Team Israel Olympians Show How Many Athletes It Takes to Break Olympic Village’s Cardboard Bed
by Shiryn Ghermezian
The cardboard beds in the Olympic Village at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Twitter.
Athletes competing on behalf of Israel in the Olympic Games tested how many people it will take to break the Olympic Village’s cardboard beds in a viral TikTok video this week.
“Been getting a lot of questions about the beds in the Olympic Village, so today we’re gonna check and see how many Israelis it takes to break one of these cardboard beds,” Ben Wanger, a pitcher with Israel’s national baseball team, said in the clip. He began by jumping on the bed alone and when it failed to break, more Team Israel athletes joined him one-by-one. A total of nine athletes jumped on the bed until it collapsed.
“נראה כמה ישראלים צריך כדי לשבור את אחת ממיטות הקרטון”: סרטון טיקטוק שהעלה שחקן נבחרת הבייסבול של ישראל לטוקיו 2020, בן ווגנר, מראה את שחקני הנבחרת “בוחנים” את עמידות המיטות בכפר האולימפי, כשהם קופצים על אחת המיטות בחדר עד שהיא נשברת@lianwildau pic.twitter.com/ATfDU70lww
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 27, 2021
The video amassed nearly half a million views by Tuesday before Wanger deleted it from his TikTok account. He posted another video on Wednesday in which he apologized if anyone was offended by his previous clip, saying, “we meant no disrespect and just wanted to show off how effective and sturdy the beds are in the Olympic Village. We had an extra bed available to us. The bed have since been recycled.”
“We actually enjoy sleeping on these beds and think they are a great, sustainable option for future Olympics,” he added. “Japan has done an exceptional job hosting the athletes here in the Olympic Village. We are extremely appreciative of their hospitality.”
Some have speculated that the cardboard bed frames might be an effort by Olympic officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A US track and field member suggested that the bed frames were made from cardboard, and not a stronger material, to discourage sex among Olympic athletes, according to The New York Post.
However, in January 2020, Olympics organizers explained to the Associated Press that they planned to create the single-frame beds out of cardboard so that they could be recycled into paper products after the Games. Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of the Athletes Village, said the beds can support 440 pounds and would be “stronger than wooden beds.”
