These pictures show a drunk who impaled his palm with a chopstick while trying to imitate a viral video in which a waiter opens beer bottles using the popular eating utensil.
The clips trending on Chinese video-sharing platform ‘Douyin’, which is known in Engish-speaking markets as Tik Tok, show the restaurant staff placing the vertical chopstick under the lip of the sealed bottle cap before removing it with a single forceful push.
But the technique requires skill and can go horribly wrong when done incorrectly.
The Xiaoshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province, revealed it had admitted five different men who arrived with similar injuries in the past two weeks.
Hand and foot surgeon Xiong Zhenfei, who treated three of the five cases, said three of them were young men in their early 20s.
The medic said: “All three of them arrived holding their right hand, which had a chopstick embedded in the palm.
“It was during a period of time when the weather was particularly hot and they were all having meals outside and drinking [cold beers.
“One came in with three friends – all in their 20s – and had a brown chopstick in the centre of his palm.”
Pictures shared by the surgeon show the eating utensil having been impaled so deep into the man’s palm that it has caused a bulge under his skin on the other side of his hand.
Doctor Xiong said: “He looked pretty calm, probably because he had had too much to drink and was numbed by the alcohol.
“The chopstick was about 2 centimetres (0.8 inches) deep in his palm and was bulging on the back of his hand.
“He said it hurt a lot and wanted me to pull it out. I asked how it happened, and he said he tried to show off by opening his third beer with a chopstick.
“He hit the bottom of the chopstick too hard and it went into his palm. His fingers were numb – likely due to nerve damage.”
The medic removed the chopstick in a 30-minute procedure and the young patient was discharged the following morning.
He added: “I was supposed to cut his palm open to check for nerve damage, but he refused and left the following morning.
“So it’s hard to say whether he will suffer any long-term effects from the injury.”
Doctor Xiong said his second and third case were all similar – palms impaled by chopsticks used to open beer bottles.
He has warned members of the public against the unsafe technique.
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Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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