Alcatraz was closed for about three months, and reopened to tours again in April of this year. I've been on the tour there twice -- unforgettable! As you can imagine, there's a lot more to the history of the place than this video could fit in a few minutes. Well worth it IMO. Nice reaction. Remind Office Bloke Mike to watch the video. :)
I went on a tour of Alcatraz years ago and they put you into a solitary cell so you can experience it. Luckily it was only for a few seconds because when that door closes and puts you into absolute darkness the panic and terror are immediate.
Both of my parents grew up in S.F. back in the days. My father said swimming to/from Alcatraz being imposable was a total myth to discourage prisoners. As a teen my Dad did it 3 times as a challenge (the trick was knowing the currents flow in and out of the bay), twice caught at sea and once made it to shore to but still caught and punished all 3 times. Ironically my dad later joined the Coast Guard and part of his job was recovery of the bodies of failed attempts; he said there were more than reported to discourage prisoners. He told me the worst part was when you pulled the bodies out of the water small crabs would crawl out of their mouths. Also there is dungeon there (not on the tour) that is rarely talked about but but was portrayed in a Kevin Bacon movie. The dungeon was left over from when it was a military fort before it was a prison.
I love the picture of Mike. I would love to know the story of it if it's not just from a video. It looks like you guys walked up to him, told him there was a big safety concern in the office like an accident with injury in a really dumb way or something, then took a pic of his immediate reaction. Also Dave is spot on. I have seen gore site videos of South American prisons where inmates have firearms. One was an assassination of a gang leader, and the inmate had a fully auto pistol with a extended magazine. the inmates are locked in a unit together by themselves and one guard was standing outside the bars of the pod entrance....he just ran away rightfully so as it appeared he only had pepper spray and a nightstick.
Unless the prisoners who swam did it fast, the cold water would have killed them. It is so cold in that bay. I visited the prison once and it was freezing. The cells were super small.
And a very strong current running under the Golden Gate Bridge and out to sea. Small chance of making it to shore, but maybe that was better than being an inmate any longer.
Took the tour of Alcatraz. Really interesting. Went in the middle of summer and it was cold af throughout the tour. If you plan on going make sure you take a heavy jacket with a hood and gloves! Also recommend the two great movies Escape from Alcatraz (Clint Eastwood) & Birdman of Alcatraz (Burt Lancaster). Definitely classics.
Ive been out to Alcatraz. It’s such a creepy place. It’s supposedly haunted, and there are a few documentaries out there of paranormal investigations in the prison. The solitary cells are pretty terrifying. They let you spend a few minutes in them during tours. I don’t know how anyone could stay in one for days on end.
The tour is great. An interesting side note is that George Lucas went to Alcatraz back in the 1970s and recorded the sound of all the cell doors closing and used it to recreate the sound of the Death Star doors closing in the Star Wars movies. Lucas’s production company is north of San Francisco. If you go on a tour, they do close the cell block doors so you can hear the sound that reverberates. Prisoners used to say it was the loneliest sound in the world because it meant they were being locked back into their cells for the night. And they also mentioned that the food was quite good there-so good that the guards and the warden would eat their meals as well at the cafeteria. Guards, the warden, and their families also lived on the island and had their own housing, and halls for entertainment. The families said they always felt safe there and there was never any incident with the prisoners who were kept behind the main walls of the prison.
Dave is on point. I’d have an imaginary friend after 30 minutes in solitary. And by the end of day two I’d be out of my mind. 💯 Not to mention claustrophobia. Those cells are like being stuck in a sleeping bag. They were much smaller back then.
“spooning” isn’t your biggest problem. There was an inmate in the prison I worked at that murdered his cellmate for using the toilet. Another that beat his cellmate almost to death for farting. I have a lot of stories I could tell you. Prison is not what people think.
We have the McNeil Island Penitentiary here on the South Puget Sound and in its 135 years roughly 2 dozen or less have escaped the island . It was a bigger island where some employees had houses they had a farm prisoners grew their own food.
This prison was for the prisoners who were either inherently bad or who had misbehaved in other Federal prisons. This was not about punishment or rehabilitation - this prison was for isolation and to provoke fear and discipline in the other prisons. It was far worse than this video portrays. Try a video and the escape attempts, that would be great. They did not get English breakfast, many of these pictures are not from Alcatraz.
I live not too far from Alcatraz. Sure you could swim it if you're a strong swimmer, but the distance isn't the issue. The tides are. Unless you understand the tides and when the best time to swim is you'll likely be swept out to sea and drown.
The part of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers trying to swim to shore is false. What they did was pretty genius. They made an inflatable raft pieced together by raincoats, and they inflated it by stealing an concertina from the music room. They also made life vests, oars, and created papier mache heads to place on their pillows to fool the guards as they made their escape. When the search for the trio went underway, the authorities found what was left of the raft and one of the oars, along with a plastic bag full of one of the inmates personal possessions. A month or two later, a postcard was sent to one of the inmates with the simple message, "Gone fishin'", which is believed to tell the inmate that they had made it to shore. Just a couple of years ago it is said that one of the inmates, one of the Anglin brothers, had sent a letter to the Feds, asking for clemency to enter the US from Brazil, where he and his brother traveled after their escape. It is said that they tried to make their way to the shore of San Francisco, but new data suggests they made it to Angel Island, which would be easier to access through the current of the bay, and from their made their way to the mainland, where there was an accomplice to pick them up and get them to a safe house to rest before making their way to parts unknown.
Is it true that local KFC employees are holding nightly candlelight vigils at Mike's house, holding hands and chanting "FREE MIKE" incessantly? Can we send him anything? Writing paper? A pack of cigarettes that he can trade for something nice from the commissary? A shank? Hang in there, Mike. 🔥👍😬
I'd imagine they wouldn't deliver the food on regular intervals specifically to throw off their perception of time. I visited Alcatraz when I was like 10 so I don't remember much, but I do remember a story of a guy who tossed a penny around the room for weeks just picking it up and tossing it again to stay sane. Must've been horrible.
Great place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there! It is actually a great place to visit. Can’t imagine being stuck there because it’s so beautiful all around the bay.
My dad was a prison guard here in South Dakota from mid 1940’s to 1960 or 61 I believe. My mom said at one point, he wanted to work at a Federal Prison and had applied at Alcatraz, Leavenworth, and actually interviewed at Sandstone in Minnesota. I don’t know what changed his mind but he changed professions shortly after. Maybe 16yrs as a guard was his limit...more likely the pay wasn’t enough for our growing family.
most of this stuff is still true today in the (CDC)California Department of Corrections. the food is way better in prison than it is in jail or juvi. in fact, California prisons use the same food vendors as most of the popular stores and restaurants out on the streets. the constant counting of convicts, visitation rules, library privileges, solitary confinement as punishment... i believe forcing silence on inmates only exists in county jails and juvenile halls. but other than that, pretty much everything he said is still true today regardless of whether youre a maximum or minimum security level prisoner
I feel like if you're going to alcatraz, and you're going into solitary confinement, you're already probably mad. The prison isn't gonna make you any worse of a person.
I can't believe you guys actually feel sorry for those people. I have an idea...if you don't want to be in prison, don't commit a crime. Any prisoner that complains about the cells, the food or the time out of their cells, gets no pity from me. Did they have pity for their victims?
This a near-sighted view. Do I pity victims, and think those that commit crimes should get some kind of punishment? Yes. But that doesn’t mean you put inmates in the worst conditions possible. That does nothing but worsen already mentally ill inmates, and can traumatize otherwise healthy inmates, which is not doing anyone in the outside any favors should they escape or get released. Nobody thinks criminals, particularly violent criminals, deserve 5 star accommodations, but basic access to books, classes, exercise, time out of cell to move and socialize, etc. are necessary for any attempt rehabilitation. Putting everyone in solitary confinement with permanent silence is hardly a productive measure.
@@emobx02 also to add to your point, not everyone who was sent to prison was guilty. There were plenty of US government cover-ups, cutting corners, and just straight up lying from victims. So when someone says “don’t commit a crime if you don’t want to be in prison” it shows how dense their thinking is and that they aren’t in touch with reality. 9.9/10 people like SerenaT have committed crime that could land them in jail or prison yet they get away with it, small or big crime. Common sense ain’t common anymore
Unfortunately the US has a broken justice system and not everyone who goes to prison has actually done anything wrong. If for that reason alone every prisoner should be treated humanely.
@@emobx02 Just kill em all then we don't have to pay to keep them alive for a tortured existence anyway. All life sentences should just be executions. Sounds over the top on the surface until you think about it a bit it's really the best way.
that picture of Mike looks like a mugshot! Lol!
Alcatraz was closed for about three months, and reopened to tours again in April of this year.
I've been on the tour there twice -- unforgettable! As you can imagine, there's a lot more to the history of the place than this video could fit in a few minutes. Well worth it IMO.
Nice reaction. Remind Office Bloke Mike to watch the video. :)
Mike seems like he enjoyed the video alot, just look at his face he's amazed.
Do you sing for everyone or just other amphibians 🥺
@@amourtoujours779 He sings for Miss Piggy so she doesn't beat him up.
Is that Mike's last booking photo?
"alot" is not a word.
I went on a tour of Alcatraz years ago and they put you into a solitary cell so you can experience it. Luckily it was only for a few seconds because when that door closes and puts you into absolute darkness the panic and terror are immediate.
The Clint Eastwood movie "Escape from Alcatraz" is worth a watch.
Dramatised
I would say most, if not all, Clint Eastwood movies are worth a watch. Whether or not he stars in it.
I used to work in Marin County, the currents in the Bay are very strong and Alcatraz isn't close to the mainland.
Both of my parents grew up in S.F. back in the days. My father said swimming to/from Alcatraz being imposable was a total myth to discourage prisoners. As a teen my Dad did it 3 times as a challenge (the trick was knowing the currents flow in and out of the bay), twice caught at sea and once made it to shore to but still caught and punished all 3 times. Ironically my dad later joined the Coast Guard and part of his job was recovery of the bodies of failed attempts; he said there were more than reported to discourage prisoners. He told me the worst part was when you pulled the bodies out of the water small crabs would crawl out of their mouths. Also there is dungeon there (not on the tour) that is rarely talked about but but was portrayed in a Kevin Bacon movie. The dungeon was left over from when it was a military fort before it was a prison.
I love the picture of Mike. I would love to know the story of it if it's not just from a video. It looks like you guys walked up to him, told him there was a big safety concern in the office like an accident with injury in a really dumb way or something, then took a pic of his immediate reaction.
Also Dave is spot on. I have seen gore site videos of South American prisons where inmates have firearms. One was an assassination of a gang leader, and the inmate had a fully auto pistol with a extended magazine. the inmates are locked in a unit together by themselves and one guard was standing outside the bars of the pod entrance....he just ran away rightfully so as it appeared he only had pepper spray and a nightstick.
The English breakfast shown was never served in any American prison.
Unless the prisoners who swam did it fast, the cold water would have killed them. It is so cold in that bay. I visited the prison once and it was freezing. The cells were super small.
Wasn’t there supposedly sharks also
And a very strong current running under the Golden Gate Bridge and out to sea. Small chance of making it to shore, but maybe that was better than being an inmate any longer.
Very true and that's the reason there are NEVER any hurricanes in the S.F. or L.A area as by the law of physics water is too cold for them to form...
Unfortunate u guys did some really good videos while Mike was gone
wdym? he seems present to me
Took the tour of Alcatraz. Really interesting. Went in the middle of summer and it was cold af throughout the tour. If you plan on going make sure you take a heavy jacket with a hood and gloves! Also recommend the two great movies Escape from Alcatraz (Clint Eastwood) & Birdman of Alcatraz (Burt Lancaster). Definitely classics.
Ive been out to Alcatraz. It’s such a creepy place. It’s supposedly haunted, and there are a few documentaries out there of paranormal investigations in the prison. The solitary cells are pretty terrifying. They let you spend a few minutes in them during tours. I don’t know how anyone could stay in one for days on end.
The tour is great. An interesting side note is that George Lucas went to Alcatraz back in the 1970s and recorded the sound of all the cell doors closing and used it to recreate the sound of the Death Star doors closing in the Star Wars movies. Lucas’s production company is north of San Francisco. If you go on a tour, they do close the cell block doors so you can hear the sound that reverberates. Prisoners used to say it was the loneliest sound in the world because it meant they were being locked back into their cells for the night. And they also mentioned that the food was quite good there-so good that the guards and the warden would eat their meals as well at the cafeteria. Guards, the warden, and their families also lived on the island and had their own housing, and halls for entertainment. The families said they always felt safe there and there was never any incident with the prisoners who were kept behind the main walls of the prison.
Dave is on point. I’d have an imaginary friend after 30 minutes in solitary. And by the end of day two I’d be out of my mind. 💯 Not to mention claustrophobia. Those cells are like being stuck in a sleeping bag. They were much smaller back then.
Anyone who thinks Alcatraz was bad should see a documentary about ADX Florence.
You’d get really good at meditating, really excited about mealtime, appreciate working any job you could, and keep your mouth shut. lol
“spooning” isn’t your biggest problem. There was an inmate in the prison I worked at that murdered his cellmate for using the toilet. Another that beat his cellmate almost to death for farting. I have a lot of stories I could tell you. Prison is not what people think.
@@verynice5574 lol ikr
@@verynice5574 I suppose if your holiday involves staying at a run down hostel, it’s a bit like that, but more violent.
@@verynice5574 **yawn**
We have the McNeil Island Penitentiary here on the South Puget Sound and in its 135 years roughly 2 dozen or less have escaped the island . It was a bigger island where some employees had houses they had a farm prisoners grew their own food.
As bad as Alcatraz seems to people. They have a brilliant way of running things. Especially the time off your sentence idea.
It is almost 2 miles from Alcatraz to shore in 50 to 60 degree water with serious currents and sharks.
This prison was for the prisoners who were either inherently bad or who had misbehaved in other Federal prisons. This was not about punishment or rehabilitation - this prison was for isolation and to provoke fear and discipline in the other prisons. It was far worse than this video portrays. Try a video and the escape attempts, that would be great. They did not get English breakfast, many of these pictures are not from Alcatraz.
I live not too far from Alcatraz. Sure you could swim it if you're a strong swimmer, but the distance isn't the issue. The tides are. Unless you understand the tides and when the best time to swim is you'll likely be swept out to sea and drown.
The part of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers trying to swim to shore is false. What they did was pretty genius. They made an inflatable raft pieced together by raincoats, and they inflated it by stealing an concertina from the music room. They also made life vests, oars, and created papier mache heads to place on their pillows to fool the guards as they made their escape. When the search for the trio went underway, the authorities found what was left of the raft and one of the oars, along with a plastic bag full of one of the inmates personal possessions. A month or two later, a postcard was sent to one of the inmates with the simple message, "Gone fishin'", which is believed to tell the inmate that they had made it to shore. Just a couple of years ago it is said that one of the inmates, one of the Anglin brothers, had sent a letter to the Feds, asking for clemency to enter the US from Brazil, where he and his brother traveled after their escape. It is said that they tried to make their way to the shore of San Francisco, but new data suggests they made it to Angel Island, which would be easier to access through the current of the bay, and from their made their way to the mainland, where there was an accomplice to pick them up and get them to a safe house to rest before making their way to parts unknown.
React to the Attica Prison uprising footage to learn about the origin of the "Attica" protest cry.
Mike ok? Was Abit quiet on this one 😂
Is it true that local KFC employees are holding nightly candlelight vigils at Mike's house, holding hands and chanting "FREE MIKE" incessantly? Can we send him anything? Writing paper? A pack of cigarettes that he can trade for something nice from the commissary? A shank? Hang in there, Mike. 🔥👍😬
lool that pic! He's in the middle of saying 'one pound fifteh', no question
*Whitest Kids 'U Know* would be a great rabbit hole.
I'd imagine they wouldn't deliver the food on regular intervals specifically to throw off their perception of time. I visited Alcatraz when I was like 10 so I don't remember much, but I do remember a story of a guy who tossed a penny around the room for weeks just picking it up and tossing it again to stay sane. Must've been horrible.
Check out ADX Florence in Colorado.
Great place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there! It is actually a great place to visit. Can’t imagine being stuck there because it’s so beautiful all around the bay.
You guys should watch the Clint Eastwood movie Escape from Alcatraz.
My dad was a prison guard here in South Dakota from mid 1940’s to 1960 or 61 I believe. My mom said at one point, he wanted to work at a Federal Prison and had applied at Alcatraz, Leavenworth, and actually interviewed at Sandstone in Minnesota. I don’t know what changed his mind but he changed professions shortly after. Maybe 16yrs as a guard was his limit...more likely the pay wasn’t enough for our growing family.
most of this stuff is still true today in the (CDC)California Department of Corrections. the food is way better in prison than it is in jail or juvi. in fact, California prisons use the same food vendors as most of the popular stores and restaurants out on the streets. the constant counting of convicts, visitation rules, library privileges, solitary confinement as punishment... i believe forcing silence on inmates only exists in county jails and juvenile halls. but other than that, pretty much everything he said is still true today regardless of whether youre a maximum or minimum security level prisoner
5:55 I don't know where those guys are, but it's not Alcatraz. A huge baseball diamond and hills in the background? Alcatraz isn't that big.
Do more from that channel, its interesting as hell
One pound fifty.
Id def like to see more prison docus.
its been proven the 2 brothers lived and went to mexico
Just interview Sean Connery, he can tell you everything you need to know.
Mike on another vacation or sabbatical? Or is this prerecorded?
Like I said before just not the same without a clean nose Mike
Office blokes try prison next video
Rykers island is still open
I've been there. Wasn't that cool. Some Karen yelled at me for screwing around with the seagulls.
U guys should check out Rikers island in New York
#pray for Mick
Jagger?
Should listen to JAY WILLIAMS Lets Live LIFE. He talks about REAL experiences in American prisons.
Check out the movie Murder in the First with Kevin Bacon. its not all factual but gives you a good idea of how shitty alcatraz was
I had ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner today =/
I feel like if you're going to alcatraz, and you're going into solitary confinement, you're already probably mad. The prison isn't gonna make you any worse of a person.
react to San Quentin prison or The Winchester Mystery House
That's the way prisons should be and not like they are here in the UK.
I can't believe you guys actually feel sorry for those people. I have an idea...if you don't want to be in prison, don't commit a crime. Any prisoner that complains about the cells, the food or the time out of their cells, gets no pity from me. Did they have pity for their victims?
This a near-sighted view. Do I pity victims, and think those that commit crimes should get some kind of punishment? Yes. But that doesn’t mean you put inmates in the worst conditions possible. That does nothing but worsen already mentally ill inmates, and can traumatize otherwise healthy inmates, which is not doing anyone in the outside any favors should they escape or get released. Nobody thinks criminals, particularly violent criminals, deserve 5 star accommodations, but basic access to books, classes, exercise, time out of cell to move and socialize, etc. are necessary for any attempt rehabilitation. Putting everyone in solitary confinement with permanent silence is hardly a productive measure.
@@emobx02 also to add to your point, not everyone who was sent to prison was guilty. There were plenty of US government cover-ups, cutting corners, and just straight up lying from victims. So when someone says “don’t commit a crime if you don’t want to be in prison” it shows how dense their thinking is and that they aren’t in touch with reality. 9.9/10 people like SerenaT have committed crime that could land them in jail or prison yet they get away with it, small or big crime. Common sense ain’t common anymore
Unfortunately the US has a broken justice system and not everyone who goes to prison has actually done anything wrong. If for that reason alone every prisoner should be treated humanely.
@@emobx02 Just kill em all then we don't have to pay to keep them alive for a tortured existence anyway. All life sentences should just be executions. Sounds over the top on the surface until you think about it a bit it's really the best way.
@@djjazzyjeff1232 lol you realize somebody who could get life sentence off of three strikes policy would be a lifer
Devil's island
Please react to Ronald Reagans patriotic speach : a warriors pledge