Drowning is a significantly worse experience than you ever imagined.
Guy Cotten, a French company specializing in rugged outdoor attire and safety gear, produced an interactive video titled "Sortie En Mer” (A Trip Out To Sea) that gives users a firsthand look at what it's like to fall off a sailboat and eventually drown.
After a man falls into the ocean, viewers are told to scroll up as quickly as they can to keep his head above water. If users choose not to scroll, the man drowns in a matter of seconds. If they do scroll, they’ll see the man's disturbing struggle to stay alive.
The man kicks off his shoes in order to swim better, he rubs his feet and hands because the freezing temperatures numb them, he loses his fingernails due to the cold, and he cries out for help that never comes.
Eventually, no matter how fast users scroll, the man succumbs to the water and sinks to the bottom. In our experience, the whole process took five minutes.
“At sea you tire faster than you think,” the post-experience message says. “Whenever you go out to sea, wear your life jacket.”
Try "Sortie En Mer" here, or watch the teaser video below. Be warned that the experience contains some potentially disturbing images.
(h/t The Verge)