STRAPPED INTO A SINKING HELICOPTER (with U.S. Marines) - Smarter Every Day 201

That is hard core!

Sharkphoria by Johanna Kohler

I HATE water, and I'm not the best swimmer. I've done the helo dunker 3 times now, and it's actually a lot of fun! Just like a ride at disneyland.

Joey Kendrick

Thanks Destin, I respect that. Great video!

Nathan Steadman

I don't get on with water so this sort of thing terrifies me and I could never do it. Props to everyone who can, and thanks for linking it through to the life metaphor which is equally important.

Invisible Jazz

Me too! I decided since the government paid me for my time on this I should leave it out because I respect separation of church and state.

Smarter Every Day

Thanks! I want to stay as ethically above board as possible and I think it would have been in the clear, but I want to stay above and beyond!

Smarter Every Day

Fantastic video. The bit at the end was masterful. Thank you.

Yeah, I'm sure they'd still train with flooded sinuses regardless. I'm just imagining something that gets pressed onto your nose through the normal motion of pressing the respirator to your mouth—no extra motor skills required. But I'm sure it isn't feasible (for all the reasons you described and more), otherwise it would already exist.

Putting a nose clip on is a fine motor skill. First thing that's going to go in a stressful situation is fine motor skills. The second thing is clearing your sinuses. You still are going to freak out and fail to overcome the instinct not to breathe if you don't train it away. Third thing is more complexity. The second stage regulator is well understood tech, and very useful in a large number of conditions. Some sort of fancy nose clip respirator may not function in all necessary environments, and then it's useless in an emergency

I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this, but... Why don't they just make a respirator with a nose clip?

I missed the verse at the end.

Nathan Steadman

Nice video. So important to prepare for these scenarios. In emergency situations our lizard brain can rarely rise to the occasion, and instead we default to our level of training.

Another great video, Destin. This would be good training for anyone living in states like Florida where the risk of ending upside down underwater in your car is a very real possibility.

KC

Well, I feel left out. Helo dunker was not part of the USAF flight doc training. So are you now officially unemployed because you are 95% PhD student/5% video educator? (I'm not counting the dad/husband/badass %s!)

Kristy

Ahh the helo dunker! That thing is fun.

Joey Kendrick

I also did this while i was in and also didnt have breathers.

Super appreciate the transparency about being paid to participate in the training, but I don't think I would've had a gripe with you charging for it! I'm here to support you making the excellent content that you do, and this checks that box 👍

ZachDobb

Awesome video, as always! I've been a scuba diver for a while now but I've never thought about breathing upside down without a mask to keep the water out of my nose and sinuses. I also like the way you manage to teach people something and then show how you apply the new knowledge to your personal life. Thanks for making me smarter Destin!

Jonas Wahlen

You're a class act, Sandlin. Keep it coming, we love you.

Jeremy Nettles

I’ve done this when I was in, but we didn’t have the breathers. (Back around 2003).

Dustin Ohman