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Abstract

r second day. I always want to gently suggest that they pace themselves. The real hard-partying days don’t hit until later in the week and they’ll never make it if they start this early.</p><h2 id="2e73">A brief history of death, injury, and mayhem at TTiTD</h2><p id="6643">People were undoubtedly hurting themselves and others out there on the Black Rock Desert before 1996, but that year was a real standout.</p><div id="875d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://www.burn.life/1991-1996-hypergrowth.html"> <div> <div> <h2>Burning Man 1991-1996</h2> <div><h3>A BIG credit for help in these early years goes to the Burning Man organization's own official Timeline. It's really…</h3></div> <div><p>www.burn.life</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*cMeNuf368Wc1LSee)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="954a">That was the year that one guy managed to decapitate himself speeding across the playa in the dark on his motorcycle and another genius ran his Jeep over a tent, badly injuring the sleepers inside.</p><p id="6bec">The upshot of these and other iffy behaviors (<a href="https://laughingsquid.com/the-drive-by-shooting-range-at-burning-man-1994/">drive-by shooting range</a>, anyone?) was that the Borg lost their permit from the Bureau of Land Management and in 1997 the event was held on nearby Hualapai Playa.</p><p id="19d8">For those who really need to know there are tallies out there of exactly how many people have died on-playa and how (just ask the Google). I imagine that there are also numerous resources for tracking injuries. There are the more spectacular ones including a plane going down after take-off that killed one and injured four others as well as the inevitable cases of people falling off art cars (almost certainly inebriated) and getting run over.</p><p id="bb0c">Then there are the suicides. In 2017, a guy ran into the flames as the Man was burning. Several volunteers risked their own lives to run after him and pull him out only to have him evade them and charge back in. There were several accounts of his being impaired by drugs and/or being suicidal (duh). Many years ago, a man hanged himself in his tent but people passing by assumed it was an art installation and didn’t investigate….right away.</p><p id="8944">And every year there are countless broken bones, scrapes, bruises, concussions, overdoses, as well as cases of alcohol-poisoning, dehydration, hypothermia, and road rash.</p><p id="7a6e">And these are just the <i>accidents</i>!</p><h2 id="fb6f">Two men enter, one man leaves</h2><p id="4829"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Guild">Death Guild</a> hosts the ever-popular <a href="https://journal.burningman.org/2015/05/black-rock-city/tales-from-the-playa/beyond-thunderdome/">Thunderdome</a> complete with revolving neon sign on top and determined combatants in Bungie harnesses inside, beating the ever-loving crap out of each other with giant Nerf bats. The entire dome is so covered with screaming people that I’ve never tried to get in for a closer look.</p><p id="ddb6">Our neighbor last year, a petite young lady got to have her moment in the Dome and was gloriously bruised up the next day, beaming with pride and delight.</p><p id="ca1a">Everyone has a different idea of fun.</p><h2 id="a2dd">So far, so good</h2><p id="17d5">I’ve dumped a couple of bikes (before I got smart and got an adult tricycle) out there and shivered through some godawful cold nights, but up to this point, I have come out of the event relatively unscathed.</p><p id="f3c9">It helps that I’m a c

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omplete chicken.</p><p id="f353">I don’t climb anything and there are many, many things to climb out there. Last year some guy got the bright idea of piling a bunch of junk cars on top of each other and plopping a tiny bar on top so that anyone who managed to climb to the top could have a free drink and admire the view (what could go wrong?). Almost immediately the thing began caving in and that was the end of the climbing part.</p><p id="dc0f">There are really important ways to practice self-care out there that include drinking more water than you ever thought was possible, staying out of the midday sun, being sure to eat regularly, take your psyllium so you can poop daily (very important), and sleep. <a href="https://alexanderhirka.nyc/photos-2/burning-man-2005-2012/">AleXander</a> went out to TTiTD on his own in 2005 and didn’t sleep more than an hour or two at a time the entire week. He was so fatigued and rundown for a month after his return that he finally went to the doctor who laughed when AleXander told him about his week at Burning Man.</p><p id="c0e3">The Nevada Board of Health inspects the kitchens of all theme camps to minimize food poisoning and our camp passes with flying colors every year.</p><p id="dd86" type="7">You, too, can have fun and stay in one piece at Burning Man….next year</p><p id="abcf">While the Borg has yet to make an official statement and the event could conceivably be held after all this year, it’s not looking promising. Our “leadership” in a country that values the <a href="https://readmedium.com/f-the-stock-market-b0170853f59b">stock market’s health</a> over that of its citizens is not filling me with much confidence that we’ll be out of the woods any time soon. The butthead in the Oval Office keeps spouting nonsense about people going back to work by Easter which will ensure further spikes in infections and more lives lost.</p><p id="2f77">All in all, our current situation is making Burning Man look like the saner, safer option.</p><p id="237d"><i>© Remington Write 2020. All Rights Reserved.</i></p><div id="8b1c" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/an-orgy-on-a-pleistocene-lakebed-94713db0342f"> <div> <div> <h2>An Orgy on a Pleistocene Lakebed</h2> <div><h3>This is a good idea? (A very good idea!)</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*ew5efPYaezmceWEqJI1fNA.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="5c57" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/seventh-times-the-charm-674930544c0f"> <div> <div> <h2>Seventh Time’s the Charm</h2> <div><h3>On my seventh foray to Black Rock City</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*1eh5ldsS-x6IqbqR_NQBaw.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="300a" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/safety-third-2de9d30d52bb"> <div> <div> <h2>Safety Third</h2> <div><h3>On the Magic and Madness of Black Rock City</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*-UZjw1tiiye26xBzSE5b0w.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

So Many Ways to Die or Just Get Badly Injured at Burning Man

But probably not this year

Just another night at Thunderdome at Burning Man / Photo Credit — Anastasiy Safari / Flickr

Will there or won’t there be That Thing in the Desert (TTiTD) this year?

The Borg (Burning Man Organization) is playing it close to the vest and giving nothing away. Their website just says that they’re “monitoring the situation”.

We already have our tickets but haven’t begun the other steps we’d normally be taking now to be ready for our annual foray into madness. No U-Haul final confirmation or deposit paid. Certainly, no flights booked. We’re holding off on paying our non-refundable camp fees for obvious reasons. We’re also washing our hands (again) and watching videos on how to safely unpack groceries to minimize the possibility of picking up infection from our bags of granola instead of watching our previous years’ trips on YouTube.

Read the fine print

In the tiniest of small print on the backs of all tickets to Burning Man is a chilling disclaimer that states that the Borg is not responsible for any injury, up to and including death, that may occur at the event.

They’re not just being cute with that, either.

People get badly injured and die out there nearly every year. There are several reasons for this. One, it’s a harsh and totally unforgiving environment. It can be blindingly hot during the day and the nights can occasionally be dangerously cold especially for those of us sleeping in tents. Due to the lack of humidity in the air, the goal is to drink so much water that you piss clear.

The other factor that inevitably results in visits to the medics’ tent or being life-flighted out of the event is the off-the-charts drinking that seems to be required (note that there are entire sober camps at Burning Man and thousands of us have a brilliant time with no chemical enhancement).

People have this idea that Burning Man is a huge gathering of people tripping their faces off but the reality is that vast amounts of liquor are being consumed every day. Much of the damage is done to the portos (really disgusting), but many, many foolish young people drink themselves into such stupors that they do really dumb things. They fall off the art, get run over by art cars, get sunstroke, dehydrate dangerously, and suffer the most epic hangovers of all time.

In a gift economy, many of the theme camps are basically bars that give away free booze.

It’s easy to spot the “birgins” (Burning Man virgins) because so many of them are shit-faced on the first or second day. I always want to gently suggest that they pace themselves. The real hard-partying days don’t hit until later in the week and they’ll never make it if they start this early.

A brief history of death, injury, and mayhem at TTiTD

People were undoubtedly hurting themselves and others out there on the Black Rock Desert before 1996, but that year was a real standout.

Burning Man 1991-1996

A BIG credit for help in these early years goes to the Burning Man organization's own official Timeline. It's really…

www.burn.life

That was the year that one guy managed to decapitate himself speeding across the playa in the dark on his motorcycle and another genius ran his Jeep over a tent, badly injuring the sleepers inside.

The upshot of these and other iffy behaviors (drive-by shooting range, anyone?) was that the Borg lost their permit from the Bureau of Land Management and in 1997 the event was held on nearby Hualapai Playa.

For those who really need to know there are tallies out there of exactly how many people have died on-playa and how (just ask the Google). I imagine that there are also numerous resources for tracking injuries. There are the more spectacular ones including a plane going down after take-off that killed one and injured four others as well as the inevitable cases of people falling off art cars (almost certainly inebriated) and getting run over.

Then there are the suicides. In 2017, a guy ran into the flames as the Man was burning. Several volunteers risked their own lives to run after him and pull him out only to have him evade them and charge back in. There were several accounts of his being impaired by drugs and/or being suicidal (duh). Many years ago, a man hanged himself in his tent but people passing by assumed it was an art installation and didn’t investigate….right away.

And every year there are countless broken bones, scrapes, bruises, concussions, overdoses, as well as cases of alcohol-poisoning, dehydration, hypothermia, and road rash.

And these are just the accidents!

Two men enter, one man leaves

Death Guild hosts the ever-popular Thunderdome complete with revolving neon sign on top and determined combatants in Bungie harnesses inside, beating the ever-loving crap out of each other with giant Nerf bats. The entire dome is so covered with screaming people that I’ve never tried to get in for a closer look.

Our neighbor last year, a petite young lady got to have her moment in the Dome and was gloriously bruised up the next day, beaming with pride and delight.

Everyone has a different idea of fun.

So far, so good

I’ve dumped a couple of bikes (before I got smart and got an adult tricycle) out there and shivered through some godawful cold nights, but up to this point, I have come out of the event relatively unscathed.

It helps that I’m a complete chicken.

I don’t climb anything and there are many, many things to climb out there. Last year some guy got the bright idea of piling a bunch of junk cars on top of each other and plopping a tiny bar on top so that anyone who managed to climb to the top could have a free drink and admire the view (what could go wrong?). Almost immediately the thing began caving in and that was the end of the climbing part.

There are really important ways to practice self-care out there that include drinking more water than you ever thought was possible, staying out of the midday sun, being sure to eat regularly, take your psyllium so you can poop daily (very important), and sleep. AleXander went out to TTiTD on his own in 2005 and didn’t sleep more than an hour or two at a time the entire week. He was so fatigued and rundown for a month after his return that he finally went to the doctor who laughed when AleXander told him about his week at Burning Man.

The Nevada Board of Health inspects the kitchens of all theme camps to minimize food poisoning and our camp passes with flying colors every year.

You, too, can have fun and stay in one piece at Burning Man….next year

While the Borg has yet to make an official statement and the event could conceivably be held after all this year, it’s not looking promising. Our “leadership” in a country that values the stock market’s health over that of its citizens is not filling me with much confidence that we’ll be out of the woods any time soon. The butthead in the Oval Office keeps spouting nonsense about people going back to work by Easter which will ensure further spikes in infections and more lives lost.

All in all, our current situation is making Burning Man look like the saner, safer option.