"I can't say it’s easy." - man who rode a pumpkin 11 hours down river tells Reuters

Record ID: 1686478

  • Title: "I can't say it’s easy." - man who rode a pumpkin 11 hours down river tells Reuters
  • Date: 28th August 2022
  • Summary: SYRACUSE, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 28, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DUANE HANSEN, FLOATED 38 MILES IN GIANT PUMPKIN DOWN THE MISSOURI RIVER, SAYING: “I thought, ‘what a cool thing to do with a giant pumpkin.’”
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2022 23:26
  • Keywords: bellevue duane enough float floating giant hansen kayak kayaking midwest missouri nebraska odd oddly pumpkin record river syracuse vegetable wacky weird world
  • Location: SYRACUSE, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES; BELLEVUE, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES; NEBRASKA CITY, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES
  • City: SYRACUSE, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES; BELLEVUE, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES; NEBRASKA CITY, NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Human-Led Quirky,Human-Led Stories,United States,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA008114228082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Nebraska resident Duane Hansen spent years growing in his garden the 846-pound (384 kg) pumpkin he named 'Berta' to set a record for riding 38 miles (61 km) it down river. In photos and video posted to social media, Hansen can be seen paddling down the Missouri River in the giant hollowed out pumpkin, breaking the Guinness World Record for riding more than 25.5 miles (41 km) in a pumpkin on Saturday (August 27).
    “I went 38 miles down the river without standing up in that pumpkin, and my knees still hurt," said Hansen. "But, I probably wouldn’t try this again. And if somebody breaks this record, I will like, bow down to them because they are tough.”
    Duane, who celebrated his 60th birthday on Saturday, started his journey in the pumpkin he calls 'Berta' at 7.30 am and arrived at 6.30 pm in Nebraska City.
    “I was lucky, I only got hung up a couple times, but I had some pretty close calls," said Hansen. “I was nowhere near 100% that I could do this. I’ve never been in a pumpkin going down the river. I can't say it’s easy.”
    (Production: Eric Cox, Pola Grzanka, Eva Weininger)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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