5

You Might Pee Yourself, And You'll Almost Definitely Hallucinate

Cameron was quick to point out that most people seem to genuinely enjoy it. They find it relaxing. Perhaps a little ... too relaxing.

"Of course no one is going to admit to peeing," he said. "But it happens."

Warner Bros. Television
Annnnd that's why her water is yellow.

Cameron took the time to assure us that these pods are super sterile, and they're cleaned after each and every use regardless of urine content. We're trying to find that comforting. Even stranger: Sometimes people won't even know if they've peed.

"Some floaters enter this state inside the pod where they're on the line of being asleep and awake," Cameron explained. "They honestly couldn't tell [if they'd peed]. If a float pod worker tells you no one has peed in these, they're lying. In warm water after having lunch, you have to assume they do. We had someone sign off on six hours straight (please don't, by the by, you might get hypothermia and die), and with a session that long you have to assume they're gonna pee."

We'd have to assume it's mostly pee by then, actually.

andy206uk/iStock
At that point they probably skip the towel and let you dry off with something more appropriate.

4

A Lot of People Combine The Tanks With Drugs

Sensory Deprivation is often compared to LSD trips, minus the LSD. But what if it was plus the LSD?

"We had someone who took either LSD or mushrooms before going in," Cameron remembered. "Before going in he was staring straight ahead, like he was acting like everything was normal, but I don't think it all was. Anyway, when I led him to the pod he walked like he was balancing to stay up and was taking deep breaths. He got in, and two hours later I let him out. He told me, in a really calm tone, 'You only put me in there ten minutes ago. I was sailing on the triangles in there.' That sounded fucking crazy to me, but then he said, 'All of my problems were gone. I was me for once. I was with the triangles.' And that sounded more like other floaters who become more self-aware and more calm, minus the triangles. Then he said, 'I took something to enhance this and it worked. This was great.' I was like yeah, that explains the triangles."

omgigabite/iStock
"Glad you had fun, just try to be careful communing with any triangles outside the tank."

3

There Are Some Risks

A lot of people have a pleasant experience, and emerge like wise butterflies from the cocoon of their own urine. Others emerge having faced the Demogorgon.

"I've had floaters who I took out who were surprised they were still alive," said Cameron. "Because you can't tell if you're conscious sometimes, some half-believe they died. It's only you and your thoughts, and they go to strange places in there, death included. When you get out of a pod, everything looks amazing. For me, colors seem brighter and more vibrant. When floaters who have gone through death come out they'll sit down for several minutes and reflect. They know their mortality more. We had a first-time floater leave his car in the lot here overnight because he didn't want to risk driving, because he was so shaken up."

DarthArt/iStock
"I just don't think I can drive. Could you call me a cab, or maybe, like, a hearse."

Cameron said that, in addition to depriving someone of touch, sight, and sound, the pods also have a way of depriving folks of their sense of time, and that's the one that really scares folks.

"It can shock people," he said. "I've heard from some floaters that it threw off their sleeping schedule for days. If you undershoot by three hours, that's almost like jet lag. If you sleep in the pod, or think you sleep, then it may not be as bad, but it still messes you up. I've had floaters go from that coming-out calmness straight into panic because their sense of time was off so much. Like they come in with the sun up, and they think it's been 15 minutes, but come out and it's night."

izusek/iStock
Confused, jet-lagged, and smelling vaguely of urine has never felt so relaxing.

2

It Can Actually Be Therapeutic

Lennon apparently used a sensory deprivation tank to get off of heroin, with reasonable success. Tom Brady uses one to keep his mind Super Bowl-caliber focused, though it appears it cannot cure him of his inherent Tom Brady-ness.

Andrew Campbell/flickr
Maybe spend a little more time in the tank, Tom. Ideally, September through February.

"I can't say it's a miracle cure like some websites say it is, but some people take it as a treatment," said Cameron. "We had a floater who came in three times a week to help with his depression. He said it helped because it was only him and his mind in there with nothing else to influence it, and it worked in blocking everything out. I had to help a paraplegic get into a pod. He had his spine messed up in an accident, and he was really self-conscious about using a wheelchair. In there, he said, he didn't even feel his body anymore, and that it was one of the few places where he could relax, and the only place he could feel like he was before the accident. A lot of that was in his mind, but our pods helped him get there."

One of our sources, Chelsea, definitely agrees:

"I've had stress problems for years. My doctor has never recommended it, but it was better than yoga."

fizkes/iStock
A bit easier on the hamstrings, too.

1

Leaving Is Like Being Reborn: Being Reborn Isn't Necessarily Fun

If it sounds like a religious experience, it may not be far off for some:

"Most will get a feeling like they're reborn," Cameron said. "I've done it before, and it's pretty accurate."

"The attendants always call it being born again, and I can see where they come from," added Chelsea. "You're cold, wet, and have felt like you've been in the womb. Every time I go in I tell myself that I won't be amazed with everything coming out, but every time I am. The floor there has this colorful pattern of twisting leaves, and every time I come out I'm mesmerized by it. It looks so alive -- despite being tacky-looking leaves. They always say, 'You're looking at them again' when they catch me doing it."

If they'd had a lava lamp in the lobby she might have literally died of ecstasy.

Studies on sensory deprivation tanks have shown that 90 percent of floaters felt more relaxed after a session. But sometimes, if they go through some bad hallucinations, or get salt in their wounds, or think they died, or stay in for too long and develop depression from extended isolation, or maybe just get a little liquid in their mouth and taste pee, it can be a challenge figuring out how to cope afterward.

"Sometimes floaters aren't prepared for the experience or didn't know what to expect," Cameron admitted. "I'll see at least one a day. They don't calmly climb out. They see the light and get out as fast as they can."

Floatguru/Wikimedia Commons
And not exclusively because their pod started smelling like a truck stop men's room halfway through.

You don't need any kind of degree to dunk a dude in a tank, and there's not exactly a standard training course for dealing with hallucinating naked people.

"They don't train you on freak-outs," Cameron said. "There was a floater, like a 20s-ish girl, who was bragging about how she could take this on, but after coming out she said she thought she was dead. She thought she had been forgotten and her air ran out."

That's why, Cameron assured us, all pods either have a panic button, or can at least be opened from the inside. Which is comforting. Unless you dance with the triangles too long, and forget you have hands.

Evan V. Symon is an interviewer, journalist and interview finder for the personal experience team at Cracked. Have an awesome job/experience you'd like to share? Hit us up at tips@cracked.com today!

Behind every awful movie is the idea for a good one. Old man Indiana Jones discovers aliens: Good in theory, bad in practice. Batman fights Superman: So simple, but so bad. Are there good versions of these movies hidden within the stinking turds that saw the light of day? Jack O'Brien hosts Soren Bowie, Daniel O'Brien, and Katie Willert of After Hours on our next live podcast to find an answer, as they discuss their ideal versions of flops, reboots, and remakes. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased here!

Also check out The CIA's 5 Most Mind Blowing Experiments With LSD and 5 Myths About Illegal Drugs You Probably Believe.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out The 5 Most Hilariously Drug-Fueled Celebrity Interviews Ever, and other videos you won't see on the site!

Follow us on Facebook, and let's best friends forever.