Cambridge academic MacGyvers her way out of locked bathroom

A Cambridge University dorm’s bathroom almost turned into a dungeon for Dr. Krisztina Ilko, a member of the University’s academic staff.

Ilko, 33, accidentally got locked in the bathroom on Thursday, February 29, and the room was not due to be cleaned until the following Monday.

“I tried to bang the shower head on the door, break it with brute force, and shout for help, but nothing worked and no-one could hear me,” she tells the BBC.

Fearing she’d be trapped for days, Ilko emulated her childhood hero, the TV problem solver MacGyver. She managed to escape potty prison by picking the lock with an eyeliner and a cotton swab she fashioned into a hook.

“When I eventually got out and the door opened it was exhilarating because I didn’t think it would work,” she said. “I expected to be there for five days or longer, but I made it out.”

The lock has since been removed from the bathroom door.