Have You Seen This? Toppling tree nearly takes out man at festival

AUSTRIA – Many small towns in the United States have annual festivals or celebrations. As I've mentioned before, my town always had an epic battle where the firefighters would give hoses to us kids, and we'd blast each other with dangerous amounts of water.

Another highlight of our annual celebration was the "fish grab," where hundreds of rainbow trout were released into a manmade pond, and we'd all try to catch them with our hands. If you knew what you were doing, you could bring seven or eight fish home for dinner.

To round things off, we had a big rodeo. It was such an amazing way to celebrate summer.

Over the years, I've visited other towns that have traditions like parades, musical performances and chili cook-offs. But I've never seen anything quite like this video:

What exactly is happening here? According to the video's description, this scene took place at the Maibaumumschnitt, a traditional Austrian celebration that marks the end of the maypole season.

"After standing decorated in the village square for weeks, the tall tree is ceremonially cut down, often accompanied by music, food, and a festive gathering," the caption explains. "A key part of the tradition is the competition that follows: once the tree is on the ground, young men attempt to climb or scramble along the smooth trunk to reach the prize attached at the very top. In this case, the young men were too close and started to run too early, and one of them got almost hit by the Maibaum."

Seriously, that guy in the vest came within inches of disaster. And it's wild to see how unfazed he was by the close call. He just kept sprinting along, trying to claim the prize. Guess you have to admire his focus.

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