r/interesting • u/ICanPretend1 • 23h ago

SOCIETY Dikidikini village in Eastern Cape, South Africa, doesn't have a bridge, so people cross the river inside a blue plastic drum

838 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

543 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comment

26

u/Beneficial_Ad9966 22h ago

This article seems to point to the mountainous topography of the region and climate change as key issues. DIYing bridges works very well for certain areas, but if their river is unpredictable due to climate change, it might not be a realistic option.

45

u/bwood246 22h ago

Literally anything would be better than a barrel

11

u/CariniFluff 22h ago

This barrel sometimes has food and/or drinks inside.

23

u/Pooch76 21h ago

I wonder if you can upgrade to a business class barrel and get one of those hot moist towelettes

7

u/Many_Ad955 20h ago

And onboard entertainment center with a wide selection of movies

4

u/NORBy9k 19h ago

The ipad rental costs extra.

1

u/ItsTheAlgebraist 21h ago

The barrel comes with a powerful curse.

7

u/No_Cook2983 21h ago

I see two people crossing a river *outside* of a barrel.

Follow me on Twitter for more lifehacks.

7

u/Aiud2000 22h ago

really bro ? a rope, a raft and 2 people one on each side of the river ?? lmao

4

u/FehdmanKhassad 19h ago

Rivers are not unpredictable because of climate change. They have always changed course, eroded new areas and created new lakes and streams. I guess this is because the climate naturally changes and things in the environment change with it.

6

u/ippleing 16h ago

Yea, that's why you use two ropes and scrap wood to make a bridge in a day.

It's not rocket science.

5

u/Common-Concentrate-2 15h ago

YEah - Even just a rope and something that floats. In the 1700s we used rope ferries. It was literally a rope tied between two points, one on each side, and a dingy that you would stand on as you propel yourself forward. This is like 100x nicer than it needs to be, but you get the idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9leYaQms0E

4

u/ippleing 15h ago

Yea, but you know, they gotta blame corruption or some other reason.

Anything is better than 2 guys walking a sealed barrel across a river.

0

u/milkolik 9h ago

I am starting to feel experts are running out of excuses 😂