# Who said 'Gassings' were all fiction??? How do you explain two people sleeping 16 hours?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987 "2010-03-19T07:40:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/61 "2010-03-19T15:33:32Z")
This could all be part of a plan in which travelers are knocked out with gas and their semen stolen (I saw something like this on an episode of _Law and Order_), so that at a later time they could be served with notices requiring them to pay child support. I’d hate to be **Welltravelled** , dreading that inevitable envelope in the mail. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/62 "2010-03-19T15:43:37Z")
> [@Welltravelled](#): > > Finally, you do not gas people through vents, you’d be very stupid. you’d kill people and couldn’t control how much you were giving them. > > No one gassed me through a vent, definitely not!!! > > If anything, doctors use handkerchiefs. They apply the liquid form of the substance and allow it to form a vapour. This is how doctors make people anesthetised when they are out in the field where they don’t have the gas machines used in the theatres. E.g. in times of natural disasters. That’s what doctors actually do, fact, real life. And what criminals have done in the past, including Joji Obara! So, wait - these people snuck into your room and used a handkerchief to gas you, you say? But, if these criminal masterminds knew that a stranger opening the door and coming right up to your bedside wouldn’t wake you, why would they think that a quick rummage through your stuff might wake you? Why wouldn’t they just go through your stuff while you slept? How do you propose that they gassed both you and your partner at exactly the same time, without either of you struggling or noticing the other one being gassed? Look, I’ve slept in literally hundreds of hostels, B&Bs, hotels, motels, etc. - some with virtually no security at all, and I’m 100% positive that nobody ever gassed me. I’ve also slept up to 18 hours straight after a long trip, and frequently woken up at the same time as my travelling companions. I would need a hell of a lot more evidence for gassing to think this was even remotely likely. ---
**Author:** ![wayward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a87d85/32.png) [@wayward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wayward)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/63 "2010-03-19T15:49:10Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Yes, and they do say some interesting things, don’t they? I remember years ago when my SO was heavily into the Heroes of Might & Magic game, he woke up one night and said “Are you going to make me into a castle now?” And had no recollection of it. > > I love being the non-talker in my sleep. It’s so much more fun. Don’t know f you’ve seen it but you have a kindred spirit here: [Sleep Talkin’ Man](http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/64 "2010-03-19T15:57:38Z")
I’ve slept 15 hours before, for no reason at all. Even if you had been gassed, you both wouldn’t necessarily wake up at the exact same time. Biochemistry is different for different people, you mentioned it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/65 "2010-03-19T16:02:46Z")
> [@wayward](#): > > Don’t know f you’ve seen it but you have a kindred spirit here: [Sleep Talkin’ Man](http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/) I have seen it. 🙂 My problem with a similar thing is I am a deep sleeper and so 90% of the time never hear what he says. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/66 "2010-03-19T16:06:16Z")
Wait… what’s all this then? There are an awful lot of people focusing on the one particularly bad night in Europe, but I think they’re missing the bigger picture. You and your partner… lose consciousness for hours at end? Go comatose and even experience vivid hallucinations? And this happens to you _on a nightly basis?!_ Jesus fucking Christ, that is some serious shit right there. Sounds like you’ve been being gassed for years! (Good god… The sheer number of physical violations which have most likely occurred…) Why haven’t you attempted to contact the police by now? ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/67 "2010-03-19T16:10:20Z")
Ive slept that long being jet lagged. The only gas involved was self-produced. > [@](#): > > There are an awful lot of people focusing on the one particularly bad night in Europe, but I think they’re missing the bigger picture. You and your partner… lose consciousness for hours at end? Go comatose and even experience vivid hallucinations? And this happens to you on a nightly basis?! There’s a standup who does a decent bit like this. Its pretty funny. Wish I could find it. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/68 "2010-03-19T16:13:52Z")
So what country was this in? What was the type of hostelry? Did you report your concerns to the local authorities, or go to the nearest US embassy/trade mission? What was their response? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/69 "2010-03-19T16:16:40Z")
Oh c’mon, _gassed_?! That’s just ridiculous. Any reasonable person could see that you were kicked in the head by a passing unicorn. Try to prove it didn’t happen! You can’t! See, I’m right. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/70 "2010-03-19T16:19:41Z")
> [@](#): > > But now, you’re saying that the lack of evidence means for an absolute definite, beyond reasonable doubt that nothing happened that could explain the period of unconsciousness for both people to the precise moment? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. All you have is a gut feeling about a crazy conspiracy. Dont act surprised when people stop taking you seriously. Not to mention, the logistics of gassing someone in a space like a hotel room. This stuff isnt like the movies. Anesthesia is a non-trivial problem. Even under controlled situations in hospitals people wake up in surgery or even die from complications. A hose under the door is so far from feasible its ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/71 "2010-03-19T16:23:57Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Oh c’mon, _gassed_?! That’s just ridiculous. > > Any reasonable person could see that you were kicked in the head by a passing unicorn. > > Try to prove it didn’t happen! You can’t! See, I’m right. I hate to junior mod here, but the OP wants a factual explanation. Now if you had said leprechauns… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/72 "2010-03-19T16:28:35Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > There’s a standup who does a decent bit like this. Its pretty funny. Wish I could find it. It kind of reminds me of the census taker sketch with Christopher Walken and Tim Meadows. I remember him saying something like, “No, I don’t work full time, I sleep for hours at a time, it’s embarrassing.” Anyway. I have a cold and last night I took some NyQuil. I went to sleep soon after, for a much deeper and longer sleep than I normally have. I’ve taken sleep aids before but never had this kind of sleep. I think I was gassed, please advise. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/73 "2010-03-19T16:29:38Z")
> [@Welltravelled](#): > > I don’t know the motive, but I can’t rule out physical violation. They say that Bill Cosby has been in Europe a lot lately… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/74 "2010-03-19T16:31:03Z")
> [@Welltravelled](#): > > 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). You were sleepy. Can we close this now? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/75 "2010-03-19T16:36:01Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Yes, and they do say some interesting things, don’t they? I remember years ago when my SO was heavily into the Heroes of Might & Magic game, he woke up one night and said “Are you going to make me into a castle now?” And had no recollection of it. > > I love being the non-talker in my sleep. It’s so much more fun. Sadly it took me a couple of years to understand that he never remembered whatever happens at night when he wakes up (because on my part, I always do, as far as I know), so I spent many mornings being frustrated that he had no memories of the serious stuff I had told him the night before, like, don’t hoard the duvets! :mad: **Welltravelled** , from when did you get the idea that people are regularly gassed at home or in hotels rooms anyway? Do you often watch/read many materials about that? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/76 "2010-03-19T16:36:18Z")
Was all your stuff missing? Someone did this for shits and giggles? I think not. ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/77 "2010-03-19T16:36:35Z")
I too was once inflicted with gassing. Almost on a monthly basis I would sleep 15+ hours and wake up with no clue about what had occurred during that time (other than suspecting gas). I eventually found a great way to ensure my security from the gassing. I became a parent to small children. I haven’t slept more than 7 1/2 hours since. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/78 "2010-03-19T16:41:44Z")
I’ve also heard tell that cats ward off gas. Something about how a gene on all felines neutralizes the sleep element in all gas? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/79 "2010-03-19T16:42:48Z")
> [@Welltravelled](#): > > P.S. You still didn’t answer my point about two people sleeping, uninterrupted to the exact same minute??? No waking, no tossing, no turning. What actually does that? Just ask yourself for two minutes? Not odd at all in my experience. > [@](#): > > Nearly each person who is tired, will sleep no doubt about it, but not nearly two people will react in the exact same way. And how does gassing explain this away? Why is it more plausible that two individuals who’ve been “gassed” would wake up at the same time than two merely tired people? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987/80 "2010-03-19T16:54:55Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’ve also heard tell that cats ward off gas. Something about how a gene on all felines neutralizes the sleep element in all gas? Yes, but cats steal a person’s breath while they sleep. :eek: We may be through the looking glass now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-gassings-were-all-fiction-how-do-you-explain-two-people-sleeping-16-hours/532987.md?page=5)