TikToker shares life-saving tip for getting out of a zip tie: ‘This is knowledge I hope I never need’
Originally published: Yahoo News
This TikToker shared how to escape if someone ties your wrists together with a zip tie, and the advice could save your life.
International Women’s Media Foundation (@theiwmf) is an organization that offers safety training and other resources to female, non-binary and gender non-conforming journalists. While IWMF’s videos are geared toward helping journalists, their safety tips are potentially useful for anyone who finds themself in a dangerous situation.
In a recent video, one of IWMF’s TikTok correspondents demonstrated how to escape if your wrists are tied together with zip ties, and the demonstration was both fascinating and potentially life-saving.
The video begins with a shot of a female demonstrator lying on the ground, her wrists tied together with a zip tie. She quickly works her way out of the zip tie, breaking it in two with a snap. She then sits up and asks, “Have you ever wondered how to get out of a zip tie? Let me show you!”
The demonstrator starts by allowing another woman to tie her wrists together with a zip tie. At this point, she explains that, if possible, it’s ideal to try to keep your hands as far apart as possible.
“It helps if you lay your hands out in a triangle,” she explains. “Even if the assailant orders you to put your hands close together, what you can do is make fists, put your wrists together and try to create space.”
The next step, according to the demonstrator, is to remove one of your shoelaces and work it through the zip tie.
“It’s OK if you need to use your mouth for this part,” the demonstrator says.
Then the demonstrator ties the ends of the shoelaces around each of her shoes. She lies on her back, with the shoelace taught between her feet and wrists, and uses her core strength to “bicycle” her feet back and forth.
“The friction that you’re creating is going to snap the zip tie,” the demonstrator says, as she breaks the zip tie in half.
The video ends with the demonstrator holding up the zip tie in triumph.
“Knowledge I hope I never need”
Viewers applauded the life-saving tip!
“This is knowledge I hope I never need, but glad I now have,” one viewer wrote.
“We love an ab workout mixed with a captive escape technique,” another viewer joked.
Hopefully, most people will never need to know how to escape a zip tie. But it’s good to hope for the best while still preparing for the worst.