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I find it difficult to believe. It was April -2C air temp in the open ocean and water temp probably 0C or 1C. Even with clothes on or relaxed you'd be dead in 1

I find it difficult to believe. It was April -2C air temp in the open ocean and water temp probably 0C or 1C. Even with clothes on or relaxed you'd be dead in 15 minutes. I live in Canada on the coast and there are many news articles of people drowning after falling into cold water. And those people were in modern cold weather clothing.

tzs 3y ago
Some people do have quite a bit more innate cold tolerance than normal. See for example Wim Hof. Hof claims his high cold tolerance is due to exercise and lifestyle, but his identical twin brother has similar cold tolerance without having done the things Wim attributes his to suggesting its genetic. That fits what scientists who have studied Hof found. They found that (1) he really does have very high cold tolerance, and (2) this are not attributable to the specific exercise and lifestyle choices he thinks it is.
- wkjagt 3y ago
  There are some really wild stories about Wim Hof. I read that he would sometimes sit on a fountain in a park in Amsterdam, using it to flush his bowel. Then one day, the fountain nozzle was changed without him knowing, and next time he did this he had to go to hospital because of perforated intestines. I googled around a bit and did find some evidence that this actually happened but not that he did this regularly. I read it in an NRC or Volkskrant (Dutch papers) article if I remember correctly.
  - rhapsodic 3y ago
    [dead]
portaouflop 3y ago
As the article states: Even today, the myth persists that the human body cannot withstand more than a few minutes in the ocean. Thus, many people thrown into the sea assume that cold shock is the icy grip of death closing around them. In reality, the cold shock ends after 90 seconds. Even in the winter waters of the North Atlantic, an average-sized adult still has 10 minutes before going numb, and at least an hour before the heart stops.“The average adult is a big chunk of meat and it takes a lot of energy to cool it off” Apparently most people die because they panic due to the cold shock or just kinda give up.
deleted 3y ago
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owenversteeg 3y ago
I have personally spent a little over an hour in water only slightly above 0C and I was periodically diving under water during that time too. This was to free debris from by boat’s propellor. I had a single layer on, kept calm and did not move more than necessary. I can assure you I am not dead :)

tzs 3y ago

Some people do have quite a bit more innate cold tolerance than normal. See for example Wim Hof. Hof claims his high cold tolerance is due to exercise and lifestyle, but his identical twin brother has similar cold tolerance without having done the things Wim attributes his to suggesting its genetic. That fits what scientists who have studied Hof found. They found that (1) he really does have very high cold tolerance, and (2) this are not attributable to the specific exercise and lifestyle choices he thinks it is.

wkjagt 3y ago
There are some really wild stories about Wim Hof. I read that he would sometimes sit on a fountain in a park in Amsterdam, using it to flush his bowel. Then one day, the fountain nozzle was changed without him knowing, and next time he did this he had to go to hospital because of perforated intestines. I googled around a bit and did find some evidence that this actually happened but not that he did this regularly. I read it in an NRC or Volkskrant (Dutch papers) article if I remember correctly.
- rhapsodic 3y ago
  [dead]

portaouflop 3y ago

As the article states: Even today, the myth persists that the human body cannot withstand more than a few minutes in the ocean. Thus, many people thrown into the sea assume that cold shock is the icy grip of death closing around them. In reality, the cold shock ends after 90 seconds. Even in the winter waters of the North Atlantic, an average-sized adult still has 10 minutes before going numb, and at least an hour before the heart stops.“The average adult is a big chunk of meat and it takes a lot of energy to cool it off” Apparently most people die because they panic due to the cold shock or just kinda give up.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

owenversteeg 3y ago

I have personally spent a little over an hour in water only slightly above 0C and I was periodically diving under water during that time too. This was to free debris from by boat’s propellor. I had a single layer on, kept calm and did not move more than necessary. I can assure you I am not dead :)