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Two Siberians Lacerate Ears Over Drunken Bet

A bet is a bet, according to the outcome of an arm wrestling match between two drinking buddies in the southwestern Siberian region of Kuzbass in which the loser was to cut off his ear, regional police said.

"During a drinking party, [two men] decided to hold an arm wrestling 'tournament' and according to the rules of the drunken contest, the loser was to cut off his ear," the police said.

The loser of the first round was not satisfied with the results, so the two decided to hold a second round, which ended in a tie.

They both finally came to an agreement that the bet nonetheless needed to be fulfilled, so they each cut off their left ear: one completely, the other only half way, according to the police report.

Both arm wrestlers have been hospitalized, but no details of their condition were provided by the police.

A similar incident occurred in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk in December. During a drinking binge, the host cut off part of one of his guests' ear on a bet. Apparently the friends had decided that the host should "slightly" cut someone's ear. Doctors were able to sew the ear back together.

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