Man and His Dog Get Stuck in Hole, Twitter Gets Them Out
Toronto cartoonist Ryan North found himself stuck in a hole on Tuesday when
he climbed into a wet skate bowl with
his dog, Chompsky, and realised that he couldn’t get out. North slid into the
bowl to get a picture of his companion, but afterwards it dawned on him that to
get out he would need both hands – leaving Chompsky behind.
He made a few attempts to get out with his dog under one
arm, without success. He couldn’t get out, but he wouldn’t abandon Chompsky. So
naturally, he turned to Twitter to
ask for help. ‘If I climbed into this in the rain to get this picture and now
couldn’t get out, what should I do?’ he asked the world.
If I climbed into this in the rain to get this picture and now couldn't get out, what should I do? Hypothetically pic.twitter.com/g5jdjbed5B
— HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) August 18, 2015
North, who writes a web comic about humorous dinosaurs, live tweeted about his predicament and
quickly found an audience who were willing to help. Some gave practical advice,
some farcical. When someone told him to search his surroundings, North tweeted
back an inventory of items: an umbrella and a pocket computer with internet
access. So began a stream of
tweets with advice on how to escape from his concrete prison.
The advice included plugging the drain hole and sitting in
his upturned umbrella until he floated to the top, lifting Chompsky to the
edge, making a grappling hook with his belt and the umbrella, or improvising a
body sling with his shirt to carry his buddy.
@ryanqnorth Plug the drain, sit in your upturned umbrella, and wait to be floated to the top
— PsychoDuck (@PsychoDuck) August 18, 2015
@ryanqnorth are you wearing a belt? Can you fashion umbrella and belt into a grappling hook?
— Adam Aylard (@adamaylard) August 18, 2015
Someone suggested that Chompsky could escape on his own, but
North responded with a picture of the dog looking rather uninspired about the
whole debacle. Someone else provided the obvious response, but calling 911
would be an admittance of defeat, obviously.
. @james_t_webber he likes it here though, no apparent hurry to leave pic.twitter.com/wr8oMuLzK1
— HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) August 18, 2015
Others did not take North’s dilemma as seriously. Some
advised him to accept his sad fate and start a new life in the hole. ‘Where
were you when @ryanqnorth live tweeted his gradual demise from inside a hole?’
asked one. ‘In a hole,’ was the reply. ‘If it’s any consolation, your very tall
skeleton may help the next person to escape.’ ‘Let my skeleton serve the next
generation of hole men.’
@ryanqnorth start a new life there, just you and the dog
this is your home now
— Tyler Hamdrinks (@TylerHendrix) August 18, 2015
Finally, half an hour after his first tweet,
someone made a promising suggestion: that he climb out of the hole, then use
the leash and the umbrella to pull Chompsky out after him. Minutes later, their
tribulation was over. ‘It’s a crazy, nonsensical solution that you’d see in an
adventure game,’ said North. ‘We live in an era where a man can fall into a
hole and tweet his way out of it. I think that’s pretty great.’
IT WORKED!! I'M OUT OF THE HOLE! pic.twitter.com/x8QMgUxrSD
— HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) August 18, 2015
If North took a lesson away from the ordeal, it was this:
‘NO HOLE CAN DEFEAT ME; I DEFY ALL HOLES.’
Rumour is there’s a movie spin-off of
North’s story in the works...
@ryanqnorth I'm already hard at work on the made for tv movie. pic.twitter.com/eP5SIsrb5B
— Imaginary Thomas (@imaginarythomas) August 18, 2015
Aaron Waterhouse
Aaron is a recent English graduate from Durham University who is now working as a content writer intern. An enthusiastic traveller, he hopes to become a journalist and report from around the world. Follow him @AaronAtSMF.
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Man and His Dog Get Stuck in Hole, Twitter Gets Them Out
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, August 24, 2015
Rating: