Monday, November 2, 2009

Korean Baby Stroller Accidents

America's Funniest Home videos is a show that is imported to TVs all around the world. This is probably because, bloopers rarely need subtitles and its much cheaper to air a show without captions. I've caught some episodes in China, Korea, Thailand and even Malaysia.

It always gets to me though : many of the videos seem blatantly staged, but more importantly, even more probably resulted in off-camera hospital visits. Regardless of the incidents' veracity or the injuries caused, the laugh track plays on.

When Veronica and I were in Seoul we witnessed two things that, had they been in a cartoon, or accompanied by sound effects, could have been funny. Instead they were painful and terrifying. And they may indicate a much larger, more cosmic possibility - Veronica and I might be cursed...

Walking through an artsy part of town, a grandfather, daughter and granddaughter started to come out of a coffee shop. I wasn't paying attention, but Veronica grabbed my arm as the toddler in the stroller FLIPPED 270 DEGREES OUT OF THE SEAT AND LANDED ON HER FACE. Everyone rushed to help. Minor scrapes and scares aside, the child was okay. But we were terrified.

We were terrified, because, not ten minutes earlier, the EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED. A young boy, performed the exact same acrobatic feat when we were doing a little shopping in a different part of town. At the time, we didn't think anything of it, aside from "don't buy Korean Strollers".

I'm not sure if two babies flipping out of their strollers within 10 minutes is a pattern, a trend or a what. But I'm pretty sure that the forces of gravity apply differently when Veronica and I are near babies in strollers.

If you are a new parent - be careful. Do not invite us to watch you push your child around. Since I don't think that is something that people even do, I think we are safe. But either way - BE CAREFUL!