If you read a lot of books or watched a lot of movies as a kid, you might have had some extreme fears related to natural occurrences like quicksand or whirlpools or pits of mud.

I know, we should all be in therapy.

But what actually happens if you get sucked into a whirlpool? And is it impossible to get out?

Whirlpools are created when fast-flowing water interacts with currents or obstacles. The water swirls downward into a vortex that’s strong enough to suck in objects or animals that happen to be nearby.

Some only exist for a little while, but others are huge and persist due to common currents. The most dangerous sort are called maelstroms.

I’m sorry to report that, if you do find yourself sucked into one of these stronger versions, the chances of survival are pretty grim.

Stuart Foulstone survived one, and he says that once submerged, it was nothing short of terrifying.

“When I realized I was trapped in a whirlpool, my first instinct was to try to swim out of it, but this proved hopeless. I’ve since reviewed footage filmed by the GoPro camera attached to my helmet. The video shows I was underwater for almost three and a half minutes. I must have been dragged down almost to the riverbed, where the pull of the whirlpool lessened and released its hold. I was spotted face-down in the water and picked up by one of the kayakers.”

The deeper the whirlpool, the less chance you have of getting out of it alive.

Whirlpools can appear suddenly and without warning, so it’s important to know about the area you plan to swim and to wear a flotation device whenever possible.

If you do all that and still get sucked in, well…maybe it’s just your time to go.

What?

The Gen X in me says sometimes you just have to accept your fate!

Thought that was fascinating? Here’s another story you might like: Why You’ll Never See A Great White Shark In An Aquarium