Tag: Andreas mihavecz

The human body is an incredibly resilient machine, but water is its fundamental fuel. While most people can only survive an average of three days without water, the longest somebody has gone without water far exceeds that benchmark in an astonishing case of human endurance.

While the common survival guideline suggests humans can only last about three days without water, the documented world record for the longest time a human has survived without water is an astonishing 18 days. This was achieved by Andreas Mihavecz, an 18-year-old bricklayer from Austria, who was accidentally locked in a police holding cell in 1979. His incredible story of endurance highlights the extreme variability of human survival and the multitude of factors that influence how long a person can live without hydration.

The human body is composed of approximately 60% water, a vital element for virtually all bodily functions. Understanding this critical dependence helps to answer the question: **how long has anyone survived without water** and under what circumstances?

While the widely cited “rule of threes” suggests humans can only survive approximately three days without water, extraordinary circumstances have proven this is not a hard limit. The question of what is the longest someone has gone without drinking water reveals a fascinating and extreme case of human endurance, influenced by very specific conditions.