: “The train was two hours late at its destination on Sunday afternoon due to an unlikely accident, and we apologise to passengers for the unavoidable delay.”
Le heh.
And note how I am restraining mightily from making anything of the “smelling a bit” line. Mightily, I tell you!
3 comments
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October 27, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Monica
He may smell a bit but I’m sure he has a heart ‘o gold!
October 27, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Robbo
Oh, well played, Madam! 10 points for the “Mr. Equatol” ref!
October 27, 2008 at 11:44 pm
The Bovina Bloviator
Something similar happened a few years ago on MetroNorth, the NYC commuter railroad. A fellow managed to drop his cell phone down a toilet and, unbelievably, reached in and tried to retrieve it. His arm got stuck and the train crew had to call the fire department, which used its Jaws of Life machine to cut the toilet into pieces and free the poor SOB. Outbound trains were delayed for hours during the rescue operation.
The most entertaining part came later when a MetroNorth spokesman recounted the incident to the press, explaining with admirable succinctness (especially for a gummint worker): “once the moron’s arm went down the crapper, so did our evening commute.”