New Yorkers understand unconventional living situations, but this one is a little too crooked to be real.
A documentary called Man in a Cube features a writer named "Dave" who claims to live inside the Astor Place Cube, an iconic New York City sculpture by artist Tony Rosenthal.
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According to the film, Dave, 37, moved into the cube a couple years ago because he was getting "burnt out with life in general." To pacify the situation, the artist allegedly moved into a sculpture in the island of a busy intersection, where tourists can physically spin his home around, as shown in the video.
As hilarious as the idea may be, it's a big hoax, as many viewers have already pointed out.
"This video is fictional. It is not possible to gain entry to the interior of this cube," a New York City Parks Department spokesperson told Mashable.
Image: YouTube, Man in a Cube
Image: YouTube, Man in a Cube
Image: YouTube, Man in a Cube
If "Dave" really had transformed the 64-square-foot space into a home, it would not even qualify for the worst living situations we've seen in New York City. At least it had a chemical toilet. It even had a makeshift exercise bike which the occupant supposedly used as a generator to power lighting and some basic electronics.
The video ends with a blatant plug for Whil, a self-proclaimed "brand about nothing." The idea behind it is a 60-second technique during which one should meditate and power down from the chaos of the connected world.
To be fair, disconnecting is indeed important, and it helps us recharge.
Viral marketers, take note. We've seen a lot of elaborate hoaxes on the Internet, but you can't push a square peg through a circle — or rather, you can't claim to live in a cube and expect everyone to fall for it.
Image: Flickr, Gary Wong