A video that’s gone viral on Twitter this week shows a troubling trend among teenagers in Edmonton, Canada. On Sunday, Twitter user Bashir Mohamed posted a compilation of videos taken at West Edmonton Mall. The supercut shows teen after teen jumping over the guardrail of a high balcony before plunging into a huge artificial lake below. Judging by the number of clips, the West Edmonton Mall jump has become something of a tradition for local teens.
Rest of Canada: Edmonton has no culture
— Bashir Mohamed (@BashirMohamed) May 11, 2020
Edmonton: pic.twitter.com/1ddTM5QgYG
A Lake in a Mall?
Here’s a little background for those wondering what a shopping mall is doing with a giant indoor lake, complete with pirate ship. The West Edmonton Mall is famous for being the largest shopping mall in North America, beating out New Jersey’s American Dream Meadowlands for the top spot.
The enormous mall boasts its own amusement park, water park, ice rink, and mini-golf course in addition to the requisite retail experiences. The lake that’s become a destination for teenage daredevils was once part of an attraction called the Deep Sea Adventure — think a smaller version of Disneyland’s submarines.
Fortunately for these amateur divers, the ride was closed down and the subs removed in 2005. However, Mohamed says that the lake was a destination for teen troublemakers even before the ride closed.
“Most people in Edmonton know someone that has jumped or has heard of someone jumping in,” Mohamed said, according to Vice. “Even [Jackass star] Bam Margera jumped in the lagoon in the ’90s.”
While the number of clips of youngsters diving into the lake is impressive, the jump isn’t the only mischief teens get up to at West Edmonton Mall. Mohamed went on to share a second video, which he couldn’t fit into his first supercut, of a couple of teens exploring the roof of a cinnamon bun stand. The results are best seen for yourself.
Tossing in the cinnzeo video because the people demand it.
— Bashir Mohamed (@BashirMohamed) May 11, 2020
I was initially planning on ending the video with it but twitter only allows a 2:20 vid length and there were so many gems. pic.twitter.com/4TP0jfdIMw
Edmonton Mall Jump — Sources
Best Edmonton Mall
The Canadian Encyclopedia
Twitter
Vice
Wikipedia