Land diving (known in the local Sa language as Gol and in Bislama as Nanggol) is a ritual performed by the men of the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. The precursor to bungee jumping, men jump off of wooden towers around 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft) high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Land diving is done without any safety equipment. The tradition has developed into a tourist attraction.

According to the Guinness World Records, the g-force experienced by those at their lowest point in the dive is the greatest experienced in the non-industrialized world by humans.

The origin of land diving is described in a legend of a woman who was dissatisfied with her husband, Tamalie (or some variation of the name). It is sometimes claimed that the woman was upset that her husband was too vigorous regarding his sexual wants, so she ran away into the forest. Her husband followed her, so she climbed a banyan tree. Tamalie climbed after her, and so she tied lianas to her ankles and jumped and survived. Her husband jumped after her, but did not tie lianas to himself, which caused him to plummet and die. The men performed the original land diving so that they would not be tricked again.

Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English television personality, actor, author, former radio producer. He gained prominence as the producer of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's radio program on XFM. He appeared on The Ricky Gervais Show, presented the Sky travel series An Idiot Abroad, and made his acting debut on Gervais' 2012 comedy-drama series Derek.

Karl Pilkington was born and grew up in Trafford, Greater Manchester. He was educated at Ashton-on-Mersey School, receiving just one GCSE, an "E" in History. Pilkington only became aware of his GCSE results after Gervais and Merchant contacted the school after a conversation during their XFM show. Pilkington was surprised and upset at his results as he recalled sitting through several other GCSE exams, as well as sending in a "little clay man" for Art. A failure to register for the exams was offered as an explanation by Gervais and Merchant for his lack of other grades.

Pilkington relocated to London to work with XFM as a producer and after several years he began work on The Ricky Gervais Show, broadcast on Saturday afternoons. Initially Pilkington was solely the program's producer. However, as Gervais and Merchant began to invite him to make the odd comment, Pilkington's persona came to light and his popularity increased. Pilkington was eventually included as a main element of the broadcasts, with large amounts of airtime often given over to his thoughts on various subjects, or various childhood stories. In December 2005, Pilkington stood in for two BBC 6 Music shows for Nemone, and co-presented the shows with Russell Brand.