Cross Scott was a 21-year-old fan of The Office living in Arizona when he saved a man’s life using CPR. But Scott was never trained in the maneuver. Instead, he learned it from watching “The Office” CPR scene.
What is The Office CPR scene?
In the episode of the NBC comedy starring Steven Carrell, main character Michael Scott instructs employees to do chest compressions to the tune of “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.
According to Rolling Stone’s coverage (cited below), Cross Scott actually sang the song while he was performing the life-saving chest compressions. Ironically, in the CPR television scene, Scott also gives a lot of questionable advice.
Saving a life
Cross Scott drew on his television CPR skills when he found a woman unconscious behind the wheel of a car rolling down a dirt pull-off road in 2019. He is an auto care technician and managed to break the window of the woman’s car with a rock to free her. Then he noticed she didn’t have a pulse.
Most of us wouldn’t know what to do in that situation, but professionals have advised people not to be afraid to do chest compressions on someone who has no pulse. Otherwise, the person will likely die if no help is around.
It took paramedics 10 minutes to arrive at the scene, but Scott had already performed chest compressions successfully enough for her to start breathing again (and throw up). The woman survived and was released from the hospital the same day.
Scott recalled “I’ve never prepared myself for CPR in my life. I had no idea what I was doing.” But it turns out he knew more than he realized thanks to The Office. “Stayin’ Alive” is the correct rhythm for chest compressions. — WTF fun facts
Source: “Arizona Man Who Learned CPR From ‘The Office’ Saves Woman’s Life” — Rolling Stone