# chilean mine rescue cage--could you ride in this claustrophobic trap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612 "2010-10-09T16:45:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/21 "2010-10-09T23:37:37Z")
I don’t think it would bother me too much (though of course the additional risks might!). I’m not claustrophobic and an hour really isn’t that long. If I can have music on the way down as a distraction, that would help a lot, though. I’d get bored otherwise! I’ve had an MRI before and it was actually rather entertaining - the machine kept making these rhythmic noises that I imagined as really, really bad dance/techno music, and I kept having to refrain from laughing! ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/22 "2010-10-10T00:06:29Z")
You’d be surprised at what you can do when you have to. I recall reading a study about phobic people who experience life in WWII German concentration camps. These were people who had debilitating phobias. For instance, if they saw a snake or mouse they would freeze in terror and not be able to function. The odd thing was after the camps were liberated, about 95% of the people with these debilitating phobias came out phobia free. They were no longer afraid. And other studies also point to this. People who undergo horrifying situtations and live through them often find they are no longer afraid of other things and lose their unrelated phobias. So being trapped in a mine for months might just cause them to lose any fear of close in space they might have ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/23 "2010-10-10T01:56:21Z")
I read somewhere (Wikipedia?) that the cage will have a bottom that can be opened in an emergency if it gets stuck. The person inside can exit out the bottom. I also read that the guys have to lose weight so that they fit in the cage! They’ve all lost weight already…not sure how many have to trim down further to fit in the cage. I’d do it tho. Not claustrophobic. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/24 "2010-10-10T02:24:52Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > How long is the tube ride? The article says 15-20 minutes. Tranquilizers shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve heard mention of using blindfolds as well. I’m sure CNN will be all over that when they start coming out. It was quite riveting to watch those WV (or PA?) coal miners being rescued a number of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/25 "2010-10-10T02:56:21Z")
No biggie for me. At 21 inches, it is the same size as the inside of the hull of our six person outrigger (Hawaiian) canoe, in which I have been known to snooze on occasion. I’ve been stuck a couple of times caving – once so tight that I had to work my way through by exhaling and then only breathing very shallowly, and another time where it was so tight that it stripped my pants and a bit of skin off. Those instances didn’t bother me at all. If you ever want an interesting sensation, get in a cage at a deep mine with a full shift crew stuffed in with you like riders on the Tokyo subway in rush hour. Then the cage drops – whee! It’s not like a sky-scraper elevator – it’s like an amusement park ride the way it drops. It isn’t a smooth ride, and it’s pitch black like you’ve never experienced before, but you don’t have to worry about keeping your balance, for you are wedged in there as solidly as sardines in a can. My guess is that the miners will experience nothing but relief and joy as they each ascend in the capsule, particularly after what the went through for the first seventeen days. I take my hat off to them for their patience and determination. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/26 "2010-10-10T03:00:41Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > You’d be surprised at what you can do when you have to. > > I recall reading a study about phobic people who experience life in WWII German concentration camps. These were people who had debilitating phobias. For instance, if they saw a snake or mouse they would freeze in terror and not be able to function. > > The odd thing was after the camps were liberated, about 95% of the people with these debilitating phobias came out phobia free. They were no longer afraid. > > And other studies also point to this. People who undergo horrifying situtations and live through them often find they are no longer afraid of other things and lose their unrelated phobias. > > So being trapped in a mine for months might just cause them to lose any fear of close in space they might have Well, I imagine if I were starving to death in a concentration camp I would lose my fear of rats in a real hurry too. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/27 "2010-10-10T03:37:28Z")
I’m a caver. I would love it. I used to be slightly claustrophobic when I was a kid, but if you love caves, you get over that quite quickly. I’ve gone through some incredible squeezes in the earth. Spaces so tight that it felt easier to get through after exhaling all of my air. And I’ve gone through those same spaces when they were sumps, submerged under icy water. To avoid looking like an internet tough guy, I will readily admit that I would never walk steel beams like these [fellas](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Lunch-atop-a-skyscraper-c1932.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/28 "2010-10-10T03:47:23Z")
> [@robby](#): > > It’s not a job for the claustrophobic. As a division officer, I did it once. It wasn’t very pleasant, but I got used to it after a few minutes. > > I think it would be worse to be locked into a steel cage. At least I could have always just backed out of the torpedo tube. I once heard an interview with a retired SEAL senior chief. He had served in a winter warfare platoon and done all sorts of badass and profoundly difficult, stressful, dangerous work, but he said that in his mind, the three hardest jobs in the SEAL teams were winter warfare, counter-terrorism, and anything that had anything to do with delivery vehicles. He described it as “Cramming four 200+ pound monsters in a space big enough for one guy to be uncomfortable in, cramming all the equipment you can fit around them, cycling the hatch shut, and then sitting there for 10-14 hours unable to really move or do anything beyond trade insults with your teammates.” ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/29 "2010-10-10T05:00:54Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > No biggie for me. At 21 inches, it is the same size as the inside of the hull of our six person outrigger (Hawaiian) canoe, in which I have been known to snooze on occasion. One day I will meet you and paddle with you. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/30 "2010-10-10T05:08:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t think the impulse itself was jerkish. Everybody has poor impulses from time to time. That’s not jerkish in itself. Giving into them is what’s jerkish. Huh? What does this have to do with the rest of the thread? **Shagnasty** , your way would actually make the ride WORSE for me. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/31 "2010-10-10T05:16:50Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > > [@Mangosteen](#): > > > > How long is the tube ride? > > The article says 15-20 minutes. > > Tranquilizers shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve heard mention of using blindfolds as well. I’m pretty claustrophobic, so when I went for an MRI I knew it would freak me right the hell out, so I closed my eyes and kept them closed until they let me out. Cats calm down too, when in transit etc. and in unfamiliar places, if they don’t have to see what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/32 "2010-10-10T05:26:49Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > > [@Mangosteen](#): > > > > How long is the tube ride? > > The article says 15-20 minutes. > > Tranquilizers shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve heard mention of using blindfolds as well. > > I’m sure CNN will be all over that when they start coming out. It was quite riveting to watch those WV (or PA?) coal miners being rescued a number of years ago. If the cage bottom opened that would be helpful. I’d need serious drugs to function and it would be best if I was knocked unconscious so as not to remember any of it. People don’t understand claustrophobia. It can trigger a massive panic attack and no amount of mental reasoning will work if egress is not available. I suspect the miners don’t suffer from it by default so they should hold up well. The doctor may be a different story. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/33 "2010-10-10T06:22:19Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > …The doctor may be a different story. One hopes the doctor would be pre-screened for claustrophobia. S/he’s also probally either; being payed very well, a poor doctor, or in the military. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/34 "2010-10-10T08:54:24Z")
You’re looking at it all wrong. Don’t think about being in that cage… Think about being the last guy down there. Alone. For an hour or two. Nobody around. Nobody to watch your back. 2 miles of rock separating you from the nearest human. Waiting for the cage to come back. What was that noise? Who’s there? Oh, and I’d have no issues with the cage. Not a caver, but I’m completely unworried by tight spaces that have no spider webs. Or high spaces with no spider webs. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/35 "2010-10-10T09:32:56Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > You’re looking at it all wrong. Don’t think about being in that cage.. Think about being the last guy down there. Alone. For an hour or two. Nobody around. Nobody to watch your back. 2 miles of rock separating you from the nearest human. Waiting for the cage to come back. I would bet more on that last guy smiling and saying: “Finally;… some **me** time!” ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/36 "2010-10-10T09:43:24Z")
If it was the only way out, I’d be on that thing in a second. But the doctor who is knowingly going down there? Tremendous respect for him. (Or her, but I’m assuming it will be a man.) I often find myself getting irritated by the overuse of the word “hero”, but THAT is heroic. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/37 "2010-10-10T10:07:29Z")
I think I’d need a cyanide capsule just in case. > [@CutterJohn](#): > > You’re looking at it all wrong. Don’t think about being in that cage.. Think about being the last guy down there. Alone. For an hour or two. Nobody around. Nobody to watch your back. 2 miles of rock separating you from the nearest human. Waiting for the cage to come back. > > What was that noise? Who’s there? Let’s hope that person never saw _The Descent_. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/38 "2010-10-10T11:58:33Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I read somewhere (Wikipedia?) that the cage will have a bottom that can be opened in an emergency if it gets stuck. The person inside can exit out the bottom. And then what? You’re halfway up, it gets stuck, you exit the bottom, and fall 1000 feet? Delightful. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/39 "2010-10-10T14:08:18Z")
> [@MN\_Maenad](#): > > Last I’d heard it was going to be someone from the military - spec ops type. Those guys are usually pretty hard core. Good, but he shouldn’t wear a gasmask or else he could be taken for a turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612/40 "2010-10-10T14:13:47Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > > [@Magiver](#): > > > > …The doctor may be a different story. > > One hopes the doctor would be pre-screened for claustrophobia. S/he’s also probally either; being payed very well, a poor doctor, or in the military. I’d imagine large mining companys have doctors on staff to attend to injured workers in the mines. Seems like such a doctor would make more sense then one in the military. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chilean-mine-rescue-cage-could-you-ride-in-this-claustrophobic-trap/556612.md?page=3)