A well. (Photo via)
Chinese state media recently reported that a woman has just emerged from a well after being stuck down there for 15 days. She survived by eating raw corn and drinking rainwater that fell into the well, she reported.
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That sounds like a pretty raw deal, but I figured there must be other people out there who have been stuck in shitty situations, too. So, in the hope of uncovering some of them, I went to ask some strangers a question: What’s the worst situation you’ve ever been stuck in?
Michael, producer: Not being able to pay the bills, I guess.
VICE: That’s it? There must be something worse than that.
Actually, I was once dating one girl and I was seeing another girl at the same time. And then I took my girlfriend to the same party that she was at and, for some strange reason, one girl knew what the other one looked like. Then they started talking and they came over and bombarded me. There was this huge fight. It was a mess.
Did you stick with either of them?
Nah, nah – they’re gone. I stuck with one for a little while. After they teamed up on me, they split into their groups and fought against each other.
Cillian, actor: I was on a date with someone recently who didn’t realise it was a date until about half way through. That was a challenging scenario.
What happened?
I informed her that I thought it was a date and she thought it was better if we just stay friends.
Oh, that sucks. Recently, a woman in China was reportedly stuck down a well for 15 days.
[Laughs] Well, it wasn’t as bad as that.
She survived on corn and rain. How do you think you would you survive in that situation?
I probably wouldn’t. I’d probably just keel over and say, “Yeah, fair enough, this is pretty shit.”
Mostafa, chef: The situation in my country, in Egypt. I was there for my last holiday a few months ago. It was a mess. When I was at the airport, they kept me in custody of suspicion of me being in the Muslim Brotherhood.
What about in England?
England is a cool place. The problems you have in England are not like what you have in Egypt. I’ve been in the UK for six years and I’ve never had any problems.
Glad to hear it.
Jon, estate agent: I was in Australia and I’d just been arrested. I then had to call my dad, who’s actually a police officer in the UK, and tell him the bad news. That’s the worse situation I have ever been in.
How did that all work out in the end?
I ended up getting a fine. He was in London, so he wasn’t too upset about it. And it’s probably better off that it happened there rather than here. I’m lucky it wasn’t here.
Did it work in your favour that your dad’s a police officer?
Not really. I said to the guys who were arresting me that my dad was a police officer, but then all of the members of my family with his second name ended up getting emails. My brother called me up the day after saying, “Have you been in a little bit of trouble?”
Finally, what would you do if you were stuck down a well?
I’d start yelling for about half an hour. Then probably just sit it out and hope somebody would come. There’s not much you can do, really.
Natasha, community activist: It was probably to do with a full council meeting at the town hall .
What does that involve?
Just hours and hours of debate and going round in circles. There’s just so much boredom.
Alright, thanks.
Previously – What’s the Best Prank You’ve Ever Pulled?
