Man voluntarily gets stuck in quicksand to demonstrate how to escape it

By Sam Wareing

Published Sep 6, 2022 at 12:27 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

35721

As kids, I think we’ve all had a collective fear of getting stuck in quicksand. Movies like Indiana Jones and numerous cartoons including Timon & Pumbaa ingrained in us that if we were to ever fall into the perilous sludge, there was very little hope of escape.

Thankfully, a Redditor has recently shared a clip of a very brave man instructing the public on what to do if they ever find themselves stuck in the wet sand.

Some may watch in horror as the wetsuit-clad man, Chris, attempts to purposefully get himself stuck in the gloopy mud. “Generally speaking, if you go down past your knee, depending on [the mud’s] consistency, you could be there permanently,” the clip’s narrator is heard saying. “So don’t wiggle from leg to leg, trying to pull one leg out and then shoving the other leg in.”

The actual method to survive and avoid being sucked into quicksand is probably not what you’re expecting at all, as the narrator explained and Chris demonstrated, “Fall onto your back, spread all the way onto your back.” That’s right—become one with the mud.

He continued: “Now wiggle your legs out and work them upwards. If you ever find yourself stuck in mud, that’s the only way to get them out.”

How to get out of deep mud when stuck
byu/cashmere1977-2 ininterestingasfuck

This tutorial fits nicely along the series of tips on what to do if you’re ever attacked by a shark—the chances of which are very slim for both, but regrettably, never zero. But back to the quicksand, it seems that even seasoned wilderness explorers are wary of being sucked into the hazardous ground, as resident wild man Bear Grylls showed viewers on his show Man Vs. Wild what to do if they ever found themselves in that situation.

“[A] muddy bog is a place where the earth will literally suck you in,” he explained. “These holes have been known to swallow entire small off-road vehicles. The reason they are so dangerous is because if you go into them, the more you struggle, the more it sucks you into it.”

The adventurer then proceeded to jump feet first into the bog, immediately sinking up to his hips. Rather you than us, Grylls. “Each muscle I pull creates suction that pulls me down deeper. A technique for getting out of this, if you’ve got a stick, is to use that to create more surface area to be able to put your weight on and try and wriggle your chest onto it,” he said.

Grylls wrapped up the tutorial with one final piece of advice: “Once you’re on the surface, just monkey crawl until you hit solid ground.” 

While these clips should make us feel more confident about encountering these situations, it just makes me want to never venture out of the house ever again. Thanks, but no thanks.

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

Why I never considered reporting the man who flashed me to the police

By Abby Amoakuh

Elon Musk’s trans daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson to leave US amid rumours of his ties to Trump administration

By Abby Amoakuh

White Lotus star called out for tone deaf comments about double standards with male and female nude scenes

By Charlie Sawyer

Here’s the real reason Armie Hammer shut down Louis Theroux’s questions about cannibalism

By Abby Amoakuh

Gen Z are now bringing their parents to job interviews, proving helicopter parenting has gone too far

By Abby Amoakuh

Who is Lauren Handy, the woman who kept the remains of five foetuses in her refrigerator?

By Abby Amoakuh

Lavender marriages are going viral right now as Gen Z throws in the towel on modern dating

By Charlie Sawyer

What is Liam’s Law? Fans start petition to protect musicians’ mental health following One Direction star’s death

By Charlie Sawyer

Not only are BMI scores sexist, racist and anxiety-inducing, they’re also massively inaccurate

By Joe Pettit

Why the internet made a CEO’s killer its new sex symbol

By Abby Amoakuh

TikTok mocks news outlet for not noticing it randomly caught Zendaya in its B roll footage

By Abby Amoakuh

Jacob Elordi divides the internet with new beard and long hair, setting off different theories

By Charlie Sawyer

The Girl’s Spot London female-only gym faces backlash after CEO reveals it will exclude trans women

By Charlie Sawyer

TMZ using Shawn Mendes’ sexuality for clicks proves they’ve learnt nothing since Liam Payne

By Charlie Sawyer

From performing at Mother Teresa’s canonization to 10+ film roles, no one works as hard as Rita Ora’s agent

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Old footage resurfaces allegedly showing Matilda Djerf mistreating Djerf Avenue employees

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

What’s Dior bags got to do with the Delta plane crash? Unpacking the wildest conspiracy theories about the Toronto flight

By Abby Amoakuh

As the Israel-Hamas war worsens, an Israeli and a Palestinian discuss the prospects for peace

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

London teachers warn of alarming rise in homophobic slurs in schools

By Charlie Sawyer

LGBTQIA+ crisis helplines report record calls from queer youth following Donald Trump’s win