General Knowledge
Survive a Cave Collapse Quiz
Thai cave rescue, Chilean miners, conserving oxygen — staying alive when the ceiling falls
Thai cave rescue, Chilean miners, conserving oxygen — staying alive when the ceiling falls
The 33 Chilean miners survived 69 days trapped underground — they wrote the world's most-read note on a piece of paper sent up by drill probe: 'Estamos bien en el refugio los 33.' From Tham Luang's Wild Boars football team to Floyd Collins's 1925 ordeal in Sand Cave, cave and mine collapses combine some of the most intense rescues in history. This quiz tests your knowledge of those rescues, the science of oxygen and CO2, and the survival principles that decide who walks out alive.
Each round presents 10 randomized questions from a pool of 50, with four multiple-choice options and instant feedback after every answer. Your final score comes with a performance tier and shareable results.
You'll cover the 2018 Tham Luang rescue and Dr. Harry Harris's ketamine sedation, Saman Kunan's sacrifice, the 2010 San José mine rescue and the Fénix 2 capsule, Floyd Collins in Sand Cave, the basics of oxygen consumption and CO2 buildup, why panic is your worst enemy, water and light rationing, the world's longest cave systems including Mammoth Cave and Sistema Sac Actun, and core principles of cave-rescue protocol.
The Tham Luang Cave rescue (June 23 – July 10, 2018) freed 12 boys from the Wild Boars football team and their 25-year-old coach from a flooded cave system in northern Thailand. Roughly 10,000 people supported the operation, including divers who sedated the boys with ketamine to bring them out through narrow underwater passages.
In 2010, 33 Chilean miners were trapped 700 metres below the San José mine near Copiapó for 69 days — the longest underground survival on record. They were rescued one by one in October 2010 via the Fénix 2 capsule lowered through a 2,000-foot drill hole.
In small enclosed spaces, CO2 buildup typically becomes dangerous well before oxygen depletion does. At 4–5% CO2, breathing rate doubles and headaches set in; above 7% can cause unconsciousness, and above about 10% can rapidly cause death — even when there is still plenty of O2 in the air.
Last updated: May 2026