- Doesn't exactly sound like a 'barrel of fun', does it?
Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash
Ever wanted to live in the sky? Or wanted to know what it felt like to be in the crows’ nest of a ship? Well, Vernon Kruger has found a way you can…
“Hey, I can see my house from here!
Vernon Kruger is a 52-year-old from Dullstroom, which is a small town in South Africa. He hasn’t set foot on solid ground in 74 days, ever since he climbed into his ‘home in the sky,’ as he calls it. It’s a small barrel at the top of a 25-meter-tall pole. It may sound like a joke, but it’s not. There is very little space, not much to do, and you’re reliant on people on the ground for things like food and water.
And This Isn’t The First Time He’s Done This
The first time Kruger climbed his now-famous barrel was 22-years-ago, as a dare. He was on vacation on an exotic island where one of his friends said: “why don’t you break the record for sitting in a tree?” It was a joke… at first. Then it became a dare, so Kruger started looking into it. He learned that an Indonesian man had already broken the record, setting it to 28 days. Instead of letting it go, he decided to try a pole challenge. It was originally set for 54 days, so Kruger set up his own pole and lasted 64 days. That was in 1997, and though they tried, no one was able to beat his record.
When Asked Why He Attempted This Again
“Well, I don’t know why anymore, I’m starting to question myself. The previous time I did it was a dare and that was 22-years-ago, nobody managed to beat my record. A similar attempt was made by David Blane, the magician, and they all failed, so I was approached to see whether I’d raise the bar a bit.” Kruger doesn’t plan on coming down until he’s been up there for 78 days, at least.
“It Does Get A Bit Frustrating Up Here”
“It does get a bit frustrating up here especially because I can’t do many things for myself, I need to rely on other people for absolutely everything. Sleeping in this barrel is not very easy, it’s a very small place to curl up in and I have to lie in a fetal position. I’ve broken my own record now. 22-years-ago I broke the British record of 54 days. I took it to 67 days. This time I’m going to try it to about 80.”
How It Works
The food Kruger gets is donated by local restaurants and hosted up via a wicker basket. He baths two times a week in a small basin, and the waste he generates goes into a septic tank under the pole, connected to his barrel through a long drainage system.
Good luck, Kruger! We’re rooting for you!