Russian police tried an interesting tactic to dissuade people from over-drinking on New Year’s Eve this year. The strategy: an elaborate tale of a man drinking himself to death, only to rise, and drink, again.
 

The fictional man was reported by real local paper Khasanskiye Vesti to be drinking shots with a group of friends in a bar in Far East when he collapsed. His friends called for emergency services, and the squad declared him dead on arrival. He was ushered to an overfull morgue, only to wake in the darkness, still inebriated. Lost and confused, he banged on the door in horror. A guard on staff panickedly called for the doctors, who did not initially believe her but called the police.
 

The police eventually rescued the unfortunate man and released him after questioning. Rather than go directly home, the man returned to the bar, where his friends had converted the night’s celebration into an impromptu wake for their seemingly lost friend. Upon seeing him, one of his friends (understandably) fainted. The story concludes with his friends readjusting again to throw him a “re-birthday” party.

It’s an odd strategy, because, despite the horrific (and slightly unbelievable) element of waking up alone in a dark morgue, it comes across more as a ‘story to tell your friends again and again’ rather than a cautionary tale. The police reported it was fictional only after a number of publications picked up and ran with the story. Time will tell whether the strategy paid off, though it seems unlikely. 

Photo via Flickr user Eva Rinaldi