Insane Contests

The death of the contestant at the sauna competition in Finland is just the latest in a long list of tragedies in contests of human folly. To test physical endurance or capability - as in those eating contests -  in extreme circumstances, without any redeeming value of significant athletic prowess, is simply suicidal.  The time has come for sponsors to stop their patronage of these grotesque and inhuman competitions and for governments to ban such activities, which only serve to endanger participants' lives and encourage young or impressionable people to engage in foolhardy behavior.

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