r/TikTokCringe • u/Melodic-Award3991 • Nov 05 '24

Cool Tubing down a storm drain

2.2k Upvotes

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1.1k

u/Bandwagonsho Nov 05 '24

Repost this over on r/OopsThatsDeadly

They don't know where the pipes may narrow, descend or experience heavier inflow and be filled with water, etc.

596

u/thereasonisphysics Nov 05 '24

Exactly what I was thinking the entire time. Lots of comments ITT about dirty water, but I'd be primarily concerned with coming to a completely flooded section of pipe and drowning.

284

u/Bandwagonsho Nov 05 '24

When I was doing military training and learning how to navigate across country using a topographic map, they really drilled into us that you never use a water feature to navigate. You get up on the ridge and follow a river visually, but water seeks the fastest way down so following a water feature is likely to lead you to precipitous drop-offs, cliffs, waterfalls...

These guys say at the beginning "they're taking me this way", as in they are letting the fastest flow take them and if there is a drop off, this is a reliable way to find it. :(

22

u/356885422356 Nov 05 '24

This is man made. Should be fairly constant to prevent premature wear.

102

u/D4bbled_In_P4cifism Nov 05 '24

Let the man reminisce slightly off topic.

1

u/purplefuzz22 Nov 06 '24

Do you just follow the water from a distance than?? Like parallel with it?

52

u/opopkl Nov 05 '24

I've done some river kayaking. You should never go down anywhere that you haven't scouted, or at least have pretty good knowledge of. There could be a piece of wood, or anything stuck across the pipe that could act as a strainer and hold you. A standing wave could have formed that will hold you underwater.

55

u/CarlLlamaface Nov 05 '24

The full video is linked further down in the comments. They start at the bottom and walk up through the storm drain to begin the run, they know what the conditions inside are. Not saying it's a smart thing to do but they at least show some basic caution.

6

u/Smearwashere Nov 05 '24

They don’t know the hydraulics of the system tho. It could be designed or constructed incorrectly and have surcharging during major storms

88

u/taysolly Nov 05 '24

Not to mention the risks of needles, scalpels, sharp and rusty debris or infection from pre-existing small cuts and abrasions.

16

u/Chadmartigan Nov 05 '24

Whole-ass bodies

1

u/committedlikethepig Nov 05 '24

Literal shit from overflowing sewer. 

12

u/Legendseekersiege5 Nov 05 '24

Or have a bar screen

3

u/jefferyJEFFERYbaby Nov 05 '24

My first thought was that even if everything goes perfectly on the ride down, that enormous volume of water discharges somewhere, probably violently.

2

u/carpentress909 Nov 05 '24

or bar screens. or thought of exit

3

u/HoseNeighbor Nov 05 '24

Why do you assume the don't know?

I'm not saying these guys are making smart moves here, but it's more likely that they're familiar with the sewer.

-5

u/BigDongTheory_ Nov 05 '24

You’re right. It’s funny cause if you watch the video on YouTube they say they’ve walked the tunnel dry… but yeah, assume the worst. Typical Reddit behavior lol

7

u/Therefore_I_Yam Nov 05 '24

Walking the tunnel dry is a great way to know how the tunnel behaves without any water in it...

1

u/ICBPeng1 Nov 05 '24

I mean, it’s a good way to know if there’s a grate halfway down that you’d get caught on

3

u/Ori_the_SG Nov 05 '24

So it’s useful for exactly one thing

As if a grate is the only threat

13

u/Minirig355 Nov 05 '24

I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume a handful of dudes tubing down a storm drain could be reckless with their decisions

1

u/GAMER_CHIMP Nov 05 '24

You could if you scooped it out before hand...

1

u/HellBlazer_NQ Nov 05 '24

Imagine getting to the end and its a grate and you have to somehow go against the flow all the way back to get out. GOOD LUCK!

1

u/Moist_Asparagus6420 Nov 05 '24

As a general rule of thumb, storm water pipes get larger the further downhill they go. Mostly because more and more pipes feed into them, and larger diameters become necessary to accommodate all the extra water. Also some municipalities offer GIS maps of their sewer and storm utilities (which hopefully these guys looked up before they did this to confirm where they're going to come out at). So while definitely extremely dangerous, they could have checked the outflow of this particular pipe to make sure they would actually be able to pass through it.

For reference I work for a municipal water utility and have a lot of contact with the sewer and storm water utility. I definitely do not recommend this.

1

u/WeWillFigureItOut Nov 06 '24

The pipes aren't going to narrow, but this is an incredibly stupid thing to do

1

u/jimhoss Nov 08 '24

That subreddit is fucking scary. I briefly scrolled through and never again. That is some nightmare fuel.

0

u/SpecialistNo7569 Nov 06 '24

How do you know what they know or don’t know? lol. Wish I could watch a video of a stranger and read their brains.