S
stilldreaming
Student
- Aug 30, 2021
- 103
So the basics of the story (and, thank goodness for him, he's alright):
A couple of people brought up how he should've felt like he was suffocating due to the increase in CO2 in the air, but were basically told that we only get that reaction if the oxygen is slowly replaced with CO2. As this was "a massive, oxygen displacing CO2 leak, he could have been dead in 60 seconds".
So I did some research, and some findings from here:
Don't worry, tests were also done on dogs to confirm that yes, in fact, different levels of CO2 gradually replacing oxygen will lead to death/unconscious at different rates. (I seriously cannot stand animal testing of any kind, and that it's going on right now is one reason I desperately want to leave this horrifying world)
Anyway. I'm terrible at science, but it sounds like because the air in his car was so rapidly replaced with CO2, he indeed came within moments of blacking out, and within a few minutes after that, could potentially have died from asphyxiation by hypoxia, provided no one opened any doors and/or the CO2 didn't abruptly run out (maybe? even it did at that point, if no doors were open, perhaps even if the CO2 was very slowly exiting his car, there would still have been enough to suppress respiratory function?).
As someone who has concentration issues, this potential method seems gloriously simple:
I've been daydreaming a lot of just doing what the guy in the post did (albeit accidentally): just getting a tank of food-grade CO2 and sitting in a car and hoping I have the same result as him. As usual, afraid of the pain and failure. But surely if I started to experience what the poor pigs experience, I could just open the car door and get out. (And, I guess, start seriously trying to source SN or once again gather all the supplies for the nitrogen method)
It's just not fair. He's happy to be alive, and yet almost killed himself with CO2. Whereas I would love to exit like how he almost did, and yet feel like I wouldn't be able to succeed like he almost did. I wish I could just give my remaining years to someone with a terminal illness, then everyone would be happy :( (except of course the poor pigs being suffocated with CO2...god, this world is endlessly cruel, so why do I have to experience it...)
- He drove in his car with an unsecured CO2 tank which started leaking (it sounds like) when it got jostled when he braked slightly too hard. (Describes it as the "top twisting off")
- He started panicking when he noticed the hissing sound, and saw a white vapor filling the car.
- Very quickly, his vision started going dim (no mention of pain or discomfort).
- He believes he got out of the car seconds before blacking out (where death, he believes, would've followed shortly after)
A couple of people brought up how he should've felt like he was suffocating due to the increase in CO2 in the air, but were basically told that we only get that reaction if the oxygen is slowly replaced with CO2. As this was "a massive, oxygen displacing CO2 leak, he could have been dead in 60 seconds".
So I did some research, and some findings from here:
- "Carbon dioxide does not only cause asphyxiation by hypoxia but also acts as a toxicant. At high concentrations, it has been showed to cause unconsciousness almost instantaneously and respiratory arrest within 1 min [6]."
- "Concentrations of more than 10% carbon dioxide may cause convulsions, coma, and death [1, 15]. CO2 levels of more than 30% act rapidly leading to loss of consciousness in seconds. This would explain why victims of accidental intoxications often do not act to resolve the situation (open a door, etc.)"
- "In higher concentrations of CO2, unconsciousness occurred almost instantaneously and respiratory movement ceased in 1 min. After a few minutes of apnea, circulatory arrest was seen. These findings show that the cause of death in breathing high concentrations of CO2 is not the hypoxia but the intoxication of carbon dioxide"
Don't worry, tests were also done on dogs to confirm that yes, in fact, different levels of CO2 gradually replacing oxygen will lead to death/unconscious at different rates. (I seriously cannot stand animal testing of any kind, and that it's going on right now is one reason I desperately want to leave this horrifying world)
Anyway. I'm terrible at science, but it sounds like because the air in his car was so rapidly replaced with CO2, he indeed came within moments of blacking out, and within a few minutes after that, could potentially have died from asphyxiation by hypoxia, provided no one opened any doors and/or the CO2 didn't abruptly run out (maybe? even it did at that point, if no doors were open, perhaps even if the CO2 was very slowly exiting his car, there would still have been enough to suppress respiratory function?).
As someone who has concentration issues, this potential method seems gloriously simple:
- Have a tank (or why not two) of CO2
- Twist the caps off
- Perhaps: wear a gas mask so that the CO2 levels can build up to the sweet spot of above 35% (if I understand things correctly)
- Inhale for a few seconds, pass out a few seconds later, and stop breathing after about a minute (with death to follow within a few minutes after that).
- Cars are not perfectly sealed environments; the CO2-rich air would slowly be leaking out. From that poor gentleman's experience, there was enough CO2 building up to cause him to lose unconsciousness. But, death would not follow for some minutes. Would there be enough CO2 flowing out of the tank(s) to keep the CO2 levels high to ensure the desired result?
- Poor pigs are often 'stunned' with CO2 prior to slaughter. They scream horribly, and plenty of video footage confirms this (seriously, I hate people). It seems to take 30 seconds for them to be unconscious, despite a very high level of CO2 (supposed to 75%+). Granted, humans and huge pigs at slaughter weight have different respiratory requirements. But, still. Why do they suffer horribly, but other people accidentally pass out within seconds from half as much CO2 concentrations? Perhaps it has something to do with the kinda 'elevator' they ride to their death: they're lowered into an increasingly CO2 environment (as CO2 is heavy), so they're in pain at first because at the start of their hellish descent the CO2 levels are still too low? :(
- Did he just get 'lucky' somehow? If I were to try to replicate exactly what he did, how could I mess it up and not have his exact experience? Obviously very keen to avoid experience a low amount of superfluous CO2 in the air, as that will trigger a painful suffocation feeling.
I've been daydreaming a lot of just doing what the guy in the post did (albeit accidentally): just getting a tank of food-grade CO2 and sitting in a car and hoping I have the same result as him. As usual, afraid of the pain and failure. But surely if I started to experience what the poor pigs experience, I could just open the car door and get out. (And, I guess, start seriously trying to source SN or once again gather all the supplies for the nitrogen method)
It's just not fair. He's happy to be alive, and yet almost killed himself with CO2. Whereas I would love to exit like how he almost did, and yet feel like I wouldn't be able to succeed like he almost did. I wish I could just give my remaining years to someone with a terminal illness, then everyone would be happy :( (except of course the poor pigs being suffocated with CO2...god, this world is endlessly cruel, so why do I have to experience it...)