Jay Swingler's Failed Cement Microwave Stunt
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Overview
Jay Swingler's Failed Microwave Cement Stunt refers to YouTube user Jay Swingler of the TGFbro channel cementing his head in a microwave, causing a need for the local fire department to come and free him. News of the story quickly went viral after TGFbro uploaded their video of the events on YouTube.
Background
Precursor Stunts
Prior to the failed stunt, the TGFbro channel had received notoriety for numerous stunt videos similar to those of the former television show Jackass. In the weeks prior to the microwave stunt, the channel had uploaded several videos featuring the channel's host being encased in binding substances such as cement, gelatin, and expanding foam (seen below). The channel had reached over 3 million subscribers as of December 8th, 2017.
West Midlands Fire Department Tweet
On December 7th, 2017, the West Midlands Fire Department[1] Twitter account posted screenshots of their extraction of Swingler from a microwave which was filled with Polyfilla (shown below). The tweet linked to a corresponding story about the event, in which the department detailed the extraction.[2] Swingler had prepared by placing a plastic bag over his head and placing a "breathing tube" from his mouth to the bottom of the microwave. During filming, the Polyfilla hardened and expanded, restricting air flow from the tube and causing increasing pressure on Swingler's head. The fire department said, “It took us nearly an hour to free him. All of the group involved were very apologetic, but this was clearly a call-out which might have prevented us from helping someone else in genuine, accidental need.”
Developments
Later that day, the TGFboy YouTube channel posted the video of the event which gained over 1.5 million views within the first 24 hours. (shown below). The video was promptly age restricted and thus demonetized after going viral.
Numerous media outlets began covering the event on December 8th, including Vice,[3] Business Insider,[7] International Business Times,[8] BBC,[9] Independent,[4] News Corp,[10] The Daily Mail,[11] Washington Post,[12] USA Today[13] and the Huffington Post.[5] After request for interviews by the media, West Midlands Fire Department uploaded an official response about incident in a video featuring station commander Simon Woodward.[6] Following this, Jay Swingler also uploaded a response to the TGFbro YouTube channel (seen below).
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @WestMedsFire
[2] WMFS – YouTuber comes unstuck
[3] Vice – This YouTuber Cemented His Head Inside a Microwave and Almost Died
[4] Independent – Man cements his head in a microwave, forcing firefighters to spend an hour trying to free him
[5] Huffington Post – YouTube Prankster Cements His Own Head Inside A Microwave For Clicks
[6] Twitter – @WestMidsFire
[7] Business Insider – This guy cemented a microwave to his head for a YouTube video, and had to be rescued by the fire brigade
[8] International Business Times – Who Is Jay Swingler? 'TGFBro' YouTuber Responds After Cementing Head In Microwave
[9] BBC – Prankster defends cementing head in microwave
[10] News Corp – YouTube prankster Jay Swingler reveals how his microwave cement prank plan went wrong
[11] The Daily Mail – "'I don't care… It's not like I'm a drink driver' – YouTube prankster who 'wasted hours' of firefighters' time after cementing his HEAD inside a microwave refuses to apologise:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5157415/YouTube-prankster-cements-head-microwave.html
[12] Washington Post – YouTuber discovers that cementing your head into a microwave is a bad idea
[13] USA Today – YouTuber cements his head in a microwave for prank, fears for his life. Fire officials save him
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