tokyo 2020 olympics

Video of Israeli athletes breaking cardboard village bed goes viral

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The video has since been deleted but has drawn angry responses in Japan. 

They broke a piece of cardboard cardboard for crying out loud, relax.

-18 ( +17 / -35 )

Maybe I should correct myself. Usually I think they all should do any job and make their hobby , in this case a sports, in their leisure time and at own costs as everyone else has to, not at expenses of a country and celebrated for doing just only a private leisure activity that most of us are not applauded or get even big stadiums built. But now I see, they are really only capable of their sports and stupid behavior. My fault. lol

-13 ( +8 / -21 )

Anytime I saw “cardboard bed” at the olympics, videos on social media, I just kept on scrolling.

It was partially amusing the first time only. Then it just got lame real quick.

A bed that’s supposed to only hold 200kg but stood strong until 9 fools decided to jump on it at the same time, I’d say that’s a pretty good accomplishment for the bed designers.

Besides, no one ever accused jocks about being geniuses anyway. Did they really have nothing else better to do?

20 ( +27 / -7 )

They broke a piece of cardboard cardboard for crying out loud, relax.

Exactly, imagine complaining about a broken piece of cardboard. Japan is hosting an international event with international participants, so they should have done their own research about how foreigners love to destroy peoples' property. Incompetence by Japan again

5 ( +19 / -14 )

In Japan, they could be arrested for "Obstruction of business"

-2 ( +12 / -14 )

Japan thoughtfully makes an efficiency and sustainability decision to use beds that can be recycled. That should be celebrated.

These are entitled and immature athletes that should be called out.

9 people jumping on a bed will pretty much make any bed break, so their joke blew up in their face because those beds are actually incredibly durable.

I hope they all lose, and they likely will.

25 ( +32 / -7 )

I think it is pretty funny actually. You could call these 'orgy beds' if they can stand up to that much punishment....

Maybe this can lead to a series of ever more exciting and difficult tests for the beds- dropping them from windows, hitting them with cars, etc. Hilarity will surely ensue.

-10 ( +7 / -17 )

Japan thoughtfully makes an efficiency and sustainability decision to use beds that can be recycled. That should be celebrated.

Yup.

These are entitled and immature athletes that should be called out.

Why? The beds were made to be recyclable and weren't intended to be permanent furniture. The athletes jumping up and down on them in no way makes them any less recyclable. There is zero harm done by this.

I mean, if the athletes turned around and said "Hey, get us a new bed, we broke one" then I'd concede that they deserved some condemnation. But this seems to have been a bed nobody was using and was just going to be recycled anyway, so I'm really having trouble seeing why I should be angry at these guys.

-15 ( +7 / -22 )

@rainyday

really, you don’t get it?

They are making a joke out of Japan for their choice to do it. They are trashing it and expecting some Japanese people to come clean up after them.

They are disgusting and that’s why there is a backlash against them. You would think Israel has enough bad optics for being agro, but looks like it runs deep in their culture.

16 ( +27 / -11 )

I hope this answers the question, “why would Japan give the foreigners disposable furniture?”

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

I can't image what the MSRP is on that bed frame. Any guesses out there ???

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Why? The beds were made to be recyclable and weren't intended to be permanent furniture. The athletes jumping up and down on them in no way makes them any less recyclable. There is zero harm done by this.

I mean, if the athletes turned around and said "Hey, get us a new bed, we broke one" then I'd concede that they deserved some condemnation. 

Except Paralympians will be re-using the same bedframes before they're finally recycled. It's vandalism.

16 ( +23 / -7 )

According to reports, the now-deleted video in which the athletes test the strength of the recyclable cardboard bed frame was uploaded by Ben Wanger, a U.S.-born baseball player on the Israeli Olympic team, to his TikTok and Twitter accounts on Monday.

Ben Wanger. Sounds like a Monty Python Life of Brian sketch.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Except Paralympians will be re-using the same bedframes before they're finally recycled. It's vandalism.

OK, if that is the case then yes I can see why this would be bad.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

Let them sleep on the floor. I hope they weren't provide a replacement bed.

20 ( +24 / -4 )

Not the most shining example of Olympic competitor intelligence, but the bed manufacturers should be looking for a copy of that video fast. I would say it is a testament to the design, quality and durability of said bed.

19 ( +21 / -2 )

"It's not funny at all. As a Japanese, it makes me very sad," said one internet comment.

Agreed. Expecting Olympic athletes to sleep on cardboard beds is sad.

-22 ( +5 / -27 )

Any guesses out there?” - Regardless, @John Kudlacek 1:33pm, some young people never were taught the basics. First, teach your child to never pay ‘sticker price’. And second, ‘take a pass’ on the ‘factory undercoating;, etc. - Like these Olympic Games and associated products, it’s all inflated ‘dealer costs’ to gouge the consumer (and, the taxpayer).

- “I can't image what the MSRP is on that bed frame. Any guesses out there???” -

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Maybe it's just cardboard box for u but never ever disrespect the hardwork of Japanese people even if you think it is useless. Remember, Japanese value every little tiny work.

10 ( +16 / -6 )

It’s funny and also really disrespectful. Charge the athlete with the price of the bed (on the JOC side) and let the Israeli OC deal out repercussions.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

Really bad behaviour by Israel. They are a team that attracts controversy - sometimes unfairly in the case of the boycotts - but this certainly won't win Israel any friends.

Make them repair the cardboard or pay for it.

11 ( +18 / -7 )

Japan thoughtfully makes an efficiency and sustainability decision...

It would have been more "sustainable" to make long-lasting wooden or steel beds and then sell them on the second-hand market, which is common in other countries but not so much in Japan. But then, Japan prefers to take the disposable, throw-away route over a truly sustainable one.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

Charge them with property damage, recoup costs then send them home. They are supposed to represent their country and should consider some themselves lucky to be there….quite stupid behaviour really.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

These thugs should hang their heads in shame and apologise to all concerned. They are a disgrace to their country.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

oh the beds are just cardboard. oh my hundred dollar bill is just paper.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

They should make Ben Wanger sleep in that bed for the remainder of his stay, see if he still thinks it funny.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Oh for god's sake, if enough people jump on any sort of bed, it's going to collapse. Honestly, if these childish antics are normal for these people, then no wonder that judoka quit the other day.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

There's another video on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raxinPQ08Zg

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is mostly young people who are have rules about staying in and not going out being stupid, partly in response to the stupid hype about the beds and even stupider hype about sex at the Olympics. I care more about what every other JT reader had for lunch than I do about sex at the Olympics.

It is regrettable, but is still better than the USA Ice Hockey team smashing up their hotel after losing at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. There is also a Twitter account out there showing that dozens of Olympics-related visitors are on dating apps looking for partners in Tokyo. That is a bigger problem than this.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

These are rude people.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

I think it does prove the point that 9 people cannot have violent sex on the bed.

Someone is not sleeping on a bed, I guess.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Besides, no one ever accused jocks about being geniuses anyway. Did they really have nothing else better to do?

Good point. Can't see them reading the works of Dostoyevsky or Shakespeare. It would be funny if we weren't paying for these idiots though. I can't wait....till August 8.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

@JeffLee

It would have been more "sustainable" to make long-lasting wooden or steel beds and then sell them on the second-hand market, which is common in other countries but not so much in Japan. But then, Japan prefers to take the disposable, throw-away route over a truly sustainable one.

Well, that's incorrect. The cardboard beds are made out of carboard but it's 20 times stronger than wooden beds and 3 times stronger than steel beds. The aim of sustainability isn't to throw them away but to convert those beds into various paper items. Japan studied cardboard a lot and we use cardboard beds for use in shelters during disasters. Those beds used in disaster shelters can withstand a weight of 6 tonnes.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Shameful behaviour by the immature Israeli team. They should apologise and be asked to pay for the damages..This is not what the Olympic spirit is about. What a bad image they have made of their country.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

It would have been more "sustainable" to make long-lasting wooden or steel beds and then sell them on the second-hand market, which is common in other countries but not so much in Japan.

Exactly, any one of us expats with a brain knows that steel is more sustainable than cardboard. What a fail by Japan again! No country in the West thinks that cardboard is sustainable compared to steel

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Hang on a minute fellow posters, I need a bit of time to come up with something in this article to be "enraged" about.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

The best is the response from the company that produced these beds. They said “This is not how the beds were intended to be used and we are glad that nobody got hurt”.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Bill the room's occupant.

Recycle the bed.

They can sleep on the floor.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Boredom

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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