“My head is as strong as iron!” It’s not a boast many people would bother making, let alone stick around for looking for proof. But in China’s Shandong province, the strength of one’s head is sometimes the only show in town.

According to the China Daily, the only newspaper in the world to report on the story, a young man, having just seen a guy on TV collapse a wall with a headbutt, announced to his pals that his own head was as durable as iron. Yes, they had all been drinking, but surely it was the confidence that can only come from having a head as tough as iron that must have inspired the man to back up this lofty claim with a demonstration. He grabbed an empty off the table, raised it above his head and brought it sweeping downward.

Unlike iron, the man’s head promptly began bleeding. Thanks to the emergency surgery, he’s expected to be just fine. Pity they didn’t need to put a steel plate in there.

» Scott Saxon