THE BRITISH TECH NETWORK

Weird 2017 – Sitting & Smiling

1 Jan 18

Not new for 2017 but something I discovered this year and thought it worth a mention.

I am an intense purveyor of all things online. Obviously I do a lot of tech reading and research for my role here at BTN but what has really caught my attention is some of the more weird corners of the internet and I thought it would be a great idea to share them and see what you think.

Be aware some of this content is a tad odd and can seem a bit unconventional but it’s out there and something that people should know about.

Now there is a lot of odd stuff on YouTube and I’ve seen it all but I thought that this would be a great place to start.

Let me introduce you to Benjamin Bennett, a YouTuber with a difference. Start to watch his videos and you see a guy sitting in the corner of a room or the hallway of his apartment. He starts by readying himself, making sure that everything is in order and most importantly making sure that his shirt is straight.

When everything is in place he looks at the camera and smiles. That, you may think is fine but he does it without flinching for 4 hours. You still may think that this is fine as a one off but he has at this point made over 280 of these videos and they are broadcast live on Google Hangouts.

There is nothing more to it. He sits motionless wearing nothing but his smile, nothing phases him. This is reiterated more in the fact that in his 5th video burglars gained access to his house but instead of reacting he simply sat there staring at the camera, smiling. This freaked out the home-breakers so much they had little choice but to retreat with haste.

Now there are many theories as to why he does this. Some say that he has a screw loose. Some say it’s art, more likely endurance art inspired by Tehching Hsieh a man who imprisoned himself and endured other crazy experiments in the name of art.

He even has a Patreon account to help his cause.

He is not seeking fame or fortune and has rejected requests for interviews or explanation. I would love to hear what you think about this phenomenon.