02-09-2009, 12:40 AM
One day during a festival, a tug-of-war contest was held. There were thousands of contestants and the stakes were high. As the day wore on, the final tug-of-war contest took place, and included all 1,600 contestants from all teams, half on each side of the rope. The largest man in each group stood at the very front of each team, facing each other. The contest began, and both teams of about 800 people started pulling as hard as they could. Unfortunately, what those present didn't realize was that the large nylon rope was rated for less than half of the total force they were exerting on it. Suddenly, the center of the nylon rope snapped, and the thousands of kilos of force caused the rope to rebound and tear off the left arm of each of the two men at the front of each group. The men were raced to the hospital where their arms were carefully reattached.
Truth: This event was Retrocession Day in Taipei, held in 1997. The force of the rope snapping severely injured Yang Chiung-ming and Chen Ming-kuo. Their arms were reattached under surgery at Mackay Memorial Hospital.
Truth: This event was Retrocession Day in Taipei, held in 1997. The force of the rope snapping severely injured Yang Chiung-ming and Chen Ming-kuo. Their arms were reattached under surgery at Mackay Memorial Hospital.