【2017 Archives】

You017 Archivesabout to meet a legend of personal air conditioning. 

Earlier this week, Redditor Noerdy uploaded this delightful photo of a man cooling off with the help of a breeze from a Philadelphia subway grate. 



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CARD ID: 53008, CARD TYPE: Imgur


The photo naturally received its due praise and karma, but as comments continued pouring in, it became evident that this was not the first time this guy had done this. 


Comment from discussion Guy posts picture of man chilling over a subway grate, another redditor has picture of the same guy doing the same thing 3 years prior. As a reply to that comment a 3rd guy has yet another picture of same guy doing the same thing..


As the photo continued its ride on the upvote train, Redditors from the Philadelphia area and beyond became a unit of cracker jack private investigators. Each dug through their records to share their own experiences with "Cape Man".

This one was snapped by user rigma_one last 4th of July.


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This one dates five years back, snapped during Redditor dtails' roadtrip.


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And then a historical artifact dating back at least 20 years, courtesy of Surfacey.

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But that's not all. rhm2084 got creative and looked up the subway grate's location on Google Maps, and found that even Google had captured the man's cooling efforts.



But even that'snot all. In proper Reddit fashion, things got increasingly involved and borderline obsessive. 


Comment from discussion My New Spirit Animal.


TobagganFetish, who lives across the street, set up a livestream, as well as this edited timelapse that provides an insight on the surprising frequency with which this man visits the grate.



And finally, as is the case with all great viral photos posted on Reddit, Cape Man was posted to r/photoshopbattles, where he and his poofy clothes enjoyed being edited into such masterpieces as these.


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With the fun of "Cape Man" reaching such explosive engagement levels on Reddit, it's easy to overlook the finer details of who this man is, or what his story is. Redditor cerulean11 commented within the thread, emphasizing the importance of respecting him and his privacy. 


Comment from discussion My New Spirit Animal.


His dedication to personal comfort is one that has earned the internet's great respect and we wish him many more decades of standing on the subway grate. 

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.


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