Is Being Buried To Your Neck In Sand Actually Lethal? | MythBusters

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]The myth we're working on is called sand necktie.

[00:00:03]>> I that'd be pirate fashion.

[00:00:05]>> Actually, this one's about sand. The idea is that pirates would bury their prisoners up to the neck at the shore at low tide. So when the tide came in, they drown a torturous death.

[00:00:14]>> So what we're looking at is whether you can escape or not. Right.

[00:00:18]>> Exactly.

[00:00:19]>> It's a myth with a morbid fascination.

[00:00:22]Buried alive with water views. But is the pirate sand necktie really a certain death sentence? Or could you dig your way out of your vertical shallow grave?

[00:00:35]>> Okay, so what's the plan?

[00:00:36]>> Well, some people think it's not the drowning that killed the prisoners, but the pressure of the sand that it would just it close in around you like a boa constrictor.

[00:00:43]>> Well, that sounds pretty easy. So, we go to the beach, we dig a big hole, we put Tori in and see if he passes out. If he doesn't pass out, then we can see if he escapes. Wait, don't I get a say in this at all?

[00:00:55]>> No.

[00:00:56]>> No.

[00:00:59]>> So, it's a simple plan that involves Captain Limpy and Cabin Boy Iara burying Tortuga Tori to the neck.

[00:01:08]>> Hey, there's the X mark spot.

[00:01:10]>> Oh, there's the treasure.

[00:01:12]>> Here's the treasure.

[00:01:13]>> All right, start digging, mates.

[00:01:15]>> First up, a vertical grave.

[00:01:17]>> Why am I digging my own hole? well away from the rising tide for safety, from which Tori will attempt to escape.

[00:01:24]That's if he doesn't suffocate from the constriction first.

[00:01:27]>> I don't have time to deal with that ye oldie pirate trick where you have to use a shovel to dig a hole. We're in a modern world. We're modern people and I'm a modern pirate. I'm using heavy machinery.

[00:01:41]>> You know, watching Carrie dig this ditch and knowing that I'm going to be up to my neck in sand. Um, it's kind of like watching her dig my grave.

[00:01:52]I hope I don't regret saying that.

[00:01:53]>> You could say Tori's got some grave doubts.

[00:02:02]>> Perfect. Right up to your neck.

[00:02:04]>> That's good.

[00:02:05]>> Is it though?

[00:02:06]>> You know, if you do start to freak out, it's going to take us a while to get you out.

[00:02:10]>> That's my big concern is if something does go wrong, it's not going to be just like a quick pull me out of the sand.

[00:02:17]I'm stuck.

[00:02:18]>> As a precaution against hypothermia, Tori will wear a wet suit.

[00:02:23]>> Why am I doing this? Can somebody tell me?

[00:02:26]>> No. But how about giving us a prediction? Just the same.

[00:02:30]>> My prediction? Uh, I'm going to get buried up to my neck and I won't be able to move at all. I don't think I'm going to be able to get out. I think I'm going to freak out, call everybody to come in and dig me out.

[00:02:43]>> You're going to be okay. You'll be fine.

[00:02:45]We're going to be here the entire time.

[00:02:48]>> Let's get this over with.

[00:02:53]>> What are we doing?

[00:02:54]>> Well, Tori, to the untrained eye, it looks a lot like you're being buried alive.

[00:02:59]>> Oh no, he's up to his toes. Oh gee, he's up to his knee.

[00:03:04]>> With torturing Tori on the agenda, Carrie and Grant are as happy as any pirate could be. Strangely, Tori isn't having nearly as much fun. All right, I'm I'm probably going to check out a little bit, so don't be offended if I don't answer your questions. I'm just I'm trying to remain calm here.

[00:03:21]>> All right, dude. Totally.

[00:03:22]>> Calm breathing will be important because as Sanjay explains, another name for this myth could be dead man's chest.

[00:03:30]>> Well, one of the biggest problems I can see is that as we breathe, our chest wall expands to allow our lungs to expand to have the air exchange happen in our lungs. Well, with the sand up against his chest and all that pressure, he's not going to be able to take uh normalsiz uh breaths, uh he'll become lethargic, slow to respond. He'll look around and he'll become a little bit more less and less uh with it.

[00:03:53]>> It touches on all of the major phobias and fears being buried alive, drowning, claustrophobia. I mean, he's he's he's in a hole. The tide is coming in. To imagine a pirate having to die this way, it's terrifying.

[00:04:11]>> Q Captain Limpy.

[00:04:12]>> Oh, fiddle. We're up to your middle.

[00:04:15]>> And her buried alive verse.

[00:04:17]>> I've been a bad pirate.

[00:04:18]>> Sung to cheer up her captive audience.

[00:04:21]>> Oh, heck, I'm up to his neck.

[00:04:23]>> Before giving Tori the go-ahad to begin his escape attempt and not content with taunting and tickling.

[00:04:29]>> Tickle, tickle, tickle.

[00:04:31]>> You suck. Carrie decides to bring to the party what she likes to call motivation.

[00:04:38]Oh, they're alive.

[00:04:42]Oh, dude.

[00:04:44]He's looking at me. Hey, he's looking at me. What's up, buddy?

[00:04:48]>> In danger of becoming crab meat.

[00:04:50]>> Quickly, Tori. I'm hungry. You look delicious.

[00:04:54]>> And with some concern for his constricted rib cage. I can breathe like but I can't really take a deep breath.

[00:05:02]It's just kind of like >> Carrie and Grant start the clock on Tori's escape attempt.

[00:05:08]>> Okay, I'm ready to go.

[00:05:10]All right, what I'm doing right now is I'm just wiggling my fingers just to kind of make room for my hand and see if I can actually free my arm.

[00:05:23]>> That's funny cuz just doesn't look like you're moving at all. And that's a problem because in addition to his fear of small rodents in the color purple, it turns out he doesn't like being buried alive.

[00:05:34]>> Okay, can you guys be ready with shovels?

[00:05:35]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:05:36]>> Cuz I'm noticing that as I'm realizing that I can't move that it's starting to freak me out.

[00:05:56]Pirates are an intrinsic part of modern-day entertainment. I mean, who doesn't love a camp pirate musical extravaganza, but let's not forget, back in the day, they trled the high seas with murderous intent. I TASTE WHAT I WANT AND I WANT WHAT I TAKE.

[00:06:14]CROSSING PATHS with a Corsair could be fatal in any number of imaginative ways.

[00:06:22]But surely the worst was the mythical sand necktie. Buried to the neck, the incoming tide ensured a gruesome claustrophobic death. Or did it?

[00:06:34]Tortugator up to his neck in it is attempting to find out.

[00:06:39]>> This is scary. I'm not going to lie.

[00:06:42]But despite losing his head for the five minutes he was locked in position, Tori eventually manages to free one of his arms.

[00:06:50]>> Hey.

[00:06:51]Oh my gosh, >> there you go. It's a good start. You know, if you can get one hand free, you can dig yourself out.

[00:07:03]>> Now that I have my arms free, I feel much better. Tori may feel better, but freedom is still a long way off.

[00:07:20]>> Well, we're a little bit past the 30 minute mark. He seems to be doing pretty well, except I'm noticing that he's digging in and then he has a cave in and it's like he has to start all over again.

[00:07:32]>> Every time I move, sand falls in on me.

[00:07:33]It's great. Like that. YEAH, I'M BACK WHERE I started. One step forward, 20 step back.

[00:07:41]>> Okay, 66 minutes.

[00:07:47]This is ridiculous.

[00:07:52]GOD, >> you know what? I welcome the tide now >> with Tori ready to end it all. Carrie and Grant step up to boost morale.

[00:08:07]>> Right here we have a very rare sight, the burrowing belli. He's almost formed his little burrow and that'll be his home for the next 5 years.

[00:08:21]>> And what do you know? The burrowing bell musters his energy. And >> yeah, >> ALL RIGHT. THAT is 86 minutes.

[00:08:34]>> After an hour and a half of extreme science, Tori must be feeling on top of the world, right?

[00:08:40]>> Gosh, this whole experience uh pretty much sucked from the beginning. Um the only time it sounded kind of fun was when we were in the office saying, "Hey, do you want to get buried up to your neck and sand?" And I was like, "Yeah, that sounds kind of fun." But getting out of it was really hard. Uh, it's taken me over an hour to dig my way out of this hole.

[00:09:01]>> The escape casts doubt over the myth that the infamous sand necktie will give you a bad case of dead. But Tori was buried in dry sand well away from the incoming tide. Until they test the lethality under those conditions, this myth is still alive.

[00:09:23]Never use your wooden leg in a firefight.

[00:09:27]This is public service we've done here.

[00:09:32]>> Tori has found out if you're up to your neck in it, life can be a beach.

[00:09:38]>> Hey.

[00:09:40]Oh my gosh.

[00:09:41]>> But he did escape, casting doubt that the mythical pirate punishment, the sand necttai, is a certain death sentence.

[00:09:49]>> YEAH.

[00:09:51]DRE DIDN'T pass out, but he did get out.

[00:09:53]It just took him an hour and a half to dig his way out.

[00:09:55]>> Yeah, but that was dry sand. And this myth is about wet sand. So, I think the next logical step is to bury someone up to their neck in wet sand and see if they can escape that.

[00:10:04]>> Yeah, but I think it's just too dangerous to bury somebody that close to the water line. Maybe we should do is build a box, fill it with wet sand, and have some kind of mechanism so if the person starts freaking out, we can release the sand and they can get out safely.

[00:10:16]>> Okay, so who are we going to bury? Well, since Car's knee's messed up and I'm building the box, looks like it's you.

[00:10:25]>> So, this time, Cabin Boy Immahara will play the part of prisoner.

[00:10:29]>> Well, I'm making a box to hold sand, but it's not a sand box.

[00:10:36]>> But with the added weight of the wet sand, there's an increased danger of suffocation.

[00:10:41]>> It's kung fu carpentry, >> and Grant may need to get out fast. So, it's over to our resident kung fu carpenter. Has he got a plan to ensure Grant lives to mythbust another day?

[00:10:53]>> If he does freak out, if he can't breathe, something goes wrong, we need to get them out quickly. We're going to have uh straps around all the walls that are going to hold the the box together.

[00:11:04]We pop the straps and the wall will collapse and the sand will come out and we'll be able to rescue Grant.

[00:11:13]The sand chamber is complete.

[00:11:18]While Grant and Tori dream of world domination, let's get back to the beach.

[00:11:24]>> Man, we need a new cowboy. So, we're getting rid of you.

[00:11:28]>> Where they set up the sand chamber ready for Grant's incarceration.

[00:11:32]>> All right, here's the plan. Step one, we build the box. Step two, we put Grant in the box.

[00:11:36]>> Don't knock on the glass. It upsets the fish.

[00:11:39]>> Step three, we fill the box up with sand and water. And then we see if Grant can get out. I await your punishment.

[00:11:46]>> I have a feeling Grant is this is the last we're going to see Grant. I'M GOING TO MISS HIM.

[00:11:53]>> I BE THE scurvy dog.

[00:11:56]>> While Grant wanders off to find some limes.

[00:11:58]>> Where's Grant?

[00:11:59]>> Tori brings in the mechanical digger to start loading up the sand. And Carrie and Grant organize the water pump to simulate sand conditions close to the shoreline. You know, wet.

[00:12:10]>> Hey, Captain Limpy. Throw it over the side. Are you calling me, >> Catalymp?

[00:12:16]That's what everybody else is calling you behind your back.

[00:12:21]>> All that's left to do is for Grant to put on his wets suit.

[00:12:25]>> Hey, make sure you cover the poop deck.

[00:12:27]Okay, come on.

[00:12:30]>> Get back in his box.

[00:12:32]>> Okay, I'm ready.

[00:12:36]That's an interesting experience.

[00:12:38]>> And wait patiently as Carrie and Tori.

[00:12:40]It's like watering a little grant flower.

[00:12:42]>> Add enough water and sand to bury him to the neck.

[00:12:55]This is a very interesting feeling. I cannot move my arms at all. Uh I can wiggle my toes and I can wiggle my fingers.

[00:13:04]>> All right. This is feeling pretty good.

[00:13:05]What do you think? We let him go for it.

[00:13:07]>> All right, pirate. Dig your way to freedom. All right, here I go.

[00:13:12]>> I will be playing the part of the tide.

[00:13:14]Woo! Splash! Splash!

[00:13:17]>> I got my fingers.

[00:13:20]I'm making a little finger space trying to head towards the stomach.

[00:13:27]And in fact, I'm making use of my arm being straight up and down as a path to the top and moving my shoulder, which is working pretty well. Safe in the knowledge he can call for the quick release, Grant tries to think his way out of his beachside jail.

[00:13:45]>> I think I can do this.

[00:13:47]>> Tide's coming in.

[00:13:49]>> But that early confidence is misplaced because after 10 minutes of desperate struggling, Grant realizes he may as well have been trying to stop the tide coming in.

[00:14:00]>> Uh, you know what?

[00:14:01]>> What are you thinking?

[00:14:02]>> It just hit. I had two open cavities down by my fingers.

[00:14:05]>> Uhhuh.

[00:14:06]>> They just filled in. I got two fist full of sand and I can't move anymore.

[00:14:11]>> The higher density of the wet sand, plus the water Carrie and Tori are adding to simulate the incoming tide, seals Grant's hands and his fate, which leaves just one option. The crab whisperer.

[00:14:24]>> Kaka kaka >> will call to his legion of crab allies to help dig him out.

[00:14:29]>> That's not a crab call. Everybody knows that.

[00:14:33]>> Or not.

[00:14:36]Yeah, that's it. I'm done.

[00:14:39]>> All right, let's get him out.

[00:14:40]>> How are we going to get him out?

[00:14:41]>> We'll test the uh safety mechanism.

[00:14:43]>> Okay, I'm getting way far back.

[00:14:45]>> We'll see how fast it really takes.

[00:14:51]Okay, everybody stand back. This thing might explode.

[00:14:54]>> Okay, >> you ready?

[00:14:55]>> I'm ready to see this.

[00:14:56]>> Okay, here we go. Stand back, everybody.

[00:14:59]Three, two, ONE.

[00:15:04]>> FREEDOM.

[00:15:10]WHILE GRANT ENJOYS AN endorphin high from his neardeath experience, Tori can explain why this myth was confirmed.

[00:15:18]>> The water is a key factor in this whole experiment. Um, if the water is continually washing over the person buried up to their neck, there's no way they can get out. The sand just continues to fill up those gaps because the water keeps pushing the sand into those gaps. Um, so if you're buried up in your neck and you're close to the shoreline, you're pretty much dead.

[00:15:41]>> FREEDOM.

[00:15:46]>> All right, this one's looking confirmed.

[00:15:47]You can't dig your way out of wet sand.

[00:15:49]>> And I think you would drown before you asphixxiate from the pressure on your lungs from the sand. So, all in all, this is a very dastardly punishment or death.

[00:15:57]>> That's confirmed.