With the athletes getting stronger every year, World Strong Man (WSM) has decided to up the ante with a new event designed to push the physical and mental limits of mankind: The From-Factory Oil Filter Removal. Competitors will not be allowed to use common, desperation techniques such as using profanity, wrapping it in duct tape with the sticky side out, stabbing it with a screwdriver, giving every wrench you own a whirl, browsing how-to YouTube videos, Googling ‘Is it ok if my oil filter looks like a crushed soda can?,’ or admitting defeat and purchasing a tool actually designed for the job.
With the WSM competition just days away, many of the athletes feel ill-equipped to tackle such a challenge with nothing but their hands. “I get that tossing a 53 lb (23kg) keg meters into the air and lifting 353 lb (160 kg) stones are getting a bit easy for many of the athletes, but no training can prepare you for this kind of thing,” said Tom Stoltman, 2021 WSM champion. “It’s the Strong Man Competition, not the Strong Greek God Competition.” To make things more challenging, all oil filters will be coming from Japanese manufacturers who are notorious for using glue instead of grease upon installation and using plastic with a friction coefficient of 0.
“I suppose it could be worse,” Tom said. “We could have to install a chain master link with just our tongue.”