New York miming disaster

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous New York miming disaster, when lax safety procedures and criminal underinvestment resulted in the deaths of hundreds of mimes in a series of horrific accidents.

Dozens of the street performers suffocated after becoming trapped in invisible boxes which were later found to have no air holes – a clear breach of safety guidelines. Others plunged inches to the floor after slipping from Central Park kerbs, due to a faulty shipment of imaginary balancing poles, which had been incorrectly weighted.

At the time the disaster was met with much pantomime-wailing and exaggerated gnashing of teeth, though opinion polls show that most people now see it as a good thing.

~ A.M.