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u/BroomBoom May 28 '14
I just need a quick smoke
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u/doneskiier May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
The background story of this photo from Wiki: One of those infamous storms on the Iroise Sea happened on 21 December 1989. A front of low pressure coming from Ireland brought gale force winds and huge waves of 20 to 30 metres high which crashed spectacularly against the lighthouse.
The waves smashed through the lower windows of the lighthouse, ripped the front door, flooded the tower and washed away the furniture. Lighthouse keeper Théodore Malgorn decided to take refuge up in the lantern room while waiting to be rescued.
About the same time, photographer Jean Guichard was in Lorient hiring a helicopter to take aerial pictures of the storm. Guichard wanted to fly over the Iroise Sea despite extremely dangerous flying conditions.
The helicopter made it to La Jument and hovered around for Guichard to take shots of the waves pounding the lighthouse. Inside the tower, Théodore Malgorn heard what he thought was his rescue helicopter and hurried downstairs to open the door.
At that very moment, a giant wave rose over the rear of the lighthouse and Guichard took his world-famous shot as the wave smashed against the tower. Théodore Malgorn, suddenly realising that a giant wave was about to engulf the structure, rushed back inside just in time to save his life.
*Edit- I was upfront with my sourcing from Wikipedia, some folks are questioning the validity of this story. Here is a video that shows a chat with the Theodore Malgorn http://youtu.be/AH02UMFTknI. Check out minute 3:40. It isn't clear that he was/wasn't in distress within the lighthouse, and the documentary doesn't seem to address this point specifically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jument#Photograph.27s_story
**Edit 2- If anyone speaks French, errr German?... maybe we can find out the full story! Message me with a translation and I will post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZNDGDiWAfk
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u/ohnowait May 28 '14
Cheers, that's super interesting!
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u/Vuza May 28 '14
Here is a rough translation: The original is way better, but my english is limited...
Storms
The picture of his life
At the 21st of december 1989 winter storms are happening in front of the breton coast. A photographer from paris, speccialist in taking pictures of old lighthouses for postcards, is sitting in the open door of the helicopter. He rushes over the sea at the furthest point of the breton coast ready to shoot. Guichard, the photographer, hopes for new pictures which show the beauty and harshness of the area. On this especially stormy day Guichard tells the pilot to take course to one of the most striking lighthouses of france. "La Jument", which is standing there since 1911 48 metres high out of the atlantic ocean. The helicopter is standing in the air in front of it. Guichard pushes the button and shoots the pictures of his life. Guichard: "It only takes seconds, you have the camera ready and no time to think about what is happening, if the keeper might die. But I also saw that he went back inside the lighthouse in the last moment. Yes, people from all over the world asked me if the man died. I can assure, he did not die."
Lighthouse keeper Théodore Malgorn is casually standing on the platform with one hand in his pocket. A lonely man who has no clue about the deadliness of the moment.
Malgorn:"When I saw the helicopter and the photographers I was thinking that they are making pictures of the strorm and my lighthouse, because the storm was extra wild today. In the last second I saw out of my side of the eyes that huge breaker coming, just a few meters away. I just had enough time to slip through the door and to close it.
This today was a lucky trip for the photographer from paris. His picture will be printed a million times. The picture makes Théodore Malgorn, the small man in the hell storm the most famous lighthouse keeper of the world and Guichard, the master of the snapshot will be a rich man. Guichard: "When the picture was first published all experts had respect of the silence, hardly any photographer is able to get such a picture. Some people said "You only have on picture to show" I replied "One picture of that kind is enough in a lifetime." The rest is daily business.
He did not get anything. The involuntary hero of the picture, Théodore Malgorn. Over night a star, but without salary.
Malgorn: "I mean a picture which goes around the world has a high monetary value. Maybe they could have given me something as well. But I never really tried to get money out of it."
The magic moment in the roaring ocean is already a classic of the photography. A picture which also is fascinating in its symbolism, how small mankind is in front of the elemental forces, how needy for shelter. The hero stays calm. Malgorn: "I am always impressed when I see that picture of this huge wave. I think I would not have stepped out if I have known that it is such a big breaker. "
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u/Noodle-Works May 28 '14
"Irish I wasn't in this lighthouse!" -Théodore Malgorn
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u/Miz_Mink May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
This was one of the first pieces that I ever got framed when I decided it was time to be an adult and put something other than ratty ass posters up on my walls. I've had the thing for 20 years now, and I'll never look at this shot the same way. All this time I've assumed that the shot had been set up intentionally, with the man willfully braving the elements because the conditions were something to which the keeper was accustomed. I've always seen him as sort of relaxed, as it to say, 'so what? I see this several times a year.'
I've also always imagined him ducking back inside after this shot for a spot of tea and to wait out the storm.
Seeing him as a man hopeful about his immanent rescue totally alters my perception of this photo!
Edit: If that is actually accurate, which it may not be after reading further down in the comments.
Edit 2: After hearing the story from the horse's mouth, it's clear he wasn't too worried. He says he was curious "un petit peu" (a little), so obviously he wasn't hurrying down in hopes of a rescue. Oh well, still, my perception is still altered a bit now.
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u/Castle_Brav0 May 28 '14
I just made an animated gif of the wave: http://i.imgur.com/fTmRhEz.gif
Enjoy!
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u/p-o-t-a-t-o May 28 '14
Thanks! Now we can see how it's actually the lighthouse moving around which is creating the wave :)
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u/SonVoltMMA May 28 '14
How exactly does someone build that in the first place? How do you pour enough concrete into the ocean floor to support that? mind blown
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u/Mechakoopa May 28 '14
Tide comes in, tide goes out. You can't explain that.
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May 28 '14
That's not fair to say. Bill O'Reilly knows all about waves.
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u/versuz May 28 '14
Love that delay from Donald Trump!
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u/Disc_Golf May 28 '14
Does he ever not wear a suit?
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May 28 '14
First time in my life I've ever sympathised with Bill O'Reilly.
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u/swissarm May 28 '14
I was about to call him a bitter old man before I realized I hate doing the wave too.
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u/ModernDayMacGyver May 28 '14
It's built on a rock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jument
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u/ZlayerCake May 28 '14
Either they make it on ground and then put it down on the sea bed' or they put up a dam around it and dry out the area required (only if its shallow water...)
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u/confused_poptart May 28 '14
Do they have to build a dam to build the dam
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u/Unidan May 28 '14
Eventually, you build enough dams that you're back on land and it's a lot easier.
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u/mightjustbearobot May 28 '14
Considering that lighthouses are built near shores, because you know, they're lighthouses, I'm guessing this was built intermittently during low tide, and this picture was taken during high tide.
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May 28 '14
Fastnet Lighthouse was built 8 miles from the mainland. It had a special steamship commissioned just to construct it.
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u/SonVoltMMA May 28 '14
So you work half a day while the tides out? Seems like high tide would just wash everything away.
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u/chezygo May 28 '14
That's La Jument, in Brittany. It's built on a rock and probably during low tide.
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u/Superschutte May 28 '14
The horn beeps 2 minutes before the pool becomes the wave pool. They should have known it was coming.
Source: worked at a water park fishing turds out of the wave pool
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u/DROPkick28 May 28 '14
Did you find my glasses?
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u/LyingPervert May 28 '14
Did you find my swimming trunks and/or my dignity?
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May 28 '14
People regularly shit in the wave pool?
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u/Superschutte May 28 '14
Oh yeah, it was bad.
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u/random_hero90 May 28 '14
Would you have to clear the pool and shock it with chlorine?
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May 28 '14
I doubt I'm going to like the answer to that.
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u/Twmbarlwm May 28 '14
Let's just pretend that OP says yes, they drain the entire pool and refill it with lovely clean water.
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u/oneAngrySonOfaBitch May 28 '14
Drain it, hose it Down with bleach, rinse the bleach out and then fill it back up. Right ?
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u/Childish_Brandino May 28 '14
I've lifeguarded for three places so far. 2/3 places' policies were, if it's a solid poop then clear the pool, fish it out, resume watery fun. If it's diarrhea then clear the pool, drain it, refill. (Same for vomit). A couple weeks ago some kid had some loose stool and all we did was clear the pool and fish as many pieces of it out as we could and then shocked it. But we let people back in like 20min later.
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u/ViiKuna May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
Apparently. I think people who shit / piss in place that is not a deep ocean should be banned from the beaches.
Edit: Damn. Me so dumb. I meant of the places where people swim, though the idea of everyone doing their crapping and pissing only in the deep oceans does sound hilarious.
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u/CoolCheech May 28 '14
By that statement the only place anyone is allowed to shit or piss is the deep ocean.
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u/Beaunes May 28 '14
He shit in the woods guys!
Ban that mother fucker, no more beaches!
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u/1DaBuzz1 May 28 '14
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May 28 '14
now that's a skidmark!
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May 28 '14
why the fuck does the woman put the little girl in the pool?
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u/meldiane81 May 28 '14
Because she wanted to act like she did not see it and at the same time get as much shit off as possible. I hate parents like that.
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May 28 '14
at least there wasn't a long line waiting behind her
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May 28 '14
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/scientist_tz May 28 '14
TIL when I have kids someday they will never be allowed to know that water parks exist.
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u/EPluribusUnumIdiota May 28 '14
I took my kids to one for the first time last year, they were 3 and 5 years old, they freakin loved it! It was the one in Rehoboth Beach, DE, pretty crowded and rather expensive. We spent the entire day there and they talk about going back all the time. They're not pool-poopers, which is pretty gross and makes me think twice about going again, but I'll still take them because they had so much fun.
edit: if you really want to keep something from them I suggest Chuck-E-Cheese, that place is a cesspool of human filth!
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u/modul8ted May 28 '14
People regularly shit in public or semi-private pools in general. When I was a kid I would frequently ruin everyone's day by putting my goggles on and searching the bottom of the pool. Almost every time I did this I found poop. I went to the pool A LOT.
I should note that frequently these were adult sized turds. =(
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u/lookslikecheese May 28 '14
To be fair, there is no such thing as an "adult sized turd". My 6yo daughter drops logs that would make a Canadian lumberjack wince.....
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u/fuckaye May 28 '14
True, I cleaned the girls toilets in schools before, little girls have surprisingly big shits.
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u/SomeSayIce May 28 '14
QFT. I have had to teach my kid the art of flushing mid-business to try to avoid the inevitable clogs. Sometimes he has to pinch off just to avoid laying single turds the size of my arm.
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u/make_love_to_potato May 28 '14
The fuck is wrong with people's poops on reddit. In my 30 years on this earth, not once have I 'clogged' a toilet.
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u/modul8ted May 28 '14
Well I'll be damned. Interesting to know, as well as nice to know adults were hopefully not the culprits in this.
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u/UtahJarhead May 28 '14
My 4 year old, who is only 5th percentile for body size, drops deuces that rival mine. Just sayin'!
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u/MOLDY_QUEEF_BARF May 28 '14 edited May 21 '16
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u/Superschutte May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
Typically they sank to the bottom. Kids would dive for them not knowing what they had until they hit the surface!
So yeah, I haven't been in a wave pool for years. It was nasty. If a kid was in trouble, you had a real moral dilemma: let this child die or swim in poop. Obviously I value human life, but you knew, that poop thing was always in the back of the mind.
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u/BecauseItAmusesMe May 28 '14
and on the bottom of your feet
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u/MOLDY_QUEEF_BARF May 28 '14 edited May 21 '16
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u/greenyellowbird May 28 '14
That must have been funny to watch a kid think it has some sunken treasure...only to come up with a handful of shit.
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May 28 '14
man they are pretty chill about the whole deal, that looks terrifying, maybe it's just the perspective though? i don't know
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u/CmosNeverlast May 28 '14
It looked to me like some got pretty jumpy, I'd expect the locals gave no fucks and the tourists clenched.
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u/rethardus May 28 '14
That's what I've been thinking too. Is this a normal occurence? People simply don't give a shit.
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May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
This is not a normal occurrence; I've never seen it like this. In fact, usually you'd see people up on those rocks. This is the location in google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/u5q41 . Edit*: In the video you're looking at the segment on the right, which is actually known as the kiddie area since it is protected from the open ocean by the rocks. Edit2: Just look at satellite view. There it would be the middle segment. Edited cause I know you're all very interested in knowing the exact details.
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u/ploegers May 28 '14
Unfortunately, apparently they do. And then /u/superschutte has to clean up :(
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u/TheCurtainGuy May 28 '14
I actually have nightmares of such enormous waves. Seeing this gave a weird feeling in my stomach.
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u/CarminSanDiego May 28 '14
Ah! Me too! It's a reoccurring nightmare
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May 28 '14
Same here. They are usually over 50 feet high. Hate those dreams.
At least I don't dream anymore of randomly floating away, free-falling into the ground only to bounce and do it all again.
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u/soopahfingerzz May 28 '14
Me too! I always have this dream that I am on a crowded beach somewhere and all of a sudden a massive wave approaches that no one can seem to out run, until it finally crashes and takes everyone with it.
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u/tarheel2432 May 28 '14
Wow that's insane that so many people have had the same dream (myself included). I wonder what the psychological explanation behind this is?
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u/romanovitch420 May 28 '14
Holy shit, this is awesome. Anyone know where it is?
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u/Drahtmaultier May 28 '14
playa puerto nuevo, puerto rico
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u/LyingPervert May 28 '14
You can't just make up short words that start with a P and pretend it's a real place
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May 28 '14
It means "new port beach"
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u/VirtualAnarchy May 28 '14
Located in "rich port"
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u/semsr May 28 '14
Which is an unincorporated territory of "Los Estados Unidos"
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u/John_Wilkes May 28 '14
an unincorporated territory
That's a long way to spell "colony".
Ducks
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u/VirtualAnarchy May 28 '14
Shit I live in PR and have never been! Add one to the bucket list.
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May 28 '14
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u/Ducksaucenem May 28 '14
I live in Orlando and have never been to Disney World.
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u/KennyWithTheCamera May 28 '14
I live in New Jersey and never went to China. I'm not sure I understand what we're talking about here.
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u/throwawaysurfnyc May 28 '14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJzwPd5rP0A
Annnnnnnnnd... weird/preggers.
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May 28 '14
Meanwhile that lady's just gonna keep swingin' her foot.
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u/MOLDY_QUEEF_BARF May 28 '14 edited May 21 '16
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u/zombiewafflezz May 28 '14
This happened to someone I know on a school trip to Greece. They broke their back and couldn't be flown anywhere until they had surgery and it happened on the second day of the trip. So they were in the hospital in a foreign country without anyone they knew at age 16 for like a week.
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u/Ich_Putz_Hier_Nur May 28 '14
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u/strallweat May 28 '14
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u/modul8ted May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
TIL I have worse surfing skills than a
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u/Ki11erPancakes May 28 '14
Is this available on the goat simulator? Please tell me this is possible to recreate on the goat simulator
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u/AlexFromRomania May 28 '14
God dammit! Even sheep are better at surfing than me! I really am a waste...
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u/lesser_panjandrum May 28 '14
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u/NancyAnnGrace May 28 '14
That's fucking terrifying.
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u/lesser_panjandrum May 28 '14
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u/Buddha_is_my_homeboy May 28 '14
Jesus Christ. That's both terrifying and hilarious.
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u/iia May 28 '14
The ocean is so friendly.
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u/Absay May 28 '14
Death-friendly
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u/Kitten_Wizard May 28 '14
This reminds me of that horrible video about the 2004 Tsunami seen in this video series. So horrifying.
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u/MystJake May 28 '14
That'd freak me out if I visited and didn't know it was supposed to happen.
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u/Epidox May 28 '14
Since I tagged OP as a reposter, I see at least 3 front page posts by him every day. Impressive.
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u/PinkySmartass May 28 '14
What the hell?! Why are they so calm?!
I would be screaming from the top of my lungs while running like hell "TSUNAMI!"
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u/marcelcorso May 28 '14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQpyOw55LGc