Drummond Puddle Watch brings the City to a standstill as nearly 20,000 people watch a live stream
Could this be the solution to the UK's productivity puzzle?
Never mind HSBC’s ongoing online banking crisis, or North Korea’s latest announcement that it is testing hydrogen bombs: City folk are far more concerned about how people are going to get across a massive puddle hundreds of miles away.
In fact, of the 20,000-odd people who have been watching the trials and tribulations of passers-by trying to ..er… pass by the puddle, more than a few herald from financial institutions.
Deputy head of policy at the IoD Jimmy McLoughlin admitted the live stream had brought his office to a standstill.
My entire office have discovered @periscopeco for the first time and they are doing no work – a puddle in Newcastle https://t.co/dKzRtp7Tpv
— Jimmy McLoughlin 🐑🇺🇦 (@jimmym) January 6, 2016
A spokesperson added dryly (sorry): “The IoD has long been a passionate advocate of disruptive innovation and the Northern Powerhouse.”
Staff at YouGov were also gripped by the action.
The whole of the @YouGov political team is hooked on #DrummondPuddleWatch. High drama from the north. @JoannaUK
— Joe Twyman (@JoeTwyman) January 6, 2016
But the excitement of watching people attempt to cross the puddle has not, it seems, been an unproductive afternoon for everyone.
One Newcastle-based photographer has collected water from the offending pond-like basin and is selling it on Ebay. Although the initial bids would suggest she might not have struck oil with the idea…
Now you can own a part of the #DrummondPuddleWatch water https://t.co/n1piaozg50 The worlds most famous puddle. pic.twitter.com/FgP5UiuH0f
— Katie Byram Photography (@KatieByramPhoto) January 6, 2016