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India: A country full of men who, from what I’ve seen, refuse to throw a closed hand punch, but will blade up kite strings and kill children.
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. >

Murder Kites. That’s new. >

What the fuck? Are they using piano wire???? >

Crushed glass covered string. Sometimes double/triple layers. >

Death Kite String. Not something I had on my 2023 Bingo card…. >

It's been over 15 years since I first learned about kite fighting and people putting powdered glass on the strings to slice through others string.  People are severely injured every year with most having at least one death from it. >

I never, ever in my wildest dreams could have imagined I would be reading about someone getting their throat slit by a kite string - let alone multiple people. >

It's pretty common to get injured on that day.. people generally cover their necks with napkin or some cloth while outside during the festival.. >

I'd say that's the stuff of nightmares but my nightmares are nowhere near that creative. >


As well as the devastating injuries caused to people, the kite strings also “kill and maim hundreds of birds annually”. This year “336 birds and 723 animals sustained injuries”, reported The Telegraph India.-

I'm sympathetic to the children but none for the adult idiots that brought this onto themselves.
But I'm really really sympathetic to the poor animals that had no idea that an unpredictable deadly string would come out of no where, maim and kill these creatures. >

TIL kite fighting is a thing and can be fatal. >

When I lived in Thailand, there were many big competitions and blades on your strings was a thing.  It was called kite fighting, and you could watch these big fights.  Trophies and cash prizes. >

Fucken hell. Saddest thing I've heard in a very long time. Fuck. >

I saw another video of a little girl getting pulled up into the sky while holding on to a kite the other day. This festival doesn't seem very safe >

Not to family members though. >

Final Destination copy rights would like to have a word. >

Things like this are why I'm hella careful when going outside. There's all sorts of stupid crap lying in wait to end you at a moments notice. >

glass string hiding behind the bushes and in the shadows >

Well that's a new phobia added to my list. Cows, balloons, and now kites.... I did have a fear of electricity ports, but since living overseas and most countries don't have an "on/off" switch I got over that fear somewhat. >

What’s with cows? >

They're big animals that can get easily spooked. Cows are the UK's deadliest animal.
I think it's an understandable fear. >

Have you read the Kite Runner? >

Wu tang said it best. Protect ya neck >

Alright. We've crossed over into a bizarre amalgamation of our present timeline and the final destination timeline. >

Kite fighting has been a thing for over 2000 years, it's not exactly new to our timeline and it isn't bizarre by local standards.
It does seem dangerous though. >

I actually never knew about this. It's an interesting..Pastime .. >

Certainly is. I can see why people would enjoy it, but proper safety equipment seems in order. >

Ideally you'd just not want crowds, and have matches separated and monitored. Especially with kids around. People do plenty of dangerous stuff, I used to do rocketry and many times the rocket would veer off. Could have easily done damage had we not all been paying attention and ready for something to go wrong.
Seems a similar setup here, where if everything goes as planned and everyone's aware of everyone/everything else, it's not that bad. When you realize kids are going to run through the all that and not think about the glass-shard-coated strings, there's no way to make it "safe" without either ruining the sport, or physically keeping people away who aren't participating/able to pay attention or be monitored. >

What kind of string are these kites flown with >

Ones covered in glue and broken glass >

How does that even happen??? >

Fighting kites is dangerous as hell. Tazer blades on the kite itself and broken glass and glue on the strings. >

There’s a Bollywood movie premise in here somewhere. >

Not to make light of this, but what were those strings made of? Piano wire? >

Crushed glass. It’s for competitive kite flying. >

This sounds like vibes from The Kite Runner >

They probably still sell lawn darts as well >

I’m sorry, what the fuck now? It’s bed time. >

Only India would take something as safe as flying a kite, and make it into a death game. >

my mouth is still open >

I remember reading about this a decade ago. I guess nothing’s changed. >

Jesus christ that's one hell of a headline. >

I see so many birds dead because they get tangled in the strings too. Some get their wings cut, some get stuck in the air. And so many kids and adults get injured too but people won't be responsible and get rid of the threads after they're done flying kites. >

That...is not a headline I expected or wanted to see today. >

Sometimes tradition simply means a really dumb idea that does not have any real reason to be continued. >

This is the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever read about.  Some traditions need to be changed or die. >

That's some final destination shit. Except that they coated the strings with glass, so it wasn't at all unexpected. Might as well swing razor tape around. >

Excuse me, but did you just say “razor tape”? What is that, sounds awesome >

Hopefully, these deaths lead to rules and laws. There should've been action taken after the 2016 incident. >

Good lord. I guess the question is: has this ever happened before? If so, then why was nothing changed to prevent it? And if not, what changed that caused it? And I know we're only hearing about it because the news has monetized tragedy porn but this does seem particularly strange
Edit: saw at the bottom of the article that there were two injuries back in 2016. But again, why so many now?? >

That’s actually just at THIS festival, regionally, across India, Pakistan, etc. deaths and injuries are much more common than just a couple every few years.  The numbers have gone down because some areas have banned kite fighting, but even in banned areas they still happen—just more discreetly. >

This is happening way too often. We need to ban assault kites and high capacity kite strings. >

India is what happens if darwinism was a country. >

Is that how they managed to get a population of 1.4 billion people? >

So sad for them kids. Thats a Final Destination type death. Only pros need to show up at that gig. >

If someone told me this was something that happened in a Bollywood film, I would totally believe it with all these over dramatized and contrived death scenarios. Like, how does this happen??? >

Imagine every single roof is filled with kids flying kites with strings coated with glass shreds.. by the time sunsets, streets are full of these strings.. >

This is why sometimes in a society the Government should be able to tell you what you can and can not do. >

That's a hell of a title. >

I thought this was a freak kiting accident Final Destination style where a giant kite runs amok, but no it's just a ton of different accidents ? 
WTF is even going on >

They fight the kites against each other and some use steel strings to keep them from being cut by other kite flyers who embed sharp objects in their strings to cut other kite strings. It’s insanity. >

Jesus, that is some Death Ship type stuff there.
That scene is the only thing I remember about that movie. >

Ghost Ship >

I’ve always felt that the only things missing from the experience of flying a kite were competition and violence.  That’s sarcasm, of course.  Who the fuck takes kite flying, one of the most carefree and relaxing activities we can partake in, and turns it into a combat sport?  You can’t just enjoy flying a kite?  You have to kill everyone else’s kite, too?  I’m not making too big a deal out of this.  A kite is a fucking toy, not a weapon. >

This is like something from a comic book. >

Horror movie - it's a real life version of the opening of ghost ship. >

Toy kites come with some sharp fuckin string . Always replace it with heavier gauge for the kids. >

In this case the string was coated with glass so i don't think heavier gauge would have helped. >

I was referring to what I do at home with my children’s kites >

While it’s a tragedy for sure, this sounds like a part of a Final Destination movie >

Holy fuck. India are you ok? >

Blink twice if you need help, India. >

India always comes with most bizzare shit 😂 >

To be fair, almost every country (including the one you probably live in) likely suffers more annual fatalities from even more ridiculous rituals that we dismiss as “tradition.”  For instance, how many Americans have died in the last decade from the consequences of the gender reveal fad?  It’s way more than you think. >

Yup. And Black Friday shopping. >

People die at the fair. >

So the action scenes in an Bollywood movie don’t seem that ridiculous anymore. >

That’s some Final Destination shit there. Beyond bizarre. >

All the craziest shit happens in India. >

This event is terrible without a doubt...but somewhere, someone out there is going to make a shounen sports-manga based on kite-fighting; ridiculous techniques and overly-long monologues included. >

Who is stringing the kites in India, Agent 47?
Stop using 100Lb test, or razor wire, or whatever the fuck. Use string India. >

I lived in Brazil and this kind of kite fighting was extremely common when I was a kid, I cut my hands many times applying the crushed glass with glue to my kite string. Was extremely fun, I would do it all over again.
Alternatively was used to... Troll careless motorcyclists if you wanted stuff from them.