other than dehydration and starvation.
Moderator Note
/v@l] [!3/V+!+, you’ve now started four threads in GQ in two hours. While your enthusiasm is nice, let’s slow down a bit and check how the others do before starting others.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Yes, you are describing a form of crucifixion. The muscles used for breathing would become fatigued and you would suffocate.
The Wikipedia on Unit 731, which I read because of a different thread, stated they choked to death. The cite they supplied was: Christopher Hudson (2 March 2007). “Doctors of Depravity”. Daily Mail.
I haven’t read the cite
Yes, you would die eventually. On the other hand, if you were sitting in a comfortable chair, with time allowed to eat, sleep and exercise, you would still eventually die, humans being mortal and all.
No cite (for now), but IIRC the cause of death in such a situation is actually heart failure (pulmonary edema) - basically the heart can’t keep working against gravity and eventually begins to fail at moving blood out of the lungs, i.e. eventually, the victims’ lungs fill up with water.
We have one-way valves in our veins which prevent pooling of blood. They, of course, are oriented to work when we are right side up.
They are useless when we are upside-down.
I figure, depending on the fitness of the individual, prolonged inversion could rupture cerebral blood vessels, causing a stroke.
If you’re hung the opposite of normal for more than four hours even after you “die”, consult a physician.
Crucifixion involves binding someone to a cross. I don’t see how merely binding their feet somewhere above their head counts as “a form of crucifixion”, since no cross is necessary.
I dunno about the dying part, but I’ve hung upside down for various reasons. IME you’d probably become unconsious pretty soon. After that, the actual dying is just a formality.
That happened to a guy I heard of once. But he was able to get his lightsabre and free himself, phew.
Here’s something that supports heart failure as the mechanism. Pulmonary edema isn’t stated (I assume that it would follow):