As someone who has destroyed many a bamboo shoot by accidentally stepping on it, I'm having a hard time believing that this would actually work. It makes a good story, but I remain to be convinced. How did they document this on the Discovery Channel?

I also had my doubts as they (myth Guys) did also. basically they determined the force it would take to pierce the human body. Then they tied one of their simulated bodies, they use these for all sorts of stuff. To a large pot of culming PH Spectabilis. Three days later the culms grew through the body. They were surprised also. I have read about this in some old bamboo books , even Marco Polo mentioned it in his book. Any one want to try it this Spring?

I will acknoledge that bamboo can get through pretty tough stuff (like my asphalt driveway), but I'm not sure how it would do if what it was growing into was moving around. While the shoot tips are persistent, they're also fragile. I dunno. I suggest you volunteer for a decisive test. I'll donate the bamboo!

Wow, as I read this, I wonder what people think about a discussion on impaling someone with a bamboo culm. OK, I grow over 25 different variety of bamboo,and your point about moving sounds plausible, so to make it work the 'victim" must be immobile. As for me trying it. I break out in a sweat when I go to the dentist. I say we try it on a squirrel. Kidding, or not.

Often times, the victim was tied to an old toilet bowl affixed to a post, and the bamboo was grown up through the toilet. As you can imagine, this set-up immobilized the victim and also provided easy access to the body. Very graphic, very sadistic.

Josh

Ok...now I know it's a myth because they never used to have Western-style toilets in Asia...

I heard that is where the term 'crap shoot' came from.

I'm moving my outhouse that sits next my Moso grove tomorrow!!

Chinese do have toilet bowels , but they are very different. I am having a hard time visualizing, The chinese toilet , or the classier ones I saw in "79 on the mainland had an bowl area that sat within a floor area and one would squat over it . Then one took a ladel and spooned water into the bowel pushing watever down a gulley to a down spout and away it went. I guess placing the dislodged toilet upside down,with the victim strapped over the area with the gully and hole. The gully would direct said culm through through the hole and held firmly in place it would pierce said soft belly after getting stuck under a rib. No body builders now, just a pencil pushing couch potato. Oh, cr@p, it is 11;15 pm and now I need to go to bed. I will be dreaming about this all night. YUCK

I think this is getting entirely too complicated....

Toilet bowels? Is that from eating too much rice?

You can tell it is Winter, we should be out grooming our groves, but here we are talking torture and toilets.
Check out the u-tube of the segment on Bamboo torture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhPbMpYkBHA

That first plant in the video will NOT grow through a person. It isn't even bamboo.

If a prisoner was lucky enough to have one of those plants attempted to grow through him, he would have been lucky...perhaps where the name came from...Lucky Bamboo.

aawww darn it I missed that episode, and I wanted to see it.
I could believe that it would be true, I've seen bamboo grow through concrete. Again as said above, the victim would have to be stationary. And if you think about the person who would be tortured, I doubt that they would just throuw a healthy untired person onto a bamboo patch, I'm sure they would do it to someone thats exhausted, or with broken limbs or something. Now back to Disney thoughts.....
lol

Kudzu,
paved roads were in short supply, let alone Western style toilets. I never said they tore an old toilet out of their five star hotel in order to have a planter for a bamboo sprout. But the fact is, Americans were there and American trash was there. Tires, washer-dryers, toilet bowls, old radios, et cetera. No myth.