Misconceptions about Things that Kill You - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep. 37) | Mental Floss

Hi, I'm Elliot, and this is Mental Floss on YouTube

Today I'm going to talk about some misconceptions about deadly things and situations. So buckle up

No, really. Misconception number one, you sink in quicksand

As John Mulaney said, I always thought quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem than it turned out to be

A 2005 study published in the journal Nature found that people can't totally sink in quicksand

We actually float in it because we're not dense enough to sink in the mixture of sand, clay, and salt water

Even if someone struggles and wiggles like we're told not to do, the most a person will sink is probably waist deep

At that point, if they just wait patiently for the quicksand to settle, they should be able to start floating out

Misconception number two, pulling out a knife is better than leaving it inside you

If you get impaled by any object, and I sincerely hope you don't, you should leave it in, then call 911 or get to the emergency room

Emergency medicine physician from the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. David Beiser

has said, Misconception number three if you run out of water in the desert you can drink from a cactus People may tell you that if you stranded and dehydrated in the desert you should try to open a cactus for water First of all that is not water okay

It's more juicy cactus pulp. And second, that juicy cactus pulp contains a lot of toxic alkaloids

which can make a person vomit or have diarrhea, which will only make them more dehydrated

So just, if you're out there, just good luck. Which brings me to misconception number four

If you're dehydrated, you can drink your own urine. Gross. Many people have claimed that drinking their own urine has saved them in desperate situations

I'm looking at you, Bear Grylls, okay? And it's true that this will work for a day or two

But 5% of urine is waste products that your kidneys are intentionally getting rid of

So as you continue to pee and drink, just having a great time, partying or whatever

the urine will contain more and more waste products which are dangerous to drink. This will eventually cause kidney failure

Also, gross. Misconception number five. An umbrella will slow a big fall

It will not. In fact, in 2013, pro skier Eric Rohner tried to skydive with just an umbrella and a backup parachute

It may have slowed him down a little bit at first, but within a few seconds the umbrella flipped up, making it completely useless

Misconception number 6. House fires are less likely than fires in commercial and public buildings According to a survey conducted by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers 65 of Americans feel safer from fires at home compared to a commercial or public building

But most deaths due to fire happen in the home. In 2011, there were around 2,500 deaths in the U.S. due to fires in the home

That same year, there were only about 100 deaths due to fires in non-residential buildings

Misconception number seven, there are no tornadoes in winter. Not true. Tornadoes are possible any month or season

In fact, in 2008, there was a notable tornado outbreak on February 5th and 6th in the southern United States

Five states were affected over the course of about 15 hours. Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee

And actually, tornadoes can be even deadlier in the wintertime because they typically move faster

That was me doing a tornado. Miming a tornado. You're welcome. Misconception number eight

If an elevator is falling, jumping will save your life. People say that if you're caught in a falling elevator, jumping at the exact moment of impact might save you

But this doesn't really work, okay? you would need to have a very impressive reaction time, and even still, you could only reduce the speed of your impact

by about two to three miles per hour. You'd also need to jump faster than the elevator was falling

which would be pretty tough considering falling elevators tend to hit the ground at about 50 miles per hour Misconception number nine always play dead during a bear attack According to experts how to act during a bear attack depends whether the bear is being

predatory or defensive. Grizzly bears tend to attack when they're being defensive

In those cases, it's best to play dead because that shows the bear you're not a threat. Black bears are usually attacking in a predatory way

In this case, playing dead doesn't do much. If you have food, drop it and back away slowly

If the bear keeps coming, you should get aggressive, scream and be loud. If you have pepper spray, you should use that

Get out of there. Misconception number 10, suck the poison out of a snake bite to save your life

Emergency room physician at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Robert A. Barish

has claimed the evidence suggests that cutting and sucking or applying a tourniquet or ice

does nothing to help the victim. Although these outdated measures are still widely accepted by the general public, they

may do more harm than good by delaying prompt medical care, contaminating the wound, or

by damaging nerves and blood vessels. Thank you for watching Misconceptions on Mental Floss on YouTube

If you have a topic for an upcoming Misconceptions episode that you would like to see, leave it down in the comments and we'll go through it and we'll inform you about all the misconceptions

about it. It'll be awesome. I'll see you next week. Bye