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Okay, first off, to answer the question of how he would have survived, we need to consider what are the leading possible causes of mortality in falls from waterfalls.
First: the freezing cold water. Though the temperature shock can cause cardiac arrest on impact, this is not an enormous concern for someone who is fairly young and without an underlying heart condition. Since (as per the dates on the gravestone) Holmes was 37, and certainly someone who led an active lifestyle, we can safely assume his heart could indeed take the strain.
The other and more prevalent danger is the human Cold-Shock Reflex, which causes hyperventilation (and immediate gasping of course) in response to the temperature change.
Gasping in water is the obvious danger. Hyperventilation is the more insidious one, robbing the body of oxygen that it desperately needs, and causing exhaustion quickly.
In any case. Cold-shock reflex is the number one killer out there for any kind of plunge into cold water, but is entirely preventable so long as one remembers to suppress the reflex. Not easy but perfectly feasible, so long as you're not too busy panicking. Holmes definitely wasn't.
Of course we've all heard of hypothermia, but it does not set in as quickly as might be imagined. The US Marine Corps gives about 15 minutes for hypothermia to set in, on average, in freezing water, and though with an already serious injury, Holmes would not have been on the high end of that scale, again, getting out of the water in that time is possible.
Second: Post-impact conditions.
Unlike when one hits standing water from a great height (which is about as bad as hitting concrete) water near the base of a waterfall is thoroughly whipped with air and so provides a comparatively soft landing. The good news is that one does not get killed by the impact with the surface. The bad news is that it is impossible to float (and near impossible to swim) in this kind of water, and once submerged, even in the presence of daylight it is pitch-black because of the light blocking properties of the microscopic air bubbles. Adding to this the fact that the currents -and the impact- rob a person of any sense of direction, it is usually impossible to break surface before drowning, and worse, attempting to do so either does nothing measurable, or brings a swimmer back into danger as the surface currents tend to flow towards the falls.
If a person however knows their physics (Holmes did), can stay calm long enough to regain orientation (he did have a pretty cool head after all), can manage not to drown while attempting to do so (hence the usefulness of the oxygen device), then it is possible to get carried away from the waterfall by swimming diagonally DOWNWARD and away from the fall, where eventually one hits a deeper (and always outbound) current.
Third: Impact.
Okay, so now we know that the impact with the frothy water is not so bad, but what about rocks?
The greatest danger is right beneath the falls (because of rocks that get washed over and go straight down) and if anyone noticed, when Holmes did break away from Moriarty, he used the momentum to push away from the base of the falls. Pure luck? Possibly. More likely, though his eyes were closed, he was probably keeping track of their relative positions thought orientational perception, and broke away at the optimal time to get out from right under the falls, but not far enough to hit water that would have had too little air to allow for a shot at surviving the surface impact.
So, in summary, Holmes avoided the largest danger of hitting rock, used the oxygen device to breathe underwater until he could regain his bearings, and then probably swam for a current that he could ride away from the falls, and finally surfaced, then exited the water and found some kind of shelter before freezing to death, or was found downstream.
It is possible that he used the device just before impact (so that when the cold-shock reflex was triggered, he would not have drowned), but unlikely, since the risk of losing it would have been far too great.
More likely, he took a deep breath before impact, held it, suppressing the initial gasping phase of the cold shock reflex, and then used the device underwater.
Easy to survive? Hell no!
Possible, yes, especially if you got a mind like Sherlock Holmes did which never ever shuts down, and nerves of steel.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoA big bee came, Sherlock jumped on it and flew away.
OR
Wait for the third season.
January'13.
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Where was the setting of the final problem sherlock holmes?
That would be the Rickenbacker Falls. They are located in Switzerland.
Who gets killed on trummelbach falls in the Sherlock Holmes story?
No one died on Trummelbach Falls. You probably mean Reichenbach Falls.
Where in which country did Sherlock Holmes die?
The great detective faked his death at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, but Conan Doyle never did write about where Holmes died later in life.
How did Doyle feel about his Sherlock Holmes stories?
Fulfilled - maybe, maybe not. He certainly built a reputation and benefited financially from Holmes`existence, but the fact that he tried to kill him off at Reichenbach Falls because he wanted to concentrate on his historical novels indicates that he had grown weary of Holmes and his cases.
Where are the Reichenbach Falls?
The Reichenbach Falls (Reichenbachfall), one of the highest cataracts in the Alps, are located near Meiringen, Switzerland. This is the site where Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty seemingly fell to their death in "The Adventure of the Final Problem." But Conan Doyle's public would not allow him to kill off his hero, so he had to resurrect him by means of a fantastic escape in the next adventure of the series.
Where was the setting of the final problem sherlock holmes?
That would be the Rickenbacker Falls. They are located in Switzerland.
Who gets killed on trummelbach falls in the Sherlock Holmes story?
No one died on Trummelbach Falls. You probably mean Reichenbach Falls.
Is Reichenbach Falls a real place in Switzerland?
Yes, the Reichenbach Falls are near Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland. They are a popular place to visit both because the are spectacular, and because of the Sherlock Holmes connection. Arthur Conan Doyle visited the falls and had the idea of making them the place where Sherlock Holmes died.
When was Reichenbach Falls - film - created?
Reichenbach Falls - film - was created in 2007.
Where in which country did Sherlock Holmes die?
The great detective faked his death at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, but Conan Doyle never did write about where Holmes died later in life.
How did Doyle feel about his Sherlock Holmes stories?
Fulfilled - maybe, maybe not. He certainly built a reputation and benefited financially from Holmes`existence, but the fact that he tried to kill him off at Reichenbach Falls because he wanted to concentrate on his historical novels indicates that he had grown weary of Holmes and his cases.
How successful were the Sherlock Holmes stories?
Incredibly, amazingly, great! Everybody loved them! They even wore black bands on their arms when Holmes was supposed to have careened over the edge of Reichenbach Falls, and some even sent Conan Doyle death threats.
Where are the Reichenbach Falls?
The Reichenbach Falls (Reichenbachfall), one of the highest cataracts in the Alps, are located near Meiringen, Switzerland. This is the site where Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty seemingly fell to their death in "The Adventure of the Final Problem." But Conan Doyle's public would not allow him to kill off his hero, so he had to resurrect him by means of a fantastic escape in the next adventure of the series.
Where in which country and how was Sherlock Holmes supposed to have died?
In the short story 'The Final Problem' he is said to have fallen into Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland and is presumed dead. The reader later learns that he never actually did fall.
What are the main events in Sherlock Holmes a study in scarlet?
1. Holmes' first case 2. Watson's wounding in the battle of Maiwand 3. Holmes/Watson meeting 4. Watson's first marriage 5. Watson's meeting with Mycroft Holmes 6. Holmes' and Professor Moriarty's struggle at Reichenbach Falls 7. Holmes' return 8. Watson's second marriage 9. Holmes' retirement 10. Holmes' last case
Where did Sherlock Holmes die?
In the books and most movies, Prof. Moriarty (his arch nemesis) and Holmes fall off the Reichenbach Falls. Sherlock survives, but Moriarty dies. The only reason Conan Doyle killed him off was because he grew tired of the character and the series, and it was distracting him from other projects. He brought back Sherlock Holmes because fans of Holmes got angry and forced Conan Doyle to bring him back. In the BBC modern-day adaptation of Sherlock, Moriarty tells Sherlock that he will kill Sherlock's friends is Sherlock does not kill himself. This exchange occurs on top of St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Moriarty shoots himself in the head, and then Sherlock jumps to his apparent death. At the very end of the episode, it is shown that Sherlock is still alive.
Who painted The Upper Falls of the Reichenbach?
Joseph Mallord William Turner
