In 1964, Brian Robson, a teenager from Wales, gained worldwide attention after embarking on an unbelievable adventure. Having run out of money to pay for an airline ticket to go back to his country, the
19-year-old decided to try a bizarre plan that seemed almost absurd. The adventurous teen agreed to be mailed back to the UK inside a wooden box.
Brian Robson had migrated from Wales to Australia through a special migration assistance programme.
Upon arrival in the new country, Robson apparently found himself disappointed with life in the new environment and wished to go back to his native land, but he did not have enough money to buy an airline ticket to the UK.
Faced with no choice, Robson, together with his two companions, embarked on an innovative plan.
The three friends assembled a huge wooden box in which Brian Robson would fit after lying down in a fetal position. Robson reportedly used a box that measured only three feet long and had been labeled as computer parts.
In later interviews, Robson revealed that he carried water, food, a torch, a pillow, and a flask with him in case of an emergency. Small air holes were also put in the box to help him breath throughout the journey.
The box containing Robson was transported through international shipping services out of Melbourne.
At first, Robson anticipated the voyage to Britain to take about 36 hours; however, the travel took much longer and became highly risky.
During transportation, the box was often turned upside down. Robson later revealed that he experienced severe pain, exhaustion, and was scared throughout the whole time that he was in the small box. There were times when he thought he would die of dehydration or suffocation before reaching his destination.
However, the consignment did not reach London but Los Angeles.
When it was kept in a storage facility in America, the workers claimed that there were some strange noises coming from the box. Upon opening the box, they found the boy, tired and cramped up inside.
This odd discovery immediately became international news.
News articles about the unbelievable journey of the young man from Wales who mailed himself around the world appeared across the world.
Even with such an odd act, Robson was not punished. After recovering from his ordeal, he somehow managed to enter Britain legally.
His story remains one of the strangest cases of escape through travel.
