9 ms·

The man who posted himself to Australia

269 points by breitling 12y ago

bobajeff 12y ago
Great story. Sad little addendum at the end though.
- damian2000 12y ago
  That was a long time ago though - he's been out of jail for 20+ years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers
  - kalleboo 12y ago
    I'm not sure if that Wikipedia article helps make things any less sad: > In 2011, Spiers's daughter Jane was convicted on counts of manufacturing a controlled drug, and one count of doing so for sale
- jacobwcarlson 12y ago
  Could have been worse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_(The_Velvet_Underground_song) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_(The_Velvet_Undergroun...
reilly3000 12y ago
Some other ways to get around for cheap: http://www.vergemagazine.com/travel-intelligence/budget-travel/76-15-ways-to-travel-for-free-or-at-least-cheap.html http://www.vergemagazine.com/travel-intelligence/budget-trav... I looked into hitching a ride on a C-130... not nearly as free or fun as you might think. You can if you are a journalist (or blogger!) and want to write a positive piece about the military. In light of this story I will no longer bitch about coach. But travel does suck, and I can't wait for quantum transport to be a thing.
- GigabyteCoin 12y ago
  >I looked into hitching a ride on a C-130... not nearly as free or fun as you might think. Can you elaborate on that at all? The link you posted doesn't mention military hitchhiking, which sounds interesting to say the least.
  - chiph 12y ago
    Before you pursue this further, ask someone who's spent hours sitting in one of the nylon seats on a C-130. Decidedly uncomfortable. Go for a C-5 or C-17 instead.
    - rdl 12y ago
      C-5 will just end up broken down on the runway for days. Take the C-17.
  - jcurbo 12y ago
    Perhaps they mean commerical C-130s because military C-130s (or any other kind of cargo aircraft) are not available to members of the general public. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-A_travel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-A_travel Also, I took a trip once in a (military) C-130H. Very loud (we had earplugs though), nylon mesh seating, but I was comfy and I slept or read most of the trip.
- eru 12y ago
  Another way: get a job interview with a company at your desired location. Works best for big cities, like New York City. If you have moral qualms, only apply at banks. They deserve it.
  - strictnein 12y ago
    The only people hurt by that will be the HR workers, who would possibly be fired if too many people did this, or future workers who may not have an opportunity because the bank had been burned too often. The banks themselves won't even notice it.
mherrmann 12y ago
He went on to become a drug smuggler [1]. Given his talent, I suppose it was an obvious career choice. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
andrelaszlo 12y ago
That box could have been quite a macabre birthday present for his daughter... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI-YiaWDgB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI-YiaWDgB4 (The Velvet Underground - The Gift)
brittonsmith 12y ago
It's amazing that they could have the following sentence: "Built to Spiers's specifications, the crate allowed him to sit up straight-legged, or lie on his back with his knees bent." and then have that graphic where his torso takes up nearly the whole 5ft length of the box. That ridiculous graphic seems unnecessary given that that sentence explains just how he fit into the crate.
amelius 12y ago
The biggest problem nowadays would be the X-ray check, which could turn out quite unhealthy. And then perhaps air pressure and temperature.
barking 12y ago
Not only did he acquire drug convictions but his daughter went on to get one too. I wonder if she was the same daughter who's birthday it was that he was trying to get back for.
jmilloy 12y ago
This strikes me as a nice little hack of the system, and I'm glad that it seems like in this case the attitude was "no harm, no foul". It's not a particularly elegant hack, but that's one thing that epitomizes hackers to me: use what you know and have at hand to make it work.
zkhalique 12y ago
I wonder where the box was stored during flight. I have read many articles that stowaways face a delicate balance of hypothermia and their body shutting down the need much breathing, thus able to deal with the thin (unpressurized) air. Sometimes it works out in their favor, sometimes not. If they survive they wake up dazed and confused. This story doesn't sound like that. Why? Here is a kid in a wheel well: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609270/BREAKING-NEWS-16-year-old-boy-survives-UNHARMED-flying-California-Hawaii-wheel-well.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609270/BREAKING-NEW... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wheel-well_stowaway_flights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wheel-well_stowaway_fli... Perhaps the boxes are stored in a place where people and animals can easily survive?
- david-given 12y ago
  The wheel well's on the outside of the pressure hull, while the cargo hold's on the inside, so is pressurised. Or at least so I gather. It may not be heated very well, mind. Some random searching on the internet shows that the temperature of a cargo hold is about 10°C, and on at least one model of plane is (partially) heated by waste air from the cabins. Allegedly there's a flight deck switch which redirects the waste air overboard, which causes the temperature in the hold to plummet. This is known as the 'puppy snuffer' switch...
- ccashwell_ 12y ago
  This guy was in the unpressurized cargo hold. They didn't touch on how many times they landed along the way, except that the journey from London to Paris was so short he was panicky when the descent began. Then from Paris to Bombay is a bit longer, and Bombay to Perth is 12+ hours. If he were flying at 30,000 feet perhaps hypothermia would have been a concern, though TFA also indicated he'd seen animals shipped in just this way.

269 points by breitling 12y ago

bobajeff 12y ago

Great story. Sad little addendum at the end though.

damian2000 12y ago
That was a long time ago though - he's been out of jail for 20+ years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers
- kalleboo 12y ago
  I'm not sure if that Wikipedia article helps make things any less sad: > In 2011, Spiers's daughter Jane was convicted on counts of manufacturing a controlled drug, and one count of doing so for sale
jacobwcarlson 12y ago
Could have been worse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_(The_Velvet_Underground_song) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_(The_Velvet_Undergroun...

reilly3000 12y ago

Some other ways to get around for cheap: http://www.vergemagazine.com/travel-intelligence/budget-travel/76-15-ways-to-travel-for-free-or-at-least-cheap.html http://www.vergemagazine.com/travel-intelligence/budget-trav... I looked into hitching a ride on a C-130... not nearly as free or fun as you might think. You can if you are a journalist (or blogger!) and want to write a positive piece about the military. In light of this story I will no longer bitch about coach. But travel does suck, and I can't wait for quantum transport to be a thing.

GigabyteCoin 12y ago
>I looked into hitching a ride on a C-130... not nearly as free or fun as you might think. Can you elaborate on that at all? The link you posted doesn't mention military hitchhiking, which sounds interesting to say the least.
- chiph 12y ago
  Before you pursue this further, ask someone who's spent hours sitting in one of the nylon seats on a C-130. Decidedly uncomfortable. Go for a C-5 or C-17 instead.
  - rdl 12y ago
    C-5 will just end up broken down on the runway for days. Take the C-17.
- jcurbo 12y ago
  Perhaps they mean commerical C-130s because military C-130s (or any other kind of cargo aircraft) are not available to members of the general public. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-A_travel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-A_travel Also, I took a trip once in a (military) C-130H. Very loud (we had earplugs though), nylon mesh seating, but I was comfy and I slept or read most of the trip.
eru 12y ago
Another way: get a job interview with a company at your desired location. Works best for big cities, like New York City. If you have moral qualms, only apply at banks. They deserve it.
- strictnein 12y ago
  The only people hurt by that will be the HR workers, who would possibly be fired if too many people did this, or future workers who may not have an opportunity because the bank had been burned too often. The banks themselves won't even notice it.

mherrmann 12y ago

He went on to become a drug smuggler [1]. Given his talent, I suppose it was an obvious career choice. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Spiers

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

andrelaszlo 12y ago

That box could have been quite a macabre birthday present for his daughter... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI-YiaWDgB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI-YiaWDgB4 (The Velvet Underground - The Gift)

brittonsmith 12y ago

It's amazing that they could have the following sentence: "Built to Spiers's specifications, the crate allowed him to sit up straight-legged, or lie on his back with his knees bent." and then have that graphic where his torso takes up nearly the whole 5ft length of the box. That ridiculous graphic seems unnecessary given that that sentence explains just how he fit into the crate.

amelius 12y ago

The biggest problem nowadays would be the X-ray check, which could turn out quite unhealthy. And then perhaps air pressure and temperature.

barking 12y ago

Not only did he acquire drug convictions but his daughter went on to get one too. I wonder if she was the same daughter who's birthday it was that he was trying to get back for.

jmilloy 12y ago

This strikes me as a nice little hack of the system, and I'm glad that it seems like in this case the attitude was "no harm, no foul". It's not a particularly elegant hack, but that's one thing that epitomizes hackers to me: use what you know and have at hand to make it work.

zkhalique 12y ago

I wonder where the box was stored during flight. I have read many articles that stowaways face a delicate balance of hypothermia and their body shutting down the need much breathing, thus able to deal with the thin (unpressurized) air. Sometimes it works out in their favor, sometimes not. If they survive they wake up dazed and confused. This story doesn't sound like that. Why? Here is a kid in a wheel well: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609270/BREAKING-NEWS-16-year-old-boy-survives-UNHARMED-flying-California-Hawaii-wheel-well.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609270/BREAKING-NEW... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wheel-well_stowaway_flights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wheel-well_stowaway_fli... Perhaps the boxes are stored in a place where people and animals can easily survive?

david-given 12y ago
The wheel well's on the outside of the pressure hull, while the cargo hold's on the inside, so is pressurised. Or at least so I gather. It may not be heated very well, mind. Some random searching on the internet shows that the temperature of a cargo hold is about 10°C, and on at least one model of plane is (partially) heated by waste air from the cabins. Allegedly there's a flight deck switch which redirects the waste air overboard, which causes the temperature in the hold to plummet. This is known as the 'puppy snuffer' switch...
ccashwell_ 12y ago
This guy was in the unpressurized cargo hold. They didn't touch on how many times they landed along the way, except that the journey from London to Paris was so short he was panicky when the descent began. Then from Paris to Bombay is a bit longer, and Bombay to Perth is 12+ hours. If he were flying at 30,000 feet perhaps hypothermia would have been a concern, though TFA also indicated he'd seen animals shipped in just this way.