[Disclaimer: This is entirely theoretical - I have not built or tested the device I'm about to describe, which is the reason for this thread - I hope to stimulate a discussion where we can improve upon this device, exchange ideas, etc. If it works, and I don't see any reason why it wouldn't, it could be the holy grail that we are after - a quick, painless, guaranteed ticket to the afterlife using 3 cheap items that can be bought by anyone, anywhere.]
We all know that the closest thing a human being has to an easily accessible on/off switch is the carotid arteries.
During WW2, a team of scientists led by a chap named Rossen were studying the phenomenon of why aircraft pilots were losing consciousness on rapid ascents after bombing runs. In order to do this, they built a makeshift cuff that used the bladder from a blood pressure cuff called the "KRA Cuff" (see pics below). All of this can be looked up on the Internet. The device essentially inflates the bladders so that pressure is applied to the sides of the neck, right where your carotid arteries are. Note in the pics below that there is an opening in the front so no pressure is applied to the trachea, and none of the (presumably) uncomfortable or painful sensations one would get when attempting to hang or with night-night method.
58 volunteers sat in the chair and every single one lost consciousness within 5-15 seconds. Every single one. To my eyes, this KRA Cuff is simply replicating a choke hold in martial arts. If you've ever watched any type of mma/Judo/Jujitsu/etc, you know that guys get choked unconscious all the time - and these are guys who are breathing really heavy while it's happening - if there was any kind of suffocation going on, there would be panic, but there isn't, they just kind of fall asleep. A choke hold is where the forearms are applying pressure to the sides of the neck, but the windpipe is left exposed and unobstructed.
Falling asleep, or going unconscious when your carotid arteries are occluded, is just a stage before death - if circulation is not restored within just a few minutes, brain death occurs. I might be wrong about this, but I believe after 10 minutes there is no return. Let's just say 30 minutes to be safe.
Here is the "KRA Cuff":
I was wracking my brain last night trying to think of an easy way to replicate this, and here is what I came up with. I would like to think of this as a forum project, where anyone interested can help with ideas, suggestions, tips, etc. I think this is very doable so give me a dose of reality if you think this is not going to work.
You would need to buy 2 analog (old fashioned) blood pressure cuffs (or any other product that has a bladder or tube that can be inflated) - the digital ones have auto release, so that wouldn't be very good. Something like this:
You would need 2, because if you only used 1, it would have to wrap around your entire neck, and that's no bueno - we don't want to suffocate and I don't like the idea of taking the chance that my carotids would be blocked before I asphyxiate.
Next, we need something to secure the cuffs, which I thought a neck brace would work - there are many styles and types - here are a few:
You get the idea.
What I am thinking is you would buy a neck brace that is just a little bit too big for your neck, so there is space to put the cuff in there - if it's adjustable, that might be better as long as the velcro doesn't come undone but you could just wrap duct tape around it once everything is in place if you wanted.
You would then need to unroll each cuff so it's flat (maybe keeping it rolled up is fine if both placed on sides of neck - need to experiment) and place the cuff between the neck brace and your neck, leaving the windpipe open so you can breathe. Placement should be similar to the KRA cuff in the closeup.
You inflate the cuffs, it pinches your carotids and goodbye.
Concerns:
1. Will the cuffs hold air for at least an hour (I want insurance)? I plan on ordering one, inflating it, then sitting on it for an hour to see if it deflates at all.
2. Too much pressure maybe breaks the neck brace, or causes velcro to come undone - this could be remedied by wrapping duct tape around the outside of the brace once everything is in place and you are ready to go
3. Cuffs possibly slipping inside of the neck brace? I don't see this as a concern - too much pressure but will need to test.
4. As mentioned above, I want to eventually test if it works better with the cuffs unrolled and placed on each side of the neck and around the back (they will overlap in the back most likely) or to simply keep them rolled up and just make sure they are covering the general area of your carotids (sides of neck up to, but not over, your adam's apple.
My biggest concern is if the cuffs are powerful enough to actually occlude the carotids - but I don't see why they wouldn't be, obviously will need to test.
And that's it. No anchor points needed, no pain, no shady chemicals that you have to source, no loud noises, no knots to come undone, etc., and it's inexpensive.
EDIT: I wonder if maybe using bicycle inner tubes would work (or similar) instead of the cuffs - like an inner tube for a small tire or something...
As I said, this just kind of came to me last night, and I'm sure there will be some kinks to work out, but I really think that we could make something like this work.
We all know that the closest thing a human being has to an easily accessible on/off switch is the carotid arteries.
During WW2, a team of scientists led by a chap named Rossen were studying the phenomenon of why aircraft pilots were losing consciousness on rapid ascents after bombing runs. In order to do this, they built a makeshift cuff that used the bladder from a blood pressure cuff called the "KRA Cuff" (see pics below). All of this can be looked up on the Internet. The device essentially inflates the bladders so that pressure is applied to the sides of the neck, right where your carotid arteries are. Note in the pics below that there is an opening in the front so no pressure is applied to the trachea, and none of the (presumably) uncomfortable or painful sensations one would get when attempting to hang or with night-night method.
58 volunteers sat in the chair and every single one lost consciousness within 5-15 seconds. Every single one. To my eyes, this KRA Cuff is simply replicating a choke hold in martial arts. If you've ever watched any type of mma/Judo/Jujitsu/etc, you know that guys get choked unconscious all the time - and these are guys who are breathing really heavy while it's happening - if there was any kind of suffocation going on, there would be panic, but there isn't, they just kind of fall asleep. A choke hold is where the forearms are applying pressure to the sides of the neck, but the windpipe is left exposed and unobstructed.
Falling asleep, or going unconscious when your carotid arteries are occluded, is just a stage before death - if circulation is not restored within just a few minutes, brain death occurs. I might be wrong about this, but I believe after 10 minutes there is no return. Let's just say 30 minutes to be safe.
Here is the "KRA Cuff":
I was wracking my brain last night trying to think of an easy way to replicate this, and here is what I came up with. I would like to think of this as a forum project, where anyone interested can help with ideas, suggestions, tips, etc. I think this is very doable so give me a dose of reality if you think this is not going to work.
You would need to buy 2 analog (old fashioned) blood pressure cuffs (or any other product that has a bladder or tube that can be inflated) - the digital ones have auto release, so that wouldn't be very good. Something like this:
You would need 2, because if you only used 1, it would have to wrap around your entire neck, and that's no bueno - we don't want to suffocate and I don't like the idea of taking the chance that my carotids would be blocked before I asphyxiate.
Next, we need something to secure the cuffs, which I thought a neck brace would work - there are many styles and types - here are a few:
You get the idea.
What I am thinking is you would buy a neck brace that is just a little bit too big for your neck, so there is space to put the cuff in there - if it's adjustable, that might be better as long as the velcro doesn't come undone but you could just wrap duct tape around it once everything is in place if you wanted.
You would then need to unroll each cuff so it's flat (maybe keeping it rolled up is fine if both placed on sides of neck - need to experiment) and place the cuff between the neck brace and your neck, leaving the windpipe open so you can breathe. Placement should be similar to the KRA cuff in the closeup.
You inflate the cuffs, it pinches your carotids and goodbye.
Concerns:
1. Will the cuffs hold air for at least an hour (I want insurance)? I plan on ordering one, inflating it, then sitting on it for an hour to see if it deflates at all.
2. Too much pressure maybe breaks the neck brace, or causes velcro to come undone - this could be remedied by wrapping duct tape around the outside of the brace once everything is in place and you are ready to go
3. Cuffs possibly slipping inside of the neck brace? I don't see this as a concern - too much pressure but will need to test.
4. As mentioned above, I want to eventually test if it works better with the cuffs unrolled and placed on each side of the neck and around the back (they will overlap in the back most likely) or to simply keep them rolled up and just make sure they are covering the general area of your carotids (sides of neck up to, but not over, your adam's apple.
My biggest concern is if the cuffs are powerful enough to actually occlude the carotids - but I don't see why they wouldn't be, obviously will need to test.
And that's it. No anchor points needed, no pain, no shady chemicals that you have to source, no loud noises, no knots to come undone, etc., and it's inexpensive.
EDIT: I wonder if maybe using bicycle inner tubes would work (or similar) instead of the cuffs - like an inner tube for a small tire or something...
As I said, this just kind of came to me last night, and I'm sure there will be some kinks to work out, but I really think that we could make something like this work.
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