Trapped in an Elevator for 41 Hours …

• Jacoby87
  April 14th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

  I almost had a panic attack when I saw him peel back the doors the first time and just see a brick wall.

  I can’t imagine the torture of 41 hours like that. I bet he quit smoking after that.

• Dan
  April 14th, 2008 at 7:16 pm

  Agreed. It looked like he kept his sh*t together pretty well considering the circumstances. Speaking of, he doesn’t seem to do any elimination of bodily wastes.
  Interesting

• Ali S.
  April 14th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

  It’s a sign from the Elevator Gods! Stop smoking! O_o

• bean
  April 14th, 2008 at 7:23 pm

  I doubt he stopped smoking, but he might have tried to sue his employer for not letting him smoke at his sad little cubicle.

• natasha
  April 14th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

  Dan - i think i saw him pee in the corner a couple of times. that would have been horrible.

• lindsay
  April 14th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

  It must have been over a weekend or something, still kind of weird no one rescued him, he just ended up walking out of the elevator.

• tnsred
  April 14th, 2008 at 8:06 pm

  I was under the impression he was peeing on the wall each time he opened the doors. Poor guy.

• Miller
  April 14th, 2008 at 8:17 pm

  Yeah he definatly took a leak in the corner.

• Ant
  April 14th, 2008 at 8:26 pm

  No cellphone?

• Will
  April 14th, 2008 at 9:01 pm

  He peed on the wall whenever he opened the door.

  It’s all explained in the article http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/21/080421fa_fact_paumgarten

  in between boring facts about elevators

• jessleigh
  April 14th, 2008 at 9:02 pm

  The New Yorker article that goes with that video is worth a read. It is one of the best articles that I have read in a while. Who knew elevators were so fascinating?

• Dianne
  April 14th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

  Did he have to listen to elevator music all that time?? If so, I hope it wasn’t Kenny G.

• Alannah
  April 14th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

  That was intense! Seeing him walk out the door like that was like seeing him die. He just disappeared.

• DrJones
  April 14th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

  Kinda makes me sad that he wasn’t able to be all James Bondy and climb out the top of it. Any time I go into an elevator, I check to see which one of the overhead panels could be the hatch out!

• holly
  April 14th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

  Holy crap that was the most painful thing I have ever watched!

• Christophe
  April 14th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

  I like the eerie ‘out of order’ sign at the end. Next time I see such a sign, I’ll wonder if there has been a guy stuck in there for hours…

  Make sure you read the last 2 paragraphs of Will’s link. Amazing story inside an amazing story.

• duende2517
  April 14th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

  Oh no! It’s the stairs for me. For a long time to come.

• roger
  April 15th, 2008 at 12:30 am

  Having spent 2 hours in a frozen elevator, I can’t imagine the ordeal this poor chap went through. I did have to endure two a-hole lawyers threatening to sue so-and-so the entire time, but 41 hours? He deserves a medal.

• eric
  April 15th, 2008 at 1:01 am

  Does anyone know the name of that song that is playing in the video?

• Meg
  April 15th, 2008 at 3:49 am

  That completely nauseated me, what absolute hell.

• Stephanie
  April 15th, 2008 at 5:08 am

  Terrible! & Anxiety producing!
  Poor guy…but he seemed to not freak out. I would have been pounding on the walls kicking and screaming. lol

• Greg
  April 15th, 2008 at 6:12 am

  Couldn’t he have tried to set off the fire alarm? I mean, he must of had some matches or a lighter. Why didn’t he hold it up to the smoke detector?

  He probably didn’t think of it until after he got off the elevator and had a smoke.

• ted
  April 15th, 2008 at 7:12 am

  I was waiting for him to get naked and run around like a madman - you know, go all Lord of the Flies.

• Capella
  April 15th, 2008 at 7:44 am

  Gosh, that must have been horrible.
  Id probably curl up and cry int he corner.

• Tratante
  April 15th, 2008 at 7:55 am

  And no masturbate???.

• empty-minded
  April 15th, 2008 at 8:04 am

  So no one actually looks at the security camera feed when it is live? Do they film the elevators and then just wait for Lenny Briscoe to show up and ask for the tapes after someone is murdered?

• Fran
  April 15th, 2008 at 8:33 am

  That was horrible. As a confirmed claustrophobe (I jumped out of an elevater just last night when someone came up at the last minute and jammed himself in) that was torture to watch. I have no idea how he survived 41 hours.

• OddNumber
  April 15th, 2008 at 9:17 am

  I wonder if he was wearing a watch. Being there for 41 hours and not knowing how much time had elapsed would have been enough for me to go nuts.

• Thomas
  April 15th, 2008 at 10:03 am

  i would have smoked in there until I set off a fire alarm. that ought to bring some help.

• Justin
  April 15th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

  Can you imagine how dehydrated you would be after nearly 2 days without water?

• CheeseDuck
  April 15th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

  O.o Poor guy.

• Menu Inicio
  April 15th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

  Poor guy..

• song?
  April 15th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

  Anyone knows the name of the song please??

• porschedevotee
  April 16th, 2008 at 2:43 am

  Man… I’ve only gotten stuck in elevators a few times (thank you, East Coast institution which shall remain nameless but managed to spend $27 million on a new staircase), but the longest I ever got stuck was still under an hour. Fortunately, I was just coming back up from the cafeteria where I had been studying, so I sat in the elevator, ate cookies and read until someone came and rescued me.

• AHW
  April 16th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

  So many questions above can be answered by the article Will was good enough to post:

  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/21/080421fa_fact_paumgarten

  Poor guy - 2 days in an elevator ruined his life.

• Sadie
  April 22nd, 2008 at 8:59 pm

  I cant believe this…
  Seeing his pull back the doors and see a brick wall was really sad…I dont think i could have made it…

  Oh and yeah anyone know the song?

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