Too Much Free Time

Too Much Free Time

by Mike Masnick


Filed Under:
internet addiction



If You Want To Stop Your Husband From Using The Internet, Chopping Off His Hand Seems A Little Extreme

from the next-time-maybe-pull-the-plug dept

We've certainly heard of family members growing frustrated over the amount of time a spouse or a child was spending on the internet, but you have to admit that it's on the fairly extreme side of the spectrum of responses to deal with this by chopping off the person's hand. However, according to some news reports, that's exactly what one woman in China did to her husband after she felt he wasn't paying enough attention to her. As he sat at the computer in an internet cafe she chopped off his hand. Oddly (and somewhat unbelievably) the guy claims he only noticed when the pointer on the screen stopped moving and he felt a numbness in his hand that had been on the mouse (and then he noticed the blood). It's not clear how he didn't notice his hand being chopped off -- or even how it was chopped off. So, perhaps the story is simply urban legend, but there appear to be a fair number of news organizations reporting that same story. We're hoping that at least one bothered to fact check to find out that it really happened.

23 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
 

Reader Comments

(Flattened / Threaded)

    Sep 6th, 2007 @ 3:56am
  • Techtoics Tabloid

    by dorpus

    According to Techtoics Tabloid, a Japanese tech news site, mechanical troubles developed on one of the two Boeing 757's owned by Royal Nepalese Airlines. As a response, the airline sacrificed two goats to appease Garuda, the Hindu god of the sky.

    According to airline officials, Garuda is very angry, which caused the airline to cancel several flights. The goats were sacrificed on the runway of Kathmandu Airport, the country's only international airport. The number of Hindu priests who build the airplane's engines have been increased from four to six.

    http://d.hatena.ne.jp/textoyx4/20070905

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 5:01am
  • wtf?

    by Ricky @ MWIR.net

    wimminz is crazy.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 5:30am
  • Why would techdirt report on an obviously story?

    by Peter

    Must be a slow news day, eh?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 5:40am
  • by Skeptical Suzie

    I'll wait for the Snopes article before I believe this.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 6:08am
  • Good thing the guy wasn't doing cybersex, the wife probably would have chopped something else off.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 7:00am
  • by Anonymous Coward

    Ooooh... Snopes, the disinformation dissemination arm of the NSA?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 7:26am
  • by Overcast

    Yeah, you would think divorce would be both more effective and less messy.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 9:27am
  • by Java

    Anyone else find it ironic that Techdirt is complaining about these other journalistic sites not doing the research, yet they are reporting the same thing and have not done their own research either.

    Isn't this artcile just further perpetuating the possible myth?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 9:28am
  • It's possible....

    by barren

    Well, it is entirely possible to lose a limb or appendage without noticing. Shock. Also, people go crazy over things that make the rest of us just scratch our heads in wonder. So, the story is possible in all particulars, did it happen...who knows. I'm sure it was printed as news somewhere, and whether it happened or not, it will now...that's just people for you.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 9:29am
  • Hand chopped off...

    by JC

    I'm thinking the internet wasn't the only thing he was on at the time.

    and there goes dorpass again, off-topic as ever. do you just sit on the homepage and hit refresh?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

    • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 10:09am
    • Re: Hand chopped off...

      by Anonymous Coward

      huh, not to be a jackass or even trying to defend dorpus, but you're overeacting a little?
      I mean it's not like he only posted "First" or anything, he didn't even criticize anyone here either!
      Cut him some slack already?

      (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

    Sep 6th, 2007 @ 9:34am
  • by Anonymous Coward

    "We're hoping that at least one bothered to fact check to find out that it really happened."

    So we finally have in writing the Techdirt process for checking out stories.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 9:34am
  • women...

    by satan

    are all bitches

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 9:36am
  • re: Java

    Just an FYI Java: you're reading the "Techdirt Blog." This isn't a "news source" so far as "Mike's interpretation of some other news source."

    If you want to believe slashdot, then the answer to your question is "absolutely yes!" : http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/05/0220212

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 10:33am
  • by Jacob

    i would kill the bitch in return

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 12:00pm
  • My girlfreind -

    has been expressing a similar reaction lately. I am hacking away on a new laptop right now cause she decided that my Toshiba was not sweet enough ! (she poured honey all over the keys) I guess it may be time to start scheduling some free time for her...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  • Sep 6th, 2007 @ 12:17pm
  • I'd believe he didn't notice...

    by DS

    I was at a outdoor camp chopping a tree with me and a friend taking wacks at it. And well My hand got in the way I didn't feel a thing or even know right away. I just felt like I didnt want to do it anymore and we started wlking back to base when I felt odd and went to feel my head then I noticed that There was blood all over then I almost past out... so I could believe that he would not notice.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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