Rapunzel thinks nothing of this damsel in distress.
A British academic who was trapped inside a medieval tower for seven hours escaped on Thursday using only an eyeliner pen and a cotton ball.
Dr Christina Ilko, academic at the University of Cambridge, speaks with a viral tweet How terrified she was of being locked in the bathroom of her historic apartment for days on end, in the former Queen’s College room of 16th century philosopher Erasmus.
The plumber who was fixing the shower forgot that he had broken the lock on the bathroom door.
The room had no windows and the walls were too thick for anyone to hear Ilko’s screams. And her room wasn’t scheduled to be cleaned for another four days.
“I was trying to remember how long humans can live on water alone and hoping that I wouldn’t die there,” Irko said. he told BBC News.
“If people come looking for me, will they search the bathroom or will they have to wait until Monday?
“I tried banging the shower head against the door, breaking it with force, and yelling for help, but it didn’t work and no one could hear me.”
Ilko tried to push the door down several times, but it was no use leaving only a bruise on her shoulder.
That’s when she remembered that she had more brains than brawn, so she looked to her childhood hero and fictional problem-solver MacGyver for inspiration.
The scholar used an eyeliner pen to push down the door latch and made a hook with a cotton earphone.
This ingenious invention ultimately worked, and seven hours later, Ilko tasted freedom.
“When I finally got out and the door opened, it was exhilarating because I didn’t think it was going to work out,” he told the BBC.
“I had planned to stay for more than five days, but I was able to finish it safely.”
She did not feel anxious about this terrible ordeal.
“Sometimes when I hear noises around here, I joke that it’s the ghost of Erasmus. At that moment I thought I could join him and become a Cambridge legend,” Ilko said.
The bathroom door was then unlocked.
