# How long would one stay alive in this horrific scenario? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972 "2011-06-27T01:42:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/21 "2011-06-27T13:17:46Z")
And if you found yourself in this unpleasant situation is there anything you could do to hasten your end? I guess chewing off your tongue or lips wouldn’t cause dangerous blood loss but maybe you could inhale it, and if you are too immobilized to cough… ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/22 "2011-06-27T14:38:02Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > With no movement allowed at all, thrombosis is going to set in within a few days. After that it’s a toss up what will kill you first: the embolism, the necrosis or the loss of clotting factor. What if the entire concrete shell was mounted on a frame such that it could be periodically rotated to alter the person’s spatial orientation? ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/23 "2011-06-27T14:40:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > “Longer than you think, Dad!” Thanks a lot for bringing back that little childhood horror of mine.. At first glance, the tamest story in the collection. Then you realize its by far the worst. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/24 "2011-06-27T15:32:52Z")
What about muscle breakdown from lying in the same position (a la when an elderly person falls and isn’t found for many hours)? When muscle cells lyse, they release potassium (potentially contributing to a heart arrhythmia) and myoglobin (which can fry your kidneys). I’m not sure if that would be enough to cause death, or to be the first cause of death, in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/25 "2011-06-27T16:00:13Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > “Longer than you think, Dad!” > > Thanks a lot for bringing back that little childhood horror of mine.. At first glance, the tamest story in the collection. Then you realize its by far the worst. What is that a reference to? I don’t recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/26 "2011-06-27T16:01:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What is that a reference to? I don’t recognize it. [“The Jaunt”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jaunt) by Stephen King. From _Skeleton Crew_. The link is to Wikipedia, which basically describes the whole story, so consider this a spoiler warning. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972/27 "2011-06-27T16:03:06Z")
“The Jaunt”, by Stephen King, from _Skeleton Crew_. Perhaps his best and most horrifying short story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-one-stay-alive-in-this-horrific-scenario/586972.md?page=1)