HOW DOES THE HUMAN MIND WORK?
I am often amazed at the workings of the human mind. Today, I am especially intrigued with the mind of a man named Ross Edgley. Ross is a 33 year old Brit who just spent 157 days at sea, swimming around the mainland of Great Britain.
I know that I often wonder what I am going to do today or what new hobby I might explore or try. Usually I satisfy myself with searching the Internet, or reading a good book or having a coffee with a friend. At my mature age I don’t tend to consider activities like rock climbing, sky diving or taking a 1,791 mile swim like Edgley did.
Did Edgley just wake up one morning and say to himself, “I think I will try to swim around Great Britain? That would be fun.” How did the idea even pop into his head? Was he just exploring unique things to do like walking the length of the Great Wall of China or rollerskating around the world? Was he looking for his 15 minutes of fame or following in the backstrokes of the dozens of people who have swum across the English Channel? Was he motivated by the ‘stronger, faster, higher” motto of the Olympics or was he just plain “high” to begin with?
Regardless of the reason, Edgley started the 1,791-mile trek in Margate, a coastal town in southeast England and returned to the same location. He was met by 300 other people who swam the last half mile with him. He never set foot on land throughout his journey and instead rested on a support boat between his six-hour swims, according to his sponsor, Red Bull. During his breaks, he slept on the boat and fuelled his body by eating up to 15,000 calories a day.
Perhaps Edgley, had been an employee of Red Bull energy drinks and the swim was punishment for some transgression with the company. Or perhaps it was just a marketing ploy that will now feature Edgley’s face on new cans of Red Bull! The possible reasons for this bizarre 1791 mile swim are as endless as the questions that still race through my mind. If I could figure out how the human mind works, I would be a very happy man!
But here's another question... how does some random guy swimming around Britain sell more Red Bull? Because when I think of some guy swimming 1791 miles I just think, 'bloody hell'. I don't think, 'wow, I must get out and get some Red Bull'. So why did Mr Red Bull give Mr Swim Around Britain a brass razoo? Red Bull is a Thai company I think, so I think the Russians are involved.
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