9 ms·
A man who posted himself to Australia (2015)
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- birdyrooster 6y ago> Air industry insiders say something like this would never be able to happen now ... and a hidden person would be found. Challenge accepted?
- judge2020 6y agoYou'd probably be found by customs if you were to get past the post office's own screening. Maybe you could use some clever packaging (such as "lifelike adult pleasure doll") to get past them both.
- Symbiote 6y agoThey probably use temperature sensors, if for no other reason than to detect a fire risk.
- birdyrooster 6y agoMaybe you could look like you were inside a spool of some material which xrays cannot pass through and insulate the shit out of it.
- owenversteeg 6y agoWell, there's no way that hasn't been tried for drugs, making customs suspicious of those sort of packages.
- claudiawerner 6y agoGiven that Australia, Canada, and the UK are extremely worried about people importing sex dolls (especilly from Japan, from which Australia has recently banned all adult imports) because they may resemble children, I'd say labelling your package as a sex doll makes it more likely to get inspected.
- avar 6y agoJust emerge from the package in the middle of customs wearing a hi-vis vest and clipboard.
- withinboredom 6y agoOr “box of lead” but the lead is just lead-lined. Can’t be x-rayed.
- ashleyn 6y agoI wouldn't do it now considering you'd either suffocate in the cargo hold of a jet, or get radiation poisoning from customs' X-ray machine.
- Jasminemichael 6y agoThe Man Who Mailed Himself From the UK to Australia Extremes In the 1964 Reg Spiers was in London, trying to make the Olympic javelin team. When he didn't make the cut he found himself stranded, with not enough funds to get home to Australia.
- smabie 6y agoI wonder if he got the idea for drug smuggling after he was so successful in smuggling himself. Seems like a fascinating character with balls of steel.
- 4778468d 6y agoI’ve seen some phony YouTube Videos of people claiming to do this.
- jariel 6y agoIt's always funny/wonderful in hindsight, but largely because it didn't end in tragedy. But in 1975: funny news article. In 2020: it's a meme on tiktok/twitter, public officials scurry to figure out how to deal with the myriad of copycat 'bucket challenger' types posting their 'coming out of the box selfie vids to millions of waywards likes' on social media.
- wang_li 6y agoAbout once a year a story hits the news about people who’ve climbed up into the landing gear of planes and proceed to die from hypothermia and/or lack of oxygen. Though apparently about one-in-four survive.
- runawaybottle 6y agoFlights were very different back then. I had a hospital room mate once that told a lot of stories about how in the 50s (maybe 40s? He was serving in Korea at some point, probably 40s now that I think about it) he and his friends would just sneak in amongst the boarding crowd on flights from NY all the way to Japan. They’d hang out in Japan, then do the same thing to get back to NY. The crew didn’t really check tickets of small kids. They’d literally just mix with the crowd and waltz in. As for where they sat on flights, it was mostly in the some kind of luggage area. Apparently the flight staff had a routine where they all had a meeting in the front of the plane at the beginning of the flight, and that was when they’d sneak to the back. It was one of those stories that was too crazy to be bullshit.
- pierrebai 6y agoIn those years, NY to Japan would not be a direct flight, but would have multiple stops. Then there are the issues of meals and the language barrier in Japan. I think he was pulling your leg.
- runawaybottle 6y agoIt’s totally possible, I just never heard bullshit that imaginative I guess. You never know though.
- cottsak 6y agoThat's the beauty of a good story. Someone can share something outrageous and the audience can enjoy the tale while the reality is "protected" by that looming doubt of whether it really happened or not. :p
- jrochkind1 6y agoThis American Life had a segment that was someone telling a story about when they were a teenager and snuck onto a domestic flight. "Act Three" here: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/477/getting-away-with-it https://www.thisamericanlife.org/477/getting-away-with-it So, I dunno, I can believe it, although I don't know exactly how connections worked then or if it could have been the same plane stopping in LA and continuing to Japan or what. But in general, yeah, "security" wasn't actually a thing on planes then. There was no security checkpoint at all to get to a gate before the 70s; you didn't need a ticket or to show ID to go through the security checkpoint that did exist before 2001. It's easy to forget or not realize how much thing have changed. Or, it's just one of those rumors that people like to adopt and claim as a story that happened to htem, when really they heard it from someone else that claimed it happened to them, etc. That also happens.
- pan69 6y agoIt reminds me of the story of stowaways, although those stories are often much more sad for the people involved. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33199985 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33199985
- fipar 6y agoReminded me of https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_(The_Velvet_Underground_song) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_(The_Velvet_Undergr...
- wombatmobile 6y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qkM7Tp3IvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qkM7Tp3IvY
- equality_1138 6y agoNice, same!
- option 6y agomy father once flew home in a plane’s cargo compartment after bribing pilots. This was in USSR in the end of 70ies
- redisman 6y agoIt’s wild how different the flights are even from my early flights (pre 2001).
- kuroguro 6y agoGrandfather once talked a commercial pilot into giving him a hike while traveling the USSR. Just walked on the airport field and asked while everyone else was boarding, no bribe needed lol. Got to sit in an extra crew seat. Was also around the 70ies I believe.
- OJFord 6y ago> But his plans changed when his wallet, containing all his savings, was stolen. I realise 'internet banking' must make this significantly easier to deal with today than it was in the 60s, but... really?
- dastx 6y agoWhile I don't know enough about banking back then, I presume there was a system in place to withdraw money away from your home bank, albeit it was likely slow. I'm guessing his issue wasn't necessarily that he didn't have money on him.
- OJFord 6y agoI was meant more with regard to keeping 'that much' on him in the first place than not being able to replace it. That too of course, just not making assumptions of other means I suppose, and it was the 'life's savings' being carried about that stood out.
- inglor_cz 6y agoThis worked for centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller%27s_cheque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller%27s_cheque
- scottlamb 6y agoMaybe he was already into drug smuggling, giving him reason to not tell the full story about the theft and/or why he had all his money in cash. He was already familiar with shipping rules, had a friend who casually threw together an interesting crate to smuggle himself in, etc.
- bambataa 6y agoMaybe he was working cash in hand while in the UK.
- OJFord 6y agoYes, I don't doubt it. Would you keep it all ('savings') in hand though, if that's how you were paid?
- Evidlo 6y agoAlmost missed this at the end of the article: What happened next: - Reg Spiers disappeared from Adelaide in 1981 after he was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine - He was arrested in Sri Lanka in 1984 and sentenced to death for drugs offences - He successfully appealed against the sentence and spent five years in jail in Australia
- cghendrix 6y agoIf anyone finds this especially interesting, you should read 4000 Days by Warren Fellows. It’s an Australian man’s own self account of his time spent in horrific conditions while incarcerated within a Bangkok prison after getting caught smuggling in heroin. Very easy and engrossing read.
- 02020202 6y ago> horrific conditions while incarcerated within a Bangkok prison after getting caught smuggling in heroin good, that's how it should be. if there is no punishment, there is no reason for people to stop doing shit like this.
- TheGallopedHigh 6y agoIn a very similar vein: a book by an Australian author called “Shanataram”, based on his life, but one would imagine the definite use of an artistic license. Man escapes prison in Australia for drugs, ends up in India in the slums in the 80s and fights in Afghanistan against the Russians, after working for the Indian Mafia.
- txmachinery 6y agoShantaram is incredible, I can only think of the original Dune novels by Frank Herbert as comparable in depth, scope and revelation of what it is to be human. Shantaram's author claims use of artistic license in names, character descriptions and details, in order to protect those described from repercussions. Reading the extraordinary story and arc, and subsequently learning of the fact that later in real life the author later went on to marry into Czech royalty, it's easy to believe it as a fundamentally true account.
- MEASSYoucan 6y agoThis guy is unbelievable
- jrochkind1 6y agoAustralia as a destination specifically is sounding pretty attractive right about now.
- forgingahead 6y agoBecause of their COVID response, or something else?
- mjh2539 6y agoThe constant wildfires make Californians feel at home there.
- chrismorgan 6y agoYou import our eucalypts, you import our bushfires! (For those not in the know: eucalyptus trees are extremely flammable. In very hot, dry conditions, their oil can become a vapour around them so that you would be well advised not to light a flame within a metre, as the tree may catch fire and occasionally even explode.)
- sethammons 6y agoThat’s wild and unexpected. We (used to) burn eucalyptus for heating the house. A dry log will not light and stay lit without a healthy bed of coals in the wood stove. I would think a tree adapted for brush fire would be more fire resistant. But a brief search does validate that on very hot days, the oil can vaporize and is indeed very flammable. The seasoned firewood must behave different than the live tree; the oil may have dried out at that point. TIL.
- chrismorgan 6y agoVarious Australian trees actually depend on fire to propagate. I love going through areas that were burned out in recent months—you get fresh green growth springing up everywhere, and a lot of the trees that got burned become absolutely covered in fresh green sprouting branches, and it contrasts beautifully with the black from the burning.
- 2trill2spill 6y agoHa, I just go done listening to an awesome podcast that talks about this particular story[1]. If you like history and humor its a great podcast, check it out if you get the chance. [1]: https://allthingscomedy.com/podcasts/113---reg-spiers-live https://allthingscomedy.com/podcasts/113---reg-spiers-live
- dm319 6y agoDoes anyone think this story might be fake? How cold would the cargo compartment be on a long haul flight? Did he speak French?
- Cthulhu_ 6y agoGiven that they ship animals and the contents of people's luggage would not survive freezing or a vacuum, I'm fairly sure it's more than adequate. Maybe not so much for the landing gear, which some people will also try to hitch a ride in (often fatally).
- tuna-piano 6y agoThere is just conveniently space next to the box for him to get out of the box? Would think cargo holds are generally pretty stuffed full.
- Enginerrrd 6y agoIf it were strapped to a pallet or something, it would make its own space. It probably would be anyway becauee of the weight of the box.
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoThere's a children's book called "Mailing May". It's about a true incident, about a child being mailed. This was in the US, when mail was handled on trains, and the postage was cheaper than a passenger ticket. Her parents couldn't afford to send her the normal way.
- jamesdhutton 6y agoI doubt this is true. 1. "The French baggage handlers were saying some terrible things about the English." Does Spiers speak French? 2. "In an effort to find out what had happened [to his friend Spiers], McSorley alerted the media." The media? Why the media?