While holding a single ice cube can make one's finger's go numb, an Austrian man decided to put his entire body to test and set a world record by submerging himself in a box full ice cubes on Saturday. Josef Koeberl stayed inside a custom-made glass box that was filled with ice cubes up to his shoulder for 2 hours, 30 minutes and 57 seconds and broke his own world record for the longest full-body contact with ice cubes in the process.
Wearing nothing more than a pair of swimming trunks, the 42-year-old Austrian was covered in over 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of ice cubes till his shoulder after stepping inside the glass contraption. Koeberl broke his own record set in 2019 by a full 30 minutes.
Fighting a Wave of Pain
Choosing to break his previous record in the town of Melk in Lower Austria, the swimming trunks clad stepped into the glass box as a small crowd gathered at the town square to witness the unusual feat. So how did the Austrian manage to keep the pain at bay?
Koeberl said that in order to combat the "wave of pain" brought on by the freezing temperatures; he relied on the positive emotions and focused on them. He told reporters, "I'm fighting the pain by visualizing and drawing on positive emotions so I can dampen this wave of pain. That way I can endure."
After being helped out of his icy prison, Koeberl said that the sun felt "great" on his back. "It's a great feeling, above all the sun - the warmth feels good," The Star quoted him as saying. He added, "I'll manage to put my socks on myself. The first thing that has to warm up are your feet."
Plans to Set a New Record
The 42-year-old is already making plans to set a new world record in Los Angeles. According to Koeberl's team, he holds the distinction of holding a world record that is also his personal best. The Austrian's previous record was 2 hours, 8 minutes and 47 seconds which he set in Vienna last year. He smashed Chinese athlete Jin Songhao's record set in 2014 in Xiamen, China.
