Voluntarily buried: Michael Meani's frightening record (7 photos + 1 video)

Michael Meani is an outstanding person. Not only because he committed a reckless act at one time and became famous. And if only because I was able to calmly resist two of the most common phobias - claustrophobia and taphophobia.





The Irishman always had a penchant for adventure and passionately wanted to become famous. So the 33-year-old builder came up with the idea to break the previously set record and stay underground for more than 45 days.







The active guy involved public figure Batti Shugra in the implementation of the plan. The idea was really crazy and dangerous. And its implementation was watched with bated breath by residents of the London district of Kilburn, local and world media.

Until early 1968, the record holder was an American named Digger O'Dell. He survived 45 days, being buried alive underground. However, he had other rivals besides Meani. Worker Tim Hayes and singer Bill White were not averse to implementing their crazy ideas.

Once the volunteer and the plan were ready, all Shugru had to do was find a venue. He found Mick Keane, who owned a shipyard in the area where incredible scenes were to play out over the next few weeks.



Meanie needed to prepare for the test. After a work accident that left him buried alive several years ago, he knew he could train his mind not to panic. However, to do this, he needed to prepare his body physically.

For the next three weeks, he trained in the Admiral Lord Nelson pub in a huge coffin. In addition, he adhered to a diet - not the healthiest, which was based on steaks and cigarettes.

On February 21, 1968, he ate his last dinner, and journalists scurried around looking for details about this stocky, blue-eyed, broad-shouldered guy.

That night he was lifted from a pub window, placed on the back of Mick Keane's truck and lowered into a hole. He was buried under a seven-foot (just over two meters) layer of earth, and the famous Irish tenor Jack Doyle sang several soulful compositions at the show site.



Two pipes protruded from the coffin - one for food, the other for ventilation and conversation. As for natural burials, for this it was necessary to open a special hatch in the coffin. Apparently, due to the sensitivity of the issue, the nuances were not covered. But, judging by the successful implementation of the plan, the extreme sportsman did not have any problems with bowel and bladder emptying.

What is noteworthy is that at the same time in the States, Bill White also began his descent into darkness, and the world media literally stood on their ears - the fight between the men resembled at least a boxing match.

But there was one caveat. The man, either deliberately or out of forgetfulness, did not tell his wife about the beginning of the experiment. Alice found out about this on the radio. Most likely, she would have tried to stop her husband’s crazy idea. But now there was no choice. And the woman spent her days smoking a huge amount of cigarettes and waiting for her husband to return from the monastery of Hades.



According to Michael, the heat was especially difficult to bear. And one day a 10-ton truck drove into the yard and drove over his “grave,” providing enormous additional pressure on the ground.

Despite talk of the reckless daredevil being unconscious and dying, it became increasingly clear that Meani would achieve what he set out to do.

On the 55th day, his American rival Bill White emerged from his hole. And it was a victory. Michael held out for another 6 days. And to a storm of applause, which grew into a national holiday, he left the place of his voluntary imprisonment. It took about half an hour to dig out. After which the coffin, accompanied by bagpipers, was carried through the streets. And Michael waved to the crowd through the hole in the lid with a not very clean hand. The first request of those who returned to the world under the sun was a glass of beer.



The stunt brought Meanie the fame he so craved, but it turned out to be fleeting. The proposed Gillette deal and world tour never materialized. His name isUnfortunately, it never made it into the Guinness Book of Records, since there was not a single representative on site, which Meani did not like very much.

The man often tried to recall those feelings after the “resurrection” that made his heart beat faster and his eyes shine. Relatives and friends said that some part of him remained underground forever.

Meani laid the foundation for a rather dangerous trend, which was later supported by other people. And although he was not a record holder or a champion, he became something of a national hero in his homeland.

When he left this world forever, at the service on February 17, 2003, even the priest noted the uniqueness of the deceased, emphasizing that he had never had the opportunity to bury someone who had already been buried once.