Bus Bric-a-brac

How do you escape from a Chinese bus? With a Chinese Bus Emergency Escape Brick, of course!

Just in case their purpose is misconstrued, the yellow-painted bricks feature Chinese characters that translate to “for emergency use,” painted in bright red. The Harbin Public Transport Company in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang has retrofitted around 300 of their 700 bus fleet with two bricks each, stored under the driver's seat and under one of the rear seats.

The bricks replace special hammers meant to be used to break window glass and allow easy egress in the event of an accident.

Wouldn't a purpose-built hammer be easier for stunned and shocked accident victims to use? Perhaps, but... “The special hammers are expensive and people were always stealing them,” explained a spokesperson from the Harbin Public Transport Company. “We don’t think anybody will be interested in stealing bricks.”

I predict you shall regret that statement, sir.

On another note, I just completed my Christmas shopping: "No, really! It's a genuine Chinese Bus Emergency Escape Brick! Uh, don't sit it down on the coffee table; the paint is kinda still wet..."