I was going to post this over the weekend but never got around to it. On the drive into work this morning Garner Andrews from Sonic 102.9 talked about this very same video so in case others had heard that segment and wanted to see the video here it is.
The video Garner referred to was a man trapped in an elevator for 41 hours back in 1999. The details of this are covered in this weeks NewYorker.com. The article is quite long, but there were a lot of details to cover, like how someone did not notice he was in the elevator for that long, what he did with his time, and the fallout of such an incident.
Even though he won a settlement, it took four years to complete and his life does not resemble what it was before. He never returned to work because of the risk it may do to his mental health, he lost his apartment, spent all of his money and is currently unemployed.
Elevator Video, Journeys (3:03)
The video is quite haunting and fascinating and worthy of several viewings. He had no watch, no means of communication and no one answered the emergency alarm. He had no idea how long he was in there for, or if rescue was on his way. This is the ultimate in solitary confinement because it was completely unexpected.
What do you do in a situation something like this? I can entertain myself for several hours without any external stimulation but 41 hours would be very taxing and not knowing how long you slept for or how much time has passed would be disorientating.
