Just in Case Your Hands Are Zip-Tied

Just in case your hands are zip-tied for some reason… probably don’t wear loafers.

Some Advice From A Little Girl

There are a variety of videos of this sort on YouTube. This particular one is from an account called “FurFamily”, which seems to consist mostly of cute animal videos. (However, I note that I couldn’t find this video directly linked in their pages, so it may be in the process of being suppressed? Hence it’s archived here, for posterity.)

She’s making a very useful point about the physics of zip ties: they mightily resist tension, but are relatively lame about friction across the tie.

Therefore, using her shoelaces, she can apply enough friction to heat the plastic and rip through it quite quickly.

But don’t forget: At the end of this physics experiment, she says “And then you’re free.” But… her shoelaces are at that point tied together – a configuration only good for sitting or lying down, not for walking. Or running. So, if you try to replicate this physics experiment and are for some reason in a hurry, remember shoes must first be retied in a more conventional manner! (And while she uses a square knot, perhaps a bowtie would be easier to undo at the end.)

I guess if you insist on wearing loafers in fascist-infested areas, you should probably have a “decorative” loop of string around your wrist?

The Weekend Conclusion

Sound advice, in case of kidnapping by fascists (or even garden-variety kidnappers).

I’m way too old to be put in a position to do this personally, but it seems like a regrettably useful thing to know.

(Ceterum censeo, Trump incarcerandam esse.)

---

Notes & References

Nope.