Senators meeting to end the shutdown of the US government were forced to take turns with a 'talking stick' in an attempt to prevent tensions from boiling over.
CNN reports that Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine implemented the talking stick during talks to ensure discussions remained civil.
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According to one Republican senator present at the meeting, the stick was mostly successful.
However, in one incident, a senator disobeyed the rules of the stick, and the stick was "forcefully delivered " across the room.
Nobody was hurt in the incident but a glass elephant belonging to Ms Collins suffered damage from being hit by the stick.
After that, the stick was removed and replaced by a small rubber ball.
One senator told CNN that despite the poor impression that being forced to use a talking stick may give, the meeting went well and was one of the most entertaining he had attended.
The US government shutdown has now ended.
Newshub.
