A Cambridge academic says she feared for her life after being trapped in the toilet of a medieval tower for seven hours before managing to escape.
Dr. Krisztina Ilko used eyeliner and a cotton swab to pick the locks on the heavy wooden bathroom door found in her room at Queens' College, once home to the 16th-century philosopher Desiderius Erasmus.
The 33-year-old feared she would be trapped for days after failing to open the door lock, leaving her locked in the historic tower's windowless room on Thursday.
The rooms were only cleaned on Monday, so the young researcher had to spend more than 100 hours in the bathroom without food and without a cell phone.
Dr. Ilko revealed how she tried to bang the shower head on the door to force it open, desperately screaming for help before turning to the two everyday objects to help her escape.
Dr. Krisztina Ilko used eyeliner and a cotton swab to pick the locks on the heavy wooden bathroom door of the Queens' College rooms
The 33-year-old feared she would be locked up for days after being locked in the historic tower's windowless room on Thursday
Dr. Ilko revealed how she tried to bang the shower head on the door to force it open and screamed for help before turning to the two everyday objects to save her
She told the Telegraph: “I tried to remember how long a person can survive on water alone and hoped I wouldn't die there.”
“If people were looking for me, would they look in the bathroom or would I have to wait until Monday?”
“I tried banging the shower head on the door, using brute force to break it open and calling for help, but nothing worked and no one could hear me.”
Since she had suffered a bruised shoulder from her failed attempts to break down the door, Dr. Ilko put the eyeliner pencil through the keyhole to push down the latch on the other side, then used the cotton swab as a hook to free himself.
She revealed that she is a fan of the fictional problem solver MacGyver, which inspired her to use the two items to help her escape.
She added: “I was really happy and quite proud that I was able to use my mind to get out.” I felt absolutely relieved.
“Sometimes when I hear noises here, I joke that it is the ghost of Erasmus. Then I thought I would join him and become a Cambridge legend.”
The university scientist believes the door latch was broken by a plumber while working on her shower earlier this week.
The college has since removed the lock from the bathroom door.
Queens' College has been contacted for comment.
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