The Improbable Blog

Double Or Nothing

A page dedicated to a game of double or nothing started by Dan Q and Robin back in 2018, just for fun (and money!)

Number 1: The Stream Jump, 2018 (£10)

In 2018, Dan and some other members of my family created the amazing Challenge Robin II which took me from central London out to the wilds of Penzance on a mad clue-solving mission.

After successfully completing the challenge, Dan (who had been hiding in a caravan just outside Penzance the whole time) took me out for a day of geo-caching in the surrounding countryside, which was beautiful and led us to explore places that we would never have found otherwise.

At some point during the day, we started playing around with the slow motion settings on our phone cameras as we jumped increasingly large puddles from a recent storm, just a couple of guys fooling about in the late October sun.

Then on the way back to the caravan I claimed that I could jump the river (stream) that we were walking beside – Dan said he didn’t think I could – I asked him to put his money where his mouth was – he bet me £10 – and then:

Will I make it??

Landing safely on the other side I realised that 2 things had happened.

My feet were dry as a bone, because I had made the jump (just) and I had made money from doing a stupid thing.

My world would never be the same again.

Number 2: Nevis Say Never, 2018 (£20)

2 months later and I remembered that Dan still hadn’t coughed up the £10 from our first bet as we summated Ben Nevis on New Years Eve 2018.

This was handy because there was a pub at the bottom and £10 would stretch much further in Scotland than England, so I decided that this would be a good place to cash in.

All would have been well, if I hadn’t met a new pal in the storm shelter at the top of Ben Nevis. Cue Roshana from New Zealand who had overtaken us on the way up and was pulling out a bottle of Whisky in exchange for the half my sandwich I’d offered her – needless to say we became fast friends.

Merry (from the whisky) and emboldened by making the climb, Roshana and I decided to take a swim in the Loch that sits about half way up Ben Nevis on the way back down.

Dan, seeing an opportunity, offered me double or nothing on our previous bet, claiming that I couldn’t cross the (swollen) river Nevis when we reached the bottom.

This time he was playing dirty, as my niece was there to shout warnings at me from the sidelines and make me realise what a terrible example I am:

Wade easier than I thought it would be…

But the river gods were on my side, and it turned out it was pretty easy river to cross (if not a little cold) and more importantly – I had now made £20 just from being an idiot.

Could I be on track to becoming rich?

Number 3: An ice Winter Afternoon, 2020 (£40)

It’s been almost 2 years since our last round of double or nothing and I can confirm that I have not become rich in the mean time!

That said, the game doesn’t end until I cash out or fail so the show must go on (or end disappointingly and abruptly).

In November 2020 I decided that I was going to do 30 days of Ice Baths, inspired by the legend of Wim Hof.

I didn’t have any intention of using this for financial gain until I was nearing the end of the challenge and I mentioned to Dan that I was thinking of doing a grand finale and sitting in an ice bath for 5 minutes.

It didn’t take long for us to shake hands and agree to a further £40 bet.

The problem was that I did 5 minutes in an ice bath on day 29 and it just seemed pathetic to pretend otherwise. So I did the decent thing and doubled the time (that’s how double or nothing works, right?) and decided the last ice bath would be in a paddling pool in the garden, in December, for 10 minutes:

Cool as a cubecumber

Yes that was a wheelbarrow and a bin full of ice, yes I had to build a ramp just so the ice could be tipped on to me and yes this was all my own stupid idea.

But the game continues and I am now sitting on a trebled fortune of £40 – but let’s be honest… it’s not as good as £80.

Merry Christmas everyone, and may 2020 fuck the fuck off! xx

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