Now I realize that our own economy is having some problems right now as well, but I hope it doesn't come to fighting lions as a stimulus idea.

Self-styled strongman Al Sayed al Essawy had an idea for lifting his country out of its post-revolution economic funk: Fight a lion.

Which is why on Saturday Mr. Al Essawy stepped into a steel cage with a 660-pound lion here in the middle of a wheat field in this farming hamlet. He glared at the lion and bared his teeth. He carried a "shield" made out of an old satellite dish.

His idea was to send a message to the world that "in Egypt you can see events that you can't see anywhere else." February's violent revolution here has taken a big bite out of tourism, which employs some 10% of all Egyptians.

For Mr. Al Essawy, the official reaction only reflects the government's unsophisticated sense of how to market itself. Mr. Al Essawy insisted that his intent was never to kill the lion, only to force it into "surrender."

"There are three scenarios," said Mr. Al Essawy before the showdown. "Either the lion will surrender, withdraw or faint."

via Strongman Roars to Egypt's Aid by Fighting a Bored Lion - WSJ.com.

Surrender, withdraw or faint are the only three options??  Ummmm, I can think of a fourth option...It’s crazy to think that someone actually considered some gladiatorial-style entertainment to stimulate a tourism economy.  Who knows though?  Your next vacation might be going to Egypt to watch lion fights.

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