You've probably been wondering where Fuzzy and Nutz have been the last few months- and
sadly we have some bad news, because Fuzzy's been doing some hard time.
Maximum security prisons are tough places to be, with
many reports over the years showing that they are some of the most violent places to serve
time in the world.
With gangs, violence, and poor food and little privacy, it's no surprise
that some inmates will do anything to escape
serving out their full sentence!
In 1962 what may be the most famous prison escape in history was carried out by Frank
Morris, and John and Clarence Anglin.
Over its 29 year history as a federal penitentiary,
13 escape attempts had all ended in failure,
yet on June 11th, 1962 Morris and the Anglin
brothers were determined to be the first to successfully break out of Alcatraz and flee
to safety.
The team had spent six months sawing at the ventilation ducts in their cells with
hidden saw blades and then tried to cross the San
Francisco bay on a homemade raft made out of rain coats.
The three were never found or heard from again and it's believed that all
three inmates drowned in the notoriously dangerous
waters surrounding Alcatraz island.
In recent years though an even more high profile prison escape took place on July 11th,
2015, when infamous Mexican Drug Cartel chief El Chapo escaped from a Mexican
penitentiary via a secret tunnel that his henchmen had been digging for months from
a mile outside the prison.
Infamous for escaping from prison, El Chapo has now been
sentenced to the maximum security 'ADX' facility in Colorado, a prison described as
so secure that it would take bribing a warden
and the entire prison staff to successfully break out.
It's clear that though prisons are extremely secure places, they're certainly not escape
proof.
But suppose you were dragged off to maximum security prison like poor Fuzzy,
perhaps for a crime you did not commit- how could you break out and make a run for
freedom?
First, you're going to need help.
In the past prison facilities were typically converted
military facilities like in the case of Alcatraz, or
well constructed, but with many structural flaws.
Often they were allowed to fall into disrepair to the point that eventually, a
clever and very patient prisoner could grind or saw
their way through the crumbling concrete of his
cell.
In the last few decades though there has been a radical shift in the way that prison
are designed, with everything from engineers to
psychological experts and even escape magicians being consulted on the design of
each individual cell and the materials used.
A modern cell is typically made of steel, which
resists corrosion very well and is much harder to try to tunnel through then concrete, which
can weaken with age.
The cells are also constructed as individual units that fit into
place within the structure of the actual building, meaning that there are no weak points to
exploit such as aging ventilation ducts or toilet
Pipes.
Breaking out of a modern maximum security prison is definitely going to be difficult-
but not impossible, as seen in the case of convicted
killers David Sweat and Richard Matt, who broke out of their cell on June 6th, 2015.
But how did they do it, and how can you replicate
the escape yourself?
First, as we mentioned you're going to need outside help.
Modern prisons strictly regulate the movement and personal belongings of
each prisoner, so trying to sneak power tools to your cell on your own isn't going to get
you anywhere but thrown into isolation.
You should try to bribe a guard or maintenance worker
into leaving some tools behind or letting you sneak
them back into your cell- in the case of Sweat and Matt, this is exactly what is suspected
to have happened.
With tools at your disposal you can start cutting your way through the steel wall at
the back of your cell, where it connects to the
building's maintenance areas and pipework.
Before you hop through though you're going to
need to fool the other guards who conduct 2
hour headcounts all throughout the night, so
simply take a bunch of your clothes and arrange them under the covers of your bed
so it looks like you're still snuggled up tight.
Next you're going to want to head through your
escape hole and down into the very basement level of the building.
Your best bet will be to locate a heating pipe which are typically
easy to identify as they carry hot water that makes
the pipe warm to the touch.
Follow this pipe into the very bowels of the building until
you see it start to head outwards- at that point
you're going to need your tools again to start chiseling through the concrete around the
pipe so you can squeeze through.
At last you'll get to the foundation of the prison itself, and
here is where you're going to have to get a little
bit lucky.
Major buildings like prisons that house hundreds of people typically have two major
outlet pipes that connect to the outside world- one is a large steam pipe to vent excess
heating, and the other the main sewer line, full
of... well, the sewage of hundreds of people.
If you manage to find yourself at the steam vent,
you could cut into it and crawl your way to freedom, perhaps with some minor scalding
but otherwise relatively unscathed.
If however you happen to find yourself at the sewage
pipe... we hate to break it to you, but there's only one way to freedom, and it's not going
to smell or feel very nice.
Once you've waded through tons of muck though, congratulations!
You've officially broken out of prison.
You better enjoy your new found freedom as quickly as you can,
because while prison escapes are rare, getting away with it is even rarer, and most prison
escapees are back in police custody within just
a matter of weeks!
How would you escape from prison?
Why not leave poor Fuzzy some tips on the comments
section below!
And if you miss Fuzzy and Nutz and are excited for more adventures, then
stay tuned as we bring you the first official season
of Fuzzy and Nutz soon, filled with brand new
adventures as Fuzzy and Nutz lead us on an adventure through time!