Your Jeans Are A Life Jacket

Fall off a boat with no life jacket and you'd kick off your soaking jeans and let them sink. Hang on to them. Knot each leg, hold the waist open, swing the jeans over your head and slam them into the water: the legs trap air like two balloons, and with your head between them you float. Jeans leak, so when they go soft you fill them again, and again. The trick is in a 1943 U.S. War Department bulletin. In March 2019, a sailor knocked overboard off New Zealand's east coast kept his jeans full of air for over three hours, until a rescue helicopter found him. It's a last resort, not a substitute: always wear a life jacket on a boat. Sources: U.S. War Department, Intelligence Bulletin, February 1943 (reprinted at lonesentry.com) · 1News, 9 March 2019 · Fox News and Military.com, 11 March 2019 · VOA Learning English (Reuters), March 2019 #survival #ocean #boating #whatif