Rope Swing Excavator: It's All Fun and Games Until…

Mon August 13, 2018
Emily Buenzle

Construction equipment is for construction projects, right? Not necessarily. Occasionally, thrill-seeking individuals will find a new, nontraditional use for these machines.

Take, for example, the video below, where someone decided that an excavator would serve as the perfect base for a rope swing. The result is an epic splash into a nearby pond.

While it might look like great fun, attaching a rope to an excavator and then swinging into a pond of unknown depth is not exactly the safest of ideas. In wondering, "What were they thinking?" our writers came up with a short list of phrases that were likely running through these guys' heads:

1. "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" Whether you're asking this question ironically or not, simply the fact that you're asking means that you probably shouldn't do it. In this case, MANY things could have gone wrong: The rope could have broken; the excavator could have swung the person into a nearby tree; the pond could have been too shallow, or littered with sharp rocks, alligators, piranhas, etc. …

2. "Hold My Beer!" It's a rule of life that any idea that comes after this phrase is spoken is not going to be safe. And from a general safety standpoint, operating, or interacting with any type of construction equipment while under the influence is incredibly dangerous. Bottom line, if you come up with a "great" idea like this one after a few adult beverages, hope you have a friend with you who won't let you do something stupid.

3. "Look, Mom!" Just about every parent has experienced it: If your kid utters this phrase, get your insurance card ready, because you're probably going to need it, along with a good explanation for the ER doctor. If you're about to yell this as an adult before swinging into a lake from a piece of construction equipment, envision your mother's cringeworthy look of disappointment before you do. It'll save you a copay and the humiliation of having this incident brought up at every family gathering for years to come.

4. "This'll Get SO Many Likes/Shares/Retweets!" Who doesn't love watching someone do something dumb and potentially dangerous on social media? The answer: You, in the hospital, when you're rewatching the footage of how you sustained the injuries that just got you 100,000 Likes. Misusing construction equipment will NEVER get you as many followers as the Kardashians, so don't even bother.

5. "I'm Bored." If you're bored enough to make a rope swing from an excavator, you're bored enough to brush up on your excavator safety training. Enough said.

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.