What If You Had To Escape A Maximum Security Prison

it was the ultimate maximum-security prison widely considered to be the most secure Penitentiary on the planet and three men managed to escape maybe you've heard of the infamous Escape from Alcatraz story where three inmates did the impossible they broke out of this unbreakable prison this real-life event was adapted as a movie starring Clint Eastwood in 1979 and to this day tourists visit the cells that the men escaped from all those years ago but here's the thing these men were never found again after their breakout they completely vanished so today we are using science to see if this breakout is even possible what are the obstacles how long would it take basically we want to know could you survive the great Alcatraz escape for those unfamiliar with Alcatraz also known by its nickname of the rock let's first break down exactly what this place is and why it's so infamous Alcatraz is a prison located on an island in the San Francisco Bay and was built in 1847 during its early years it really wasn't any different than any other prison you might come across but that all changed in 1934 when the US adopted a war on crime mentality and Alcatraz was reforged into the world's most secure prison and when we say secure oh we mean secure the icy waters of the Pacific Ocean surround this lonely island and the prison itself consists of 336 cell blocks 36 segregation cells and six solitary confinement cells oh and that reforging of Alcatraz we mentioned we meant it tougher iron bars were installed strategically placed guard towers were built and over a dozen checks a day by prison guards meant that when it came to top tier jails oh this one was absolutely s tier as far as inmates well when you have the best prison in the world you get some of the biggest names in crime behind your bars famous baddies include George Machine Gun Kelly no not the rapper brainiacs come on you know better Robert Stroud aka the Birdman of Alcatraz who after he was sentenced to life in prison started scientific studies of Canaries that he kept in his cell and these studies were used by the scientific community and of course one of the most famous mob bosses of all time Al Capone this place was the real deal until it closed in 1963 and believe it or not many escape attempts were made during its tenure in fact in 14 separate attempts a total of 36 men tried to escape to freedom but one attempt in particular made the headlines and captured the imagination of the public even to this day we of course are talking about the great Alcatraz escape which took place in 1962 just one year before Alcatraz closed three men Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin did what was thought to be impossible they broke out of their cells using tools they had fashioned from materials found around the prison and set out across the San Francisco Bay to freedom at least that's one version of the tale the truth is they were never heard from again like ever they never contacted family they were never caught using phony credit cards or caught trying to buy a house they just vanished the FBI searched extensively for them and after learning of their exact path out of the prison areas and onto the island they said that there was no way they survived at the harsh Pacific waters and the official record says that all three men met their end trying to make it to shore but we're scientists we want to know the logistics and see if it's even possible that these men could have survived we want to know could you survive the great Alcatraz escape for that we're gonna have to plot out the path you would have to take and take a look at all the obstacles you'd have to face from high walls to fences to all of it we're finding out if you could survive this infamous escape attempt first of all if you were sentenced to Alcatraz in its prime it would be monstrously hard to get out not only would you have to plan everything around the constant surveillance of the GAR you would have to get pretty lucky with regards to what cell you were confined to if you happen to have a cell that had an air vent well then step one would be complete as this is exactly what Morris and the Anglin brothers realized they had in their cells and like them your first step would be to get that vent open discreetly don't think you can just use your hands either I mean when it came to the great Alcatraz escape these men collected parts of vacuum cleaners to fashion a homemade drill they drilled around the vents so that the entire section of the wall could be removed and then cleverly hid the damage they had done with something like a suitcase or cloth you better make sure your art skills are up to par as well because guards will be walking by your cells and it would be game over real fast if they noticed you weren't in your bed take another note from Morris and the Anglin bros they made dummies out of paper and other materials they could get their hands on to fill their beds and these dummies were good enough to fool the guards all right so making it out of the cell can be done but what about getting out of the prison the walls at Alcatraz are about 30 feet high if you fall from that you're looking to damage to your internal organs and you can definitely expect bone fractures not just your legs either Falls from that height can mean rib fractures as well but are these walls even scaleable well from outside of that hole in your cell you made you better believe they are pipes leading up to the roof are going to be your best bet and the roof contains more interventive so be sure to bring along that makeshift drill better remember to bring some way of refastening that roof air vent back in place though in the case of the great Alcatraz escape they used a fake bolt made out of a bar of soap these guys may have been criminals but they sure had some clever means of breaking out huh so now you're on the roof and what do you do now lucky for you Alcatraz has smoke stacks from the bakery that as long as you can keep your fear of heights in check they're able to be grabbed onto and you can shimmy your way down everything seems possible so far brainiacs but you ain't out of the clear yet next up if you managed to sneak across the yard you find a 12-foot fence topped with barbed wire which can be scaled all you need to do is find a corner of the fence where the barbed wire is least protected climb up and swing one leg over at a time you're in the clear you've made it out of the prison oh wait there's still one more obstacle and it's the toughest one of all the waters around Alcatraz are chilly as in 12 degrees Celsius chilly it's this cold because these waters have traveled down from Alaska which is part of the reason that San Francisco summers are so comfortable these cold waters may be great for the city but trying to swim them without a wetsuit you're in trouble this isn't a quick dip either your journey to freedom is a mile and a half that's over 106 lengths of a pool good luck with that one but that's exactly what the three escapees in 1962 tried to plan for but ultimately they likely met their end here they had fashioned a raft from over 50 raincoats they had stolen from the penitentiaries but according to the FBI at least it wasn't enough so is this the end of the story would you fall victim to the final defense that alcatraz has to offer well technically swimming that distance is possible and people do it all the time the Alcatraz touch-and-go is a yearly swim challenge where some of the most athletic men and women come to try and swim the very same path that Morris and the Anglin brothers attempted one man in particular Pedro Orden says has not only completed the swim he now acts as a coach for those who want to take the plunge and will even be a guide for monthly swims total Pedro has completed this stretch of the Bay nine hundred and seventy nine times looks like you really could escape from Alcatraz maybe the three men really did make it out scot-free well don't forget people train hard for the swim as in months heart and they carb-load and have wetsuits and guides it's no small feat add to this the currents of the water and the extreme tides it's very unlikely that someone right out of prison would be able to make it out impossible well alright we'll give you that one we guess it is possible but there's a reason the FBI closed the case all those years ago but the great Alcatraz escapes legend lives on and even to this day little hints that maybe the men did survive pop-up in 2018 for instance a letter claiming to be from John Anglin was sent to San Francisco authorities which said that John was in bad shape he wrote that he was now 83 years old had cancer and that he would be willing to tell authorities where he is if they promised to send help after fingerprint and handwriting tests were done the San Francisco police deemed the letter to be a fake but that doesn't stop these men's incredible escape attempt from living on in the imagination of the public I mean there's a movie made about these guys with Clint Eastwood in the lead that's no small potatoes brainiacs looks like the human spirit is nearly impossible to break and even though their survival is highly unlikely it technically is possible that these three men did indeed break out of the most secure prison in the world and swim that stretch through the San Francisco Bay to freedom did they actually make it though well who knows for sure but if you're wondering if you have what it takes to survive a prison breakout we'd say practice climbing walls fences sneaking through yards unseen and finally sign up for that Alcatraz touch-and-go better start training though [Music] you [Music]

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Views: 89,605

Rating: 4.926403 out of 5

Keywords: Brainiac, Alcatraz, Escape from Alcatraz, prison, penitentiary, prison break, Frank Morris, John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, San Francisco, survive, how to, what if, facts, interesting, prisoner, animated facts, animation, cartoon facts, animated video, how to survive, how to escape, prison guards, heavily guarded, maximum security, get out of jail

Id: vQcX_uOPbdU

Length: 10min 32sec (632 seconds)

Published: Wed May 20 2020