Trail Off Tuesdays: The Man Who Mailed Himself Home

Send us a textHave you ever felt so desperate to get home that you'd try anything? Probably not as desperate as Reg Spiers, the Australian javelin thrower who, in 1964, packed himself into a wooden crate and mailed himself from London to Australia when he ran out of money after failing to qualify for the Olympics.We dive into this extraordinary tale of desperation and survival as Reg constructed a simple 5x3 foot wooden box, equipped with only the barest essentials: a torch, blanket, some food, and water. The audacity of his plan was matched only by its dangers. For five excruciating days, Reg remained curled in darkness, unable to move, stretch, or even use proper bathroom facilities as his crate traveled across continents.The journey nearly ended in tragedy when his human-carrying cargo was left baking on the tarmac in Bombay under the scorching sun. Inside his wooden prison, each breath became more labored than the last as oxygen dwindled and temperatures soared. By his own admission, just a few more hours would have been fatal. Yet somehow, Reg survived to complete his journey to Perth, where stunned customs officials discovered this human package and a legend was born.Subscribe to Trail of Tuesdays for more unbelievable but true stories that make you wonder if they really happened. And if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review, just don't try mailing yourself anywhere! :)Support the show