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Murder Kites. That’s new.
What kind of string are they using??? >

It's a sport called kite fighting where you try to cut the other guy's string, and both of your strings are covered in crushed glass shards for this purpose. It's one of the traditional activities associated with the holiday Makar Sankranti which was last Sunday. >

There must be one country that isn’t full of idiots somewhere >

That little island with isolated aboriginals who refuse to meet us modern people >

The Sentinelese people!!! 
Turns out they might actually be the smartest people on earth… >

I don't know. We humans live off doing stuff that is... medically ill-advised. I'd be willing to bet the Sentinelese are having rock fights for fun or doing something equally stupid in the parts of the island that we can't see. >

I bet they make out with their sexy cousins on that Ireland. Lucky bastards! >

ಠ_ಠ >

I am thinking of that scene that traumatized me in my teens.. was it Ghost Ship?  Where the little girl is in a dance hall on a cruise ship and this rope or something slices though everone but her?
Edit.. Since this blew up a bit, I just watched the clip that someone posted down below.. Fantastic special effects.. Damn.  More brutal than I remembered.  Although now in my adult life I have seen ... not worse, but comparable. >

Yup Ghost Ship. Shes short so the cable was above her head >

I literally remember NOTHING else from that movie.. i have no idea if it was good or not.  May have to look it up again and see if it still holds up today. >

First 5 minutes hold up, last 5 minutes hold up if you like Mudvayne, rest is absolutely worth forgetting. >

Hold on now, its been decades since I have seen this film, but I do recall a part in the middle that my 5th grade self really enjoyed.
Edit: It was 13 Ghosts I was thinking of, not Ghost Ship >

You're thinking about the lawyer getting bisected by the glass doors, right? One of my top 5 all time movie deaths. I think it even beats the Robocop bad guy getting liquefied by the car. >

Robocop has top tier movie deaths. >

He loves shootings dicks off Robocop >

Ah man where's the 15 minute dick shooting montage? >

When I read about kite fighting in The Kite Runner, I didn't think it could be a deadly activity. >

This is actually some really important context people not from the region don’t understand. 
Western audiences think of kite flying as wholesome fun for kids. But in the region (Afghanistan, Pakistan) kite flying is a much more serious pastime. Not a fan of the Taliban, of course, but kite flying is pretty violent, there are lots of fights and big animosities, and of course very dangerous with the razor sharp wires. A lot of people want to ban the practice still. >

Isn’t the glass or wire in the string for cutting the line of your opponent to be the last kite flying? >

Yes. Its a festival held every January where the goal is to cut other kites down from the air. It's competitive, not leisurely. >

That is messed up >

Enh it's a cultural activity I see similarly to things like running with the bulls in Spain, this one is a bit better as no animals are involved. >

Well except for the part where 6 people died >

Lol there is no “cultural event” that should include children getting their throats cut with razor kite strings. So if your “cultural event” includes child death I’m going to judge it as a stupid fucking idea. >

I don’t think it includes it, just a bonus >

For those wondering, these strings are coated with glass shards, and kite fighting is a thing in south and southeast Asia.
Best kite festivals like ones from Japan are nonexistent here. >

This is pretty critical context and kite fighting sounds fucking awesome, but this is beyond tragic. >

It's thrilling. Accidents happen most of them are people being idiots. >

Yeah like the idiot toddler who got killed...
I'm all for dangerous personal pastimes but this seems more like a public menace >

Toddlers don't need to be on the roof especially when people are flying kites. You people have your head so far up your ass you can't handle anything that falls outside your little bubble. I've spent decades doing this and I don't know one person who's had issues/injuries. Again, these are rare instances of people being idiots. >

i read a headline about people getting their throats cut by someone flying a kite and my first thought is that they're either very bad at it, or very good 

Police said 30 people sustained cuts and 46 were injured while falling from a height while flying kites on Saturday and Sunday 

good lord, i thought kites were like the safest most chill activity this side of crocheting and stamp collecting...apparently it's often fatal >

Knowing they're coated in glass shards and how fast kites can go in high wind conditions, it makes sense. Especially with a long string pulling across the skin, it'll basically act like a saw using its "teeth" to cut, not the string. >

Not only are the strings dangerous while in use, stray strings get festooned across roadways, cutting the throats of motorcyclists >

I know motorcycling is dangerous but Jesus fucking christ. >

This happens a lot in Brazil. Here's a link to an article which has a photo of a man's throat that has been stitched back together. The caption says:

A "lucky" motorcyclist. Do NOT google images for this. You will regret it

They're right. Some of the photos that you can find after a search are horrific.

"Corta-pipa" or kite-cutting antennas are now required accessories on all motorcycle delivery bikes. These are small antennas in front of the driver which would cut the line and protect the throat of the motorcyclists. 

These are antennas or pipes that are slightly off vertical and mounted on the front of motorcycles and scooters. If they encounter a kite string, it will be either broken by the antenna or will be swept upwards over the head of the cyclist, so they will not be injured. >

Do they fly fighting kites in Brazil too, or is something else going on? I'm rather afraid to click the link. >

They do >

So... see? Your day could have been much worse. >

Thank you for this. I hit a median last night and blew out two tires, and I'm pissing and moaning about fog and unlit roads with magically appearing sidewalks in the middle of them and no money for this mess when NOW? I'm just glad there were no low-flying kites. >

Slow down bruh >

The fixed object came out of nowhere! >

Listen officer that tree wasn't using its signal so technically that's not on me >

Cool. I was looking for a new theme for my nightmares. >

I certainly hear about the strangest causes of death coming out of India. >

Well a sample size of 1.3 billion helps. >

With a relatively free, well developed and spread english media.