Driver trapped in a sinking car thought he had 20 seconds left. Then a ‘Detective Conan’ scene came to mind

Thinking of a scene from an anime you've watched is supposed to be the last thing on your mind if you're trapped inside a sinking car. Ironically, for one Japanese man (@nozinozi053), episode 1078 of "Detective Conan" came to mind. In an X post he shared on November 8, 2026, he explained that he was driving down the road when another car collided with him. Seconds later, his Copen L880 sank into the river with him, and he had to act fast. Thankfully, a scene from "Detective Conan" taught him how to escape. The post has received over 14.2 million views, more than 151,000 likes, and 131 comments.

New car crashed

The man had recently bought the Copen L880 and shared the news on June 11, 2026. Unfortunately, five months later, he totaled it. He explained in his post that as he was driving, he saw a car reverse near the parking lot on the right. He drove past it because he thought they were trying to park. Suddenly, the car moved forward and hit him. He wrote, "The other driver wasn’t pulling straight ahead — it looked like they were trying to pull out in the same direction I was going." The collision caused his Copen L880 to overturn and end up submerged upside down.

Episode 1078

The man panicked when he realized his car was in the water. He wrote, "I really thought I was going to die in the first 20 seconds or so, but this scene [episode 1078] suddenly came to mind, and I made it out alive." He thanked the creator of Detective Conan for saving his life.

The episode he was referring to was "The Black Organization’s Scheme (Landing)," which aired on April 1, 2023. It featured Andre Camel, an FBI agent who crashed his car into the ocean after being chased by members of the Black Organization. Camel found out he could not open the car door because of the water pressure. Conan advised Camel, through a headpiece, to breathe through an air pocket near the roof and wait for the water to fill the car. The logic was that when the pressure inside and outside the car equalized, Camel would be able to open the door and escape.

The man described how he used the technique to get out of his flipped car. He explained, "In my case, the windshield was shattered and filled with water in an instant, so I don’t know if I could have opened it if it hadn’t been filled with water. It was a little heavy, but it opened easily." In another comment, he wrote, "I frantically searched for the doorknob and pulled it, and the wall to the right slid open a little. I thought, 'This is a door!' and gave it a good hard pull. It was a little heavy, but it opened easily."

Helpful fiction

Some TV shows and movies provide more than just entertainment. A 2017 study by Beth L. Hoffman found that 32% of respondents said watching fictional medical television programs such as "ER," "Grey's Anatomy," and "House M.D." had a positive influence on them. While "Detective Conan" is not a fictional medical show, a specific scene from one episode helped save the man's life.

Another study by Gerren K. McDonald found that 87% of the respondents' knowledge about car submersions came from the media. However, a whopping 94% were not aware of a proper self-rescue technique. The best way to get out of a sinking car is by following "SWOC." The first thing you should do is remove your Seatbelt, open your windows, get out as soon as possible, and children should always go first. This method has been proven to help lower fatality rates.

Conan's lessons

Readers flooded the comment section, asking the man how he escaped and expressing how happy they were that he was safe. A few others shared how useful "Detective Conan" has been in their lives. @FantasticCr_ff commented, "It’s not easy to save a life using knowledge from anime, but it shows that what you watch in your spare time really can come in handy when it matters most." @ADYS63zh1c8054 added, "Conan really is a hero. I learned about things like what to do when bitten by a sea snake and how to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from Conan, and knowing that stuff really does come in handy."

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