The average joe might not have a regulator in the car, but they might have a large funnel or a DIY plastic-jug bailer. These could be used to catch the air to breathe without inhaling water. They also have narrow openings that you can seal your lips around.

You could also cut the bottom off of a liter cola bottle. One issue with the air-catching schemes is keeping the air-catcher from rising to the surface. The amount of force is not inhumanly possible to cope with, but one mistake, and your salvation might slip out of your grasp. You are already trying to regulate the air stream with one hand, and you're probably holding on somehow to keep yourself from bobbing up to the surface, so this may well be an issue.

If the car had the right shaped and size hubcaps, Adam could use his knife to remove one, then puncture the tire, then catch enough air in the hubcap to breath from. I've got faith in you Adam. You can do it.

When i was a small boy the local swimming pool had a small sitting pool and it was fitted with many jets of air blowing up from below from small holes in the hard floor. I would hover over the bottom and breath out of these holes with no problem. I don't see how breating out of the tire could be any different if not easier.

Sounds like the diver community has the answer!

Give someone with some experience a shot at it.

I would have to agree with some of you guys. The applicator tube that comes with a can of fix a flat would make this myth work. All you would have to do is screw it on the tire valve and it would give you a straw to suck the air out of. Also even with 10 psi in the tire tere is no air going in to the tire untill the pressure drops to zero then the tire will take on water.

This myth is true. He only needed to capture air in is shirt and breath that air. BY wraping legs around tire and removing shirt or pants use it as a device to capture air and use that to breath. Using clothes to hold air is taught in every type of survival training of water

Using a tire pressure gauge (which most people should have in the car anyway) you have a ready made breathing tube. Just break off the inner plastic piece and then you get air going directly into you mouth for only as long as you press the gauge on the valve.

I don't think it has anything to do with gauges and whatnot, and I also agree that someone like Jamie should not have done the myth because it's supposed to be your average joe trying this, but what i DO know is this:
It can be done!

My father's friend scared his mom when we was going into her hot tub. What happened was this:
The hot tub was on but the cover was on as well, what he did though was have his mouth over the bubbles, and let the bubbles displace the water in his mouth and slowly breath in that air

I fully agree that you gave up way too early u only tried 2 options how about this to add on to incindiommy, a plain white Bic® ball point pen can be easily taken apart with your teeth, and it is a sturdy straw that u can insert into the even after removing the ink cartrage there is a slightly sharpened tip with a hole in the end that would make it easy to insert into the slit in the tire to seal the air going into adams mouth, he could in turn force all the water from his mouth and suck the air in just like he is drinking a soda from a glass but breathing air through the straw...

I think he had a good idea with poking the hole in the tire that maybe to make it possible to pull off to try using a straw or some sort of tube to breathe through to make a make shift oxygen mask. I know that that's something I would try.

I really liked the way you guys tested this myth. The fact that you guys mentioned that the test was preformed in better-than-ideal conditions was spot-on, and the fact that Adam couldn't make a seal on the tire without breathing in water also totally makes sense. Thanks for doing such a dangerous stunt, too, Adam! I know you had people in the water (like Jamie) that could help, but still, it must have been really scary in that car!

It Can be done and I have done it! Scuba classes (yes - the famous
Bamboo Reef in San Rafael) taught this technique for many years. I took my classes in the 70's and they required mastery of this technique. It involves carefully opening the valve from the tank sans-regulator and breathing the bubbles. It can be done easily once you get past the feeling that you will inhale water, which won't happen if you hold your head correctly. your throat needs to be above your mouth cavity to make it work best. Write me - I'll do it on-air!

i think that if was swimming horizontally and not vertically with his stomach facing the pool bottom and left his mouth open over the valve it would trap air like a under water cave or a snug fitting straw over the fill stem the hole trap air with shirt thing would not work very well because the air would go out the top neck hole

EDIT oops just realized this is an old thread.

You don't need any equipment at all.

Just push the valve's release pin with your fingernail and hold your mouth over the rising bubbles.

Besides the free running regulator, this technique is also used to clear a scuba diver mask. We did this during scuba certification: completely remove your mask underwater, put it back on, lift the bottom of the mask off your face, blow bubbles out your nose, and fill the mask with air.

To breathe, hold your mouth open over the stream of bubbles and inhale slowly as the bubbles replenish your air supply in your mouth. Exhale as normal.