on second thought, it would have to involve TV ads, slap guitar, music video, and japanese gameshow.

We need more videos of Japanese TV! I love seeing CD players being wrecked and kids learning how to Poop. And what's up with those gameshows where people get beaten by guys with baseball bats and male contestants get their ears chewed on by toothless old men? Seriously, this is some funny stuff- for a citizenry with such a reputation for being subdued and concerned with manners and customs, they sure have some crazy shit on their TVs!

dee, my first thought was also "Jebus, you could seriously not live too long after a wake-up like that", and I'm sure there must have been at least one instance of someone croaking on these kind of shows. If someone creeps up behind me and pops a balloon I have to hang out my trousers to dry.

The most amazing thing for me is that UK telly has always gone out of its way to portray Japanese, Chinese and Korean gameshows as being repulsively cruel to the participants, and yet you just have to scan the pages of any Radio Times to realise we're now just as bad -- actually, a lot worse -- than have ever been. I'd not be surprised if Japanese, Chinese and Korean telly portrays us as sadistic westerners.

Anyway, as a certified non-lurker of a certain age I too remember the Noel Edmunds 'incident' to which you referred. Here's something quite similar from a more recent time, you may have seen it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4819094.stm

I dread to Google for the video but reckon it's out there, somewhere.

There was a spate of "haha people throwing up!!!" videos a short while back, and unlike the majority of posts here these are not the kind of thing you want to share with your kids or watch over a meal. VideoSift is, on the whole though, very palatable.

Though I dare say that the people-eating train will appear some day...