A lot of people seem to think that gassings (the use of anaesthetic gases such as ether or chloroform, or industrial solvents such as Hexane and Ethlyene to render a sleeping person into a deeper slumber) of people in their homes, caravans or hotel rooms aren’t possible… However, I beg to differ. I think my partner and I were definitely gassed and I have my story below which I think can only be explained by such an occurrence. If you can think of a more rational explanation please let me know!
I am trying to find an explanation for a strange situation that confronts me. I am trying to explain or even better, account for, a large period of unconsciousness experienced by my partner and I, that is, experienced by two people, not just one person. We had travelled from the west coast of North America to Europe (eastward flight), on a 7 and ½ hour flight, we left the origin at 7pm local time. We got some rest on the flight. We then arrived at our destination at 11.00am their time and stayed up until 11pm that evening and then went to bed. We awoke the following day at 2.30pm. That’s a full 15 and ½ hours of uninterrupted sleep, for two people who normally would only sleep 9 hours! How does one explain the 6 and ½ hours of extra sleep (or better put unconsciousness) for two people, not just the one person, but for both people?
Therefore, do these factors alone, that is, possible jet lag and sleep deprivation account for sleeping in, uninterrupted, to 2.30pm the next day from 11pm the previous? If so, then why haven’t there been any reports from people saying that jet lag kept them under for 16 hours? There are plenty of reports from people and medical doctors that when under the influence of an anaesthetic gase people don’t wake up easily.
So for all you people out there that believes gassing is an urban myth, I challenge you to put forward a rational and logical reason that explains the experience of my partner and I other than, the use of a gas (not injections).
Background information: both of us were exposed to rapid movement across several time zones (possible jet lag); and over the previous 36 hours had rested only on the flight over, before settling down to bed. In the past 4 hours before heading to bed not one of us had drunk or eaten anything at all and we don’t drink alcohol.
Why wouldn’t jet lag along be sufficient to explain what happened? You say there was “possible jet lag”, but going from the west coast of North America to Europe is far enough that you would most definitely get jet lag. Also, people often find traveling west to east (as you did) is more disruptive than going east to west.
You say you left at 7pm local time, had a 7.5 hour flight, arrived at 11am and stayed up until 11pm.
Assuming you woke up at 9am local time, then you were awake for 10 hours before the flight, on the plane for 7.5 hours, and awake at the destination for 12 hours. So you were awake for a total of 29.5 hours. You say you “got some rest on the flight”. Assuming you didn’t really get a lot of sleep, or good quality sleep, on the flight, what’s so surprising about sleeping for 15.5 hours after you were awake for about 30 hours before that? It would be surprising if you didn’t sleep extra.
2:30 pm would equate to about 5:30 or 6:30 am on the West coast, depending on where in Europe you were. The time you wake is generally determined by when your body-clock thinks is ‘normal’, not by how many hours you slept. You get jet-lag precisely because your body-clock is out of synch with your location.
I also have a hard time believing that flights from the West coast only take 7.5 hours. Normal flight time NY -> London is ~ 7hours, maybe 6 with a good tail wind. Last time I flew SF -> London it was more like 11 hours. Maybe Welltravelled missed part of it asleep
As do I, but on the off chance that OP is for real…I have made such a trip (North America to Europe) on several occasions, and I have done the staying awake for 30 hours during the course of the trip and arrival day. In such instances it would be unusual for me to sleep less than 15 hours afterward (and I am an insomniac who typically sleeps very little).
But if OP is looking for a “real” answer beyond anecdotes, I’d have to ask why is “gassing” being considered to begin with? What happened while you were asleep? Were you robbed? Physically violated? But better yet, what about the hotel or room that you slept in? I assume that the door would be locked behind you when you went to bed; was it locked when you awoke?
There are just too many reasons gassing is an illogical conclusion to jump to, even if it were a real possibility. The first thing one would have to consider is the person doing the gassing. What was in it for them? Why would they risk the crime (and cost of the gas, etc.) just to make someone sleep for a while?
Until these questions are answered (logically) I am afraid gassing can’t even be considered as a possible explanation for the OP’s sleeping habits.
Negative. It’s your job to present evidence as to why “gassing” is more logical and rational than “you were sleepy”. I’m going to go with the most plausible and simplest explanation first (which is “sleepy”).
And don’t underestimate the cost. Rooms aren’t air-tight, and some kind of anesthetic gas would need to be applied, and continuously resupplied, in extremely large quantities over hours to make someone sleep in a room for that long. Not to mention the high likelihood of killing them instead, accidentally - modern anesthesia is applied with the help of more than one person directly monitoring the vital signs of the anesthetized patient, and supplying oxygen or more anesthesia as needed.
If you’re looking for an outside source of trouble, a carbon monoxide leak would be more likely, but also likely to cause physical aftereffects and/or death.
When you say that you “stayed up until 11pm that evening”, it was actually 6 or 7 AM local time. So, sleeping until 2:30 PM means you got around eight hours of sleep. Mystery solved!
I have not heard about “gassing” in hotel rooms (what could possibly be the motive? to get you to stay over an extra night?) but it sounds like another manifestation of paranoia, similar to the belief that strangers are turning x-rays or electromagnetic pulses on you for nefarious purposes.
Since no “proof” can ever be furnished to the OP that the Mad Hotelier did not in fact anesthetize he and his traveling companion for reasons unknown, this thread is doomed to an unproductive byplay involving the credulous, the incredulous and the mirthful.
I’ve read about these sorts of things as urban legends of traveller beware! (IIRC one was that the couple was gassed in a low-end hotel or hostel in Amsterdam, then robbed).
A friend of mine who is an anaesthatist once mentioned (not in this context) that the reason a full-time doctor administers anaesthetic is that it is basically low-level poisoning; inattention and the wrong mix of the gas to oxygen and the patient can easily die. If there was an easy gas that you could dribble into the room to safely knock out the occupants, it would be used a lot more in hostage and stand-off situations. Police have no compunction using a Taser, which is basically marginally electrocuting someone.
Plus, the volume of gas required to flood a decent-sized, likely ventilated room…
We don’t hear stories of tourists asphyxiating mysteriously in their hotel rooms. I suspect sneaking in quietly while the person is asleep is a much quicker and safer technique; less likely to result in multiple homicide charges. Probably doesn’t require a room to be ventilated, or bring gas masks, to rob the place afterwards.
Quick, safe, fast acting and longer-term knockout gas is AFAIK in my inexpert opinion, a myth; or doctors would use it too. IIRC John Wayne Gacey used chloroform on a cloth on his victims. I recall an interview with one who escaped where the guy mentioned he still had chronic liver problems from the dose of chloroform he received. And of course, chloroform is a favourite biologist’s way of killing things from fruit flies to large animals.
