Some Chinese marathon runners ate soap thinking it was an energy bar
Get breaking news and SI’s biggest stories instantly. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers.
What would be the worst thing to eat just minutes after running a marathon? Buffalo wings? Hot soup? What about a bar of soap?
At the Qingyuan marathon in southern China last weekend, many of the runners opened their gift packages and found what they thought was an energy bar. It was actually a bar of grape-scented soap. According to the People’s Daily newspaper, the streets were littered with bars of soap missing a bite.
The English packaging reportedly confused the runners. Come on, wouldn’t you eat this if you couldn’t read the label?
• North Carolina man arrested for failing to return 2002 VHS rental
Eh, maybe not after you open the package and see how frighteningly purple it is.
More than 12,000 of the 20,000 runners sought some form of medical attention and 17 were hospitalized. Not because of the soap, though.
- Dan Gartland
[via BBC]