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Thousands Trampled in Rush to Apply for Jobs at Shanghai Hooters
More than 4,000 people were trampled to death during a stampede as long-repressed Chinese women lined up to apply for jobs at the new Hooters in Shanghai.
Chinese authorities feared they were under nuclear attack after millions heard a loud whirring sound that extended from Shanghai to Beijing to the rural provinces. But it turned out to be nothing more than Chairman Mao spinning in his grave.
"I have long dreamed of being freed from the shackles of repression and getting to wear skimpy orange shorts and a teeny tiny white shirt while serving chicken wings to drunken men," said Xiang Xing, who stood in line for 46 hours to apply.
Xing was anxious to hear whether she would be hired at the Shanghai Hooters, which also plans to have 52-inch TVs to show table tennis, soccer and NBA games featuring Chinese star Yao Ming.
It was unclear whether the Shanghai Hooters will also have food and drink specials for NFL football from America, since, as the cliché goes, one billion Chinese don't care who wins the Super Bowl, much less a regular-season game.
Nonetheless, count Xing among those who figure that Hooters will bring some class, as well as exhilaration, to a country not exactly known as a worldwide fun spot.
"It is indeed a great breakthrough for our country," Xing said, as hundreds of the dead and injured around her were transported to hospitals. "We have McDonald's and other fast-food places like that. But Hooters will show that we can rock and party with the best of them."
Hooters spokesman Jon Zaccaria said the company is excited about its China expansion. "It's not a joke," Zaccaria said. "We really are in China. We hope it'll be profitable for us, and give Shanghai residents a place where they can sample some Western culture at its finest. If all goes well, we expect to open more Hooters all along the Great Wall."
Xing said she had just one question. "What does Hooters mean?" she asked, looking at a company-branded T-shirt. "It has something to do with the sacred owls, right?"
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