Ryan North live-tweeted his predicament – and avoided calling emergency services for fear of ‘admitting defeat’ – before pulling self and Chompsky to safety

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A comic artist from Toronto, Canada, found himself stuck in a skate bowl Tuesday with his dog, Chompsky, and no way out. So, naturally, he went on Twitter and asked the world an important question.

HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) If I climbed into this in the rain to get this picture and now couldn't get out, what should I do? Hypothetically pic.twitter.com/g5jdjbed5B

The man, Ryan North, who has a comic about talking dinosaurs, was stuck in the skate bowl for 38 minutes. Despite steps near the top of the skate bowl, North could not climb them with his dog in tow. “Am I definitely going to die here y/n?” he asked.

When someone responded to North saying that he should search his surroundings, he revealed that he had also brought an umbrella with him into the hole and a pocket computer with internet access.

And thus began the stream of endless tweets with advice on how to escape the unfortunate situation he had found himself in. The advice included plugging the drain and waiting until he could swim out, lifting Chompsky to the edge, waiting for friendly skateboarders to arrive, running from side to side of the ramp to gain enough momentum to get out, and building a body sling for his dog with his shirt.

When one Twitter user suggested Chompsky might be the key to escape, North responded with a photo showing the dog looking quite at ease in the skate park.

HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) . @james_t_webber he likes it here though, no apparent hurry to leave pic.twitter.com/wr8oMuLzK1

Another Twitter user provided the obvious response: “I assume there is a Canadian version of 911 you can call if all else fails, right? Let a fireman or someone come unhole you.”

But North was determined and explained “that would be admitting defeat”.

Some Twitter users did not seem overly concerned with North’s predicament. One asked “Where were you when @ryanqnorth livetweeted his gradual demise from inside of a hole?” to which North responded: “In a hole.”

Another tweet said: “If it’s any consolation, your very tall skeleton may help the next person to escape.”

North responded: “Let my skellington serve the next generation of hole men.”

Finally, approximately half an hour after his initial tweet, someone suggested that North climb out of the hole and then use the leash to pull Chompsky’s front paws out and the umbrella to grab his back paws. Eight minutes later, he and Chompsky were free of the skate bowl.

HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) IT WORKED!! I'M OUT OF THE HOLE! pic.twitter.com/x8QMgUxrSD

While North does not seem to regret climbing into the skate bowl – as he told one admirer of his photo: “I know, right? Totally worth it” – he does bear some grudges to his concrete jail.

HI IT'S ME RYAN (@ryanqnorth) Screw u, hole pic.twitter.com/rXmV9WPAde

He took the time to thank the Twitter community for helping him escape, saying he was “sore and wet but no longer stuck in a hole”. One user even got a jump start on a potential movie spin-off of the whole ordeal.