#ManInTree Captivates the Internet for 24 Hours

If a man wants to gain a worldwide following of internet supporters by sitting in a tree for 24 hours, who are we to deny him that privilege?

The mysterious man, who has still not been named by authorities, was discovered perched at the top of an 80-foot pine tree in Seattle on Tuesday. Police found that he had climbed the tree in the middle of a crowded area, and not only did he refuse to come back down, but he also started doing things like tossing apples and pine cones down to onlookers who asked for them. (We have to assume he brought the apples up with him and they weren’t just up in the tree for some reason.)

He drew a crowd of onlookers and supporters, several of whom brought encouraging signs with them saying things like, “Trees are not owned. Leave him alone.” Meanwhile a livestream was set up, #ManInTree started trending on Twitter and Facebook, and someone created a Twitter account to give us constant updates on his status — because clearly we had nothing better to do that day. Maybe we should all get hobbies or something.

At one point the man nearly climbed down when a woman offered to kiss him, but then he changed his mind. Later on he was seen hanging upside down and whittling a stick.

Finally, after just over 24 hours, he came back down to the cheers of his supporters, at which point he reportedly sat on the ground and calmly ate a pear. He’s being checked out by mental health professionals but he seemed to be fine.

“There doesn’t have to be a ‘why,’” said onlooker Michael Brown, in my favorite quote of the event. “He can just climb a tree. This is America.”