Basically, about 9 years ago, this guy (Nicholas White) left his office at about 11pm on a Friday night to take a quick smoke break and unfortunately got trapped in the elevator. No one came to his calls and then everyone left for the weekend. It wasn't until 41 hrs later, he was rescued. Now, 9 years later (and after a lawsuit he won), the elevator surveillance video has been released.
It's a time lapsed video of the 41 hours he was trapped, condensed to less than 2 minutes. "Edited to a soundtrack of classical piano music, the video shows him pacing, trying to climb the walls, lying down, curled up in a fetal position, prying apart the doors." - video website
"After a certain period of time I knew that I was in pretty big trouble because it was the weekend..." "I relieved myself down the shaft when the doors were open." - White
Click on this link to watch the video: New Yorker trapped in elevator for over 40 hours.
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I saw this while reviewing the news this morning and it sparked my interest... What would I have done if trapped in an elevator for 41 hours on my way back to my office?
First things first: What would I have on me coming back to my office?
I don't smoke, but let's make it across the board as close as possible to his situation. He went down to burn a quick one, not bringing anything additional back with him. So, perhaps he had a lighter - if you're thinking what I am thinking, we'd set the alarm off. However, we can't tell from the video that he had a lighter - and in some big places like that where there is a common smoking area/main street, it's not uncommon for people to just carry a cigarette or two down and light off someone else...(keep from getting bumbed off of all the time). So, for the sake of being conservative, let's say no lighter or any other cigarettes on you and, you didn't take your cell phone or purse to just burn a quick one - you're in a hurry so you can finish up your job and get home for the weekend...
So, you basically have on you what you have in your pockets or on your belt (minus a phone), etc while you are at work... And no one comes looking for you. And you can't figure/maneuver your way out - you're stuck for 41 hours.
Me: I have a couple of sticks of gum in my pocket and I have an ID card clipped to my belt. What am I going to do for 41 hours?
Initially, I would probably try to recall all the MacGyver episodes I ever watched as a kid in the 80's. "Did he ever escape out of an elevator with gum and a shoestring?" Then I'd crack a joke to myself like, "What would Brian Boitano do?" (for all you SouthPark fans) to relieve the sudden stress - and making fun of myself for thinking what MacGyver would do. "What about that Survivor board game I have? Man, why haven't I ever opened that?" And after several hours of trying to logically figure my way out of there to no avail, I think I would consider the fact that no one will find me until about 7 or 8 am on Monday morning - and I can live that long without food/drink, assuming the A/C or heat was still on since it's a large NY office building.
So then, after I threw a little tantrum kicking the door, for the next 30-something hours I think I would try to sleep as much as possible - that's how I normally try to pass time when I am really anxious about boring stuff like really long car rides/flights. (If you sleep until you get to your destination, then you're magically there in no time!) Then I would obsessively check the door to see if the elevator moved while I was asleep - every time I woke up.
Other than that, I'd probably pray and sing a bit, think about what I might want to do in the future - career and travel wise, count ceiling tiles/holes, do some stationary exercises (b/c I cannot be confined that long), vow to take the stairs, stretch, continuously monitor my watch - count down to Monday morning, plan a blog about it, try to sleep some more...think of a really good one-liner for why I will not be at work Monday morning, when I'm already there.
What about you guys? What do you think you would have done?
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4 comments:
Oh Amber, what a great post! I'm going to link this on my blog so others can read it!
As far as what I would do -- die. I could never, ever, ever be trapped in an elevator. I have major claustrophobia; I can barely ride in an elevator for 30 seconds. I would go insane. *shudder.
Boy, I don't know what I'd do - he didn't have a cell phone OR A WATCH. I think one of the hardest things for me to deal with would be not knowing what time it was.
I think...yeah, I think I'd try to sleep as much as I could. I'd probably start singing, too, and dancing - you know how I am. I would also worry overly much about my next meal, and then I'd try not to think about dying of starvation.
Wow. At least he knew he'd get rescued eventually...albeit two days later.
Did no one miss him at home? How sad...
P.S. Converted to stairs now, by the way.
Re: stairs - he worked on the 42nd floor. I would have to carve out an hour just to GET to work, not to mention leaving at any other time during the day - I bet I'd still take the elevator, though probably never alone, and never again without a cell phone...
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