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How to survive a 500 foot fall

newsweek.com — It's a modern-day miracle. An Ecuadoran native who fell 500 feet from the upper reaches of a New York City skyscraper--and survived. By the time Moreno hit the alley behind the black-glass luxury apartment building, he was traveling upward of 124mph. Only about half of the people who fall off a four-story building make it. So how is he alive?

Bury
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  • hiscity, on 01/14/2008, -7/+49updrafts
    • Giblet2, on 01/14/2008, -13/+1the article says he may have reached terminal velocity, which I will call BS on. Mostly because the plank provided this air resistance.

      So, if he was at terminal velocity, what good is the plank doing for air resistance? He cant go any faster anyway?? right??? I think it all had to do with the impact. If the plank falls flat it probably created a nice cushion of air under it which slowed its deceleration enough to save him.
      • ElAssoWipo, on 01/14/2008, -2/+12Well, the terminal velocity of a human being is around 180mph. You would reach that in free fall from a plane in about 20 seconds (if you're an average man of average build).

        But the plank prevented him from reaching his own terminal velocity because it provided drag. Air has weight. It's like water, but lighter. Imagine trying to dive with a plank vs just diving with your body. The same happened because of the plank. It slowed him down.

        Terminal velocity with the plank is not the same as terminal velocity without the plank. The hypothesis holds up.

        I still disagree with it though. I think hiscity is correct. In downtown areas the updrafts are very strong. Espescially in New York. ALthough they simply dismiss the "surf" hypothesis simply by saying they dismiss it, I think it's more correct.

        It's like wingsuit diving. The air was going up, he was on a large flat surface. Simple. But if he reached a constant speed, meaning he stopped accelerating, he did reach terminal velocity.
        • chrismgtis, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1180mph? It is actually lower than that. The average is about 120mph. I know this because I am a skydiver. I am trained to fall as slow or as fast as I want to (or as slow or fast as possible).

          Typically smaller people can fall at around 100mph or higher. A "heavy" person may fall at about 140mph. It isn't just about weight. It is about body position. You can slow your decent very easily by what we call "de-arching" your body. When we fall we arch our body so that we fall stable to earth in a "banana" shaped position (the curve of a banana). To slow your fall you dearch and basically either straighten yourself out or go as far as to completely reverse the arch in the opposite direction so that air doesn't flow over the body as easily or quickly.

          As skydivers we "arch" our body (we call it belly to earth) to fall stable. Typically you fall 120-140mph or very close to that range in belly to earth position.

          If you were go into a head down position you could fall very quickly. I've known friends who reached speeds of 200+ mph very easily. I believe I remember a friend reading his digital altimeter after a jump and it said he had reached about 300mph.

          "He may have reached terminal velocity". Well, here is the misconception. If he was falling with a plank providing air resistance. The max speed he can reach with that plank providing air resistance IS his terminal velocity. Did he reach his own bodies' lone terminal velocity? Most likely not. The plank was there. He had a new terminal velocity with that extra air resistance provided by the plank.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Average build, average size, in free fall = 180 mph.

          http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/n ...

          "The max speed he can reach with that plank providing air resistance IS his terminal velocity."

          My point exactly.
      • dougmc, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3> Mostly because the plank provided this air resistance.
        Yes. The plank changed the terminal velocity, made it lower. And they did mention a probably cushioning effect as well. Either way, the guy was incredibly lucky!
      • Kanidia, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1"If the plank falls flat it probably created a nice cushion of air under it which slowed its deceleration enough to save him."

        That's called reaching terminal velocity.. I doubt the plank is large enough to act as a parachute, something that decelerates as you fall.
      • theblt, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1The dude survived a 500-foot fall! I don't give a ***** about your "scientific" theories. The dude is a badass. A lucky badass.
    • WikiEasy, on 01/14/2008, -1/+19Yeah wear a skirt.
      • CazMo, on 01/14/2008, -2/+14Duhh, we learned that from Mario Brothers 2 and the princess. Everyone knows princess skirts let you levitate for 3 full seconds before decent.
    • ligius, on 01/14/2008, -1/+11That's nothing, how about surviving a +30.000ft fall?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi
      • JavertHolmes, on 01/14/2008, -2/+6The article mentions higher falls.
      • wicketr, on 01/14/2008, -2/+9As stated in the article:
        "A Yugoslavian flight attendant named Vesna Vulovi survived a 33,316-foot plunge when a Czech flight exploded in midair"

        And to that I say HOLY *****!
        • Optimaximal, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1The funniest thing is she got the award out of shear dumb luck... She wasn't even supposed to be on the plane!
          • tyywebb, on 01/14/2008, -0/+8I'm not even supposed to be here today!
        • Popsgg, on 01/14/2008, -1/+6I like that you called being on a plane that you were never suppose to be, then having it explode, and falling from 33,000 feet...."luck". I hope I'm never that lucky. The fact that she lived is a little more then luck. Its a goddamn freaking miracle.
          • derek20cali, on 01/14/2008, -5/+1No such thing as miracles. Prove me wrong.
          • TheTaoOfBill, on 01/14/2008, -0/+5I'll prove you wrong just as soon as you prove yourself right. Though I suggest you find a better use for your intelligence rather than trying to make religious people feel dumb and unaccepted because of their beliefs.
        • PAStheLoD, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1How? How? :0 Ahh. crazy ;]
      • xaeon, on 01/15/2008, -0/+2Actually, falling from 30,000 is no different than falling from a much lower height, as long as it was a height that allowed a person to reach terminal velocity (which is reached, as someone stated above, in approximately 20 seconds).

        Didn't she fall on snow, or trees, or something of the like?
      • chrismgtis, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1There is absolutely no real difference between falling a thousand feet and 30,000 feet. I'm a skydiver. The physics prove it and my experience proves it. Yes, you fall faster at higher altitudes due to thinner air, but as you near the ground that no longer applies so it doesn't matter how high you started. If you are able to reach terminal velocity from 500 ft (not sure if it is possible) it is absolutely no different than 30,000 feet or even over 100,000 feet (which HAS been done).
    • Chirp08, on 01/14/2008, -1/+7use a parachute?
    • devobergso, on 01/14/2008, -0/+14everyone knows that all you have to do is tuck and roll... just like Link does
      • SirMuffinMan, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Nah, do it the Mario way. Do a ground stomp just above the ground.
      • IareKEVLAR, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Zelda taught me that you just have to hold forward when you land.
      • sougly, on 01/15/2008, -0/+0If you jump from super high in Zelda, you can't roll. He just squats in pain.
        • Kanidia, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1He still survives. Just a couple of hearts that's all. Although you're right... when Link starts yelling, it means that he can't safely land anymore.
    • stackered, on 01/14/2008, -0/+7just jump right before you land. it works really, try it.
      • joshuaer, on 01/14/2008, -9/+1buy cable watch mythbusters the falling elevator
        • Namaha, on 01/14/2008, -1/+12CAPTAIN! SARCASM DETECTOR UNIT A IS BROKEN! DO NOT I REPEAT _DO NOT_ RESPOND TO COMMENTS LIKE THIS.
        • eliteeggnog, on 01/14/2008, -4/+1Or.... You can go the computer literate route and torrent the episode.
    • Vincent21212, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Man, had I just read your comment instead of this 4-page article, i couldve saved myself 10 minutes.
    • altrego99, on 01/14/2008, -1/+2Dugg for reference to Spiderman.
    • Ramble, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1The trick is to minimise velocity and maximise collision time.
    • Dylson, on 01/15/2008, -2/+2This guy explains it in depth.
      http://youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0
  • hugoguzman, on 01/14/2008, -6/+27I'll definitely keep this in mind in case I'm in a similar situation!
    • souljaboytellem, on 01/14/2008, -8/+3It's hard to think of how to fall when your actually falling 500 feet off the ground, the guy got lucky, most people would have died if they were in his shoues
      • d2htornado, on 01/14/2008, -7/+10Well, we all know that you wouldn't make it. You can't even think to use "you're," you don't know how to spell "shoes," and you don't even use proper punctuation when you have all day to sit and look at your comment before posting.
    • orangefly, on 01/14/2008, -1/+3or under his shoes
  • acrodev, on 01/14/2008, -32/+164They should retitle this - "Darwin 2008 practice exam"
    • IglooBurner, on 01/14/2008, -0/+58if that guy can pull himself together to do all that was said in this article within the 5.5 seconds of falling from 500 feet, than he is no where near being a candidate for darwin award.
      • acrodev, on 01/14/2008, -0/+6I'm happy for him, it's for anyone who thinks they are "likely" to survive a 500 foot fall just because they get their feet down and don't tense up.
      • jamiroquai, on 01/14/2008, -5/+8He sure IS a Darwin candidate. FTFA: "Neither wore a safety harness. "
        • Wormfather, on 01/14/2008, -1/+3I hate to venture into unconfirmed territory, but, I'm willing to bet that these were two hard working guys and that the time of putting on a harness and setting it up correctly, in their eyes could have been better spent doing there job.

          Case in point: One's not using a condom during intercourse qualifies them for a Darwin Award, but there ability to deal with the consequences appropriately redeems their quality to the human race...imo
          • jamiroquai, on 01/14/2008, -3/+0So pro-creation is candidacy for the Darwin award? Your parents win.
        • Fozefy, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1To be honest, alot of construction workers don't wear harnesses. Next time you see some roofers, glance to see how many have a harness on, probably none and if they do they probably aren't attached to anything.
    • dokbeast7, on 01/14/2008, -1/+3don't think that's what he was saying...
    • MasterPlayer, on 01/14/2008, -1/+29The cable snapped on his platform, in no way was this self inflicted. Also, the man acted quite ingeniously to save his own life.
      • TridenTBoy, on 01/14/2008, -1/+6Yes, so I think acrodev fails in this case.
        • acrodev, on 01/14/2008, -2/+1Sorry to confuse you, I'm referring to the title of the article. If you want to test out any of the suggestions in the article, you may qualify for an award.
      • Namaha, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4Trouble is, neither of the brothers wore a safety harness.
    • tucsonsun13, on 01/14/2008, -1/+2From Wikihow on how to survive high-altitude falls: "Land feet-first. No matter what height you fall from, you should always try to land on your feet."

      WTF - I'm going to transfer all that energy into my LEGS?!?!?! Damn that would hurt.
      • GreenAlien, on 01/14/2008, -1/+6Where else, your head?
      • MrMacMan, on 01/14/2008, -1/+1so... you would rather take what is behind door number two:
        instant death (because the fall broke your spine in half)
    • Aidenf77, on 01/15/2008, -2/+1Don't you mean "Darwin Awards 2008 Practice Exam?"
    • britblogger, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1the guy lost his brother, you ***** prick.
  • coen6259, on 01/14/2008, -15/+3Sounds like another Hero! ;)
    • po43292, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3He didn't heal himself in 10 seconds though, so no.
  • xdvx, on 01/14/2008, -28/+1Just pray to google god!
  • Barnolde, on 01/14/2008, -3/+255I'd rather just avoid any place where I can fall 500 feet.
    • nicepants, on 01/14/2008, -5/+1Exactly. Teaching people how to live through such a fall is only helping to diminish the effects of natural selection.
    • smrekar, on 01/14/2008, -2/+2or just stand on the platform and jump at the last second. haha
    • vidar808, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Or get on a scaffolding 500' above the ground without a safety harness!!!
  • EBFoxbat, on 01/14/2008, -0/+228"Edgar died instantly when he fell off the platform and a fence severed his body" ...that's a bit harder to survive.
    • noahhoward, on 01/14/2008, -0/+23Not exactly instant either... there's a matter of a 5 second fall they seem to overlook.
      • chingy1788, on 01/14/2008, -0/+6and if you're head doesn't get destroyed instantly (your body on the fence breaks your fall)
        you're brain is still alive for like 1/2 sec or something (I'm not a doctor, just guessing)
        • BoneheadFarker, on 01/14/2008, -1/+6Actually, if your brain simply lacks oxygen, it can live for several minutes after your clinical death. This is where all those near-death experiences come from...your brain falling into a dream-like state due to lack of oxygen. Of course this poor bastard didn't have a chance, but with any luck he didn't feel much pain...
          • dougmc, on 01/14/2008, -0/+7Yes, but when your head is decapitated, your brain doesn't simply lack oxygen -- it also immediately loses all blood pressure, and therefore access to any oxygen left in the blood. Like MarkOfTheDead just says, people seem to remain conscious for about 10 seconds after that. Dunno if anybody has ever actually measured brain waves after a beheading, however ...
          • BoneheadFarker, on 01/14/2008, -1/+1@dougmc

            You may not be conscious, but your brain is still technically alive for a few minutes as long as it doesn't suffer major trauma. And he wasn't decapitated...he was cut in half. Big difference there...
          • dafragsta, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3It's been said that when the brain starts to die, a very strong hallucinogen is released. There is a lot of speculation about our perception of time in that state. It's entirely possible that there exists an event horizon upon death that, hopefully, we never escape, but to the outside world, we've long past it up and are dead. Kind of like being in a black hole from the other way around. The brain is pretty amazing. I could see how time breaks down at that point and the gift of perception takes us on a hell of a ride at the very end.
          • tyywebb, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1@ dafragsta
            What evolutionary advantage would that serve exactly?
          • xaeon, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1@tyywebb
            It doesn't specifically need to serve any evolutionary advantage in order to saturate the gene pool.
        • MarkOfTheDead, on 01/14/2008, -0/+15Actually longer, I watched an educational tv program a while back about when they still did beheadings in europe, scientists were making arrangements with criminals where they'd get something (probably an extra hot meal or whatever) to participate in a study. once the blade chopped their head off they were told to keep flicking their eyelashes and I believe some lasted up to 11 seconds.
          • Salva, on 01/14/2008, -5/+1Please oh please tell me when did people still do beheadings here in Europe. I can't believe it is anytime in the last 30 maybe even 50 years! Maybe I'm just to incocent to know but i think the US is the only developed country in the world to still have the death penalty in some states.
          • BoneheadFarker, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4@Salva

            http://www.usd.edu/~jbulman/the_guillotine.htm

            Look for the experiments done by Dr. Séguret. A decapitated head will respond to external stimuli for aprox. 25-30 seconds.
          • BoneheadFarker, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Oh, and it appears that the last decapitation was performed on Sept 10, 1977...
      • wicketr, on 01/14/2008, -1/+1That's a really bad case of someone being halved. Though they have the technology now to reconnect top halves to bottom halves.
        • po43292, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Who is they? You got a source on this?
        • dafragsta, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1That'd be amazing considering the tremendous loss of blood and the time spent in transit to a hospital.
        • LifesBane, on 01/14/2008, -0/+0They might, Wicketr, but the real question is if he'll ever walk hard again.
    • zapperdude60, on 01/14/2008, -0/+11Floating fence?
    • Zippo, on 01/14/2008, -0/+7*shudder*
    • GhostSniper, on 01/14/2008, -2/+4Severed from what? O_o
      • topiKal, on 01/14/2008, -0/+6He was traveling over 100 mph. A thin fence could tear you in half at that speed. So they probably mean half his body got severed... from the other half. Which is pretty gross.
      • misconstrued, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Itself.
    • migregorio, on 01/14/2008, -0/+0Should have landed on the fence with the balls of his feet...
    • JaredMonkey, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1They cut his whole body off!
  • mojoe1185, on 01/14/2008, -27/+11I for one welcome our updraft surfing window washing overlords.
  • MxSam, on 01/14/2008, -6/+7Very lucky man
    • noahhoward, on 01/14/2008, -1/+4Apparently luck is only part of it. He was trained to hold onto the board so there was obviously already some science behind it.
    • Manuelmty, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Vesna Vulovi , lucky girl.
  • capiCrimm, on 01/14/2008, -2/+112Solution: don't hit the ground.
    • Zippo, on 01/14/2008, -2/+5Better solution: don't fall in the first place.
    • legoalert33, on 01/14/2008, -0/+25Aim for the ground and miss
      • ethnicman, on 01/14/2008, -2/+6the key to this is to get distracted just before you hit the ground.

        Citation: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy published by Megadodo publications Ursa Minor Beta
      • guibom, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1But you have to get VERY distracted...
    • davidsmero, on 01/14/2008, -0/+5Or just respawn.
    • Namaha, on 01/14/2008, -0/+8Strap a piece of buttered toast on your back, and on your stomach (or head/feet if you prefer), with the buttered sides touching your body. Since buttered toast always lands butter-side down, you will float.
      • Kanidia, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1You might be split into two halves though...
    • jakobahman, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Forget that you are falling.

      Oh, and don't forget your towel.
    • PorcupineTree, on 01/15/2008, -0/+2Now you're thinking in portals.
    • leffunov, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Wear a parachute
  • amoo3, on 01/14/2008, -10/+78Didn't Mythbusters do something on this and prove it to be false?
    • ryodoan, on 01/14/2008, -1/+62The myth I think you are talking about involved a couple of construction workers who were working with sheets of plywood. They got knocked off the roof somehow and used the sheets of plywood to glide to the ground. I think it was proven false for a number of reasons, 1. the plywood flipped several times on the way down, 2. There was no real way to hold on during the flipping. Basically while it slowed the dummy down to non-lethal speed it would have been impossible for a human to hold onto it unless he was strapped on.

      /its been a few years, some details may differ from the actual show.
      • wicketr, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3That's a bit wrong iirc. The myth was that he held the plywood and floated down to the next floor where he landed. He didn't go all the way to the ground. Once they realized they couldn't control the plywood, they just decided to see how much drag it would cause.
      • chrismgtis, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1A dummy can not do anything to control his fall. A person can. Hand me a piece of plywood and I'll bet you I can fly it somewhat stable. Most likely depends on how big the plywood is though.

        I'm a skydiver.
    • aussieNickuss, on 01/14/2008, -11/+2Was that throwing a hammer into water just before you hit? They proved that a hammer doesn't break the surface tension enough to reduce the impact.
      • legendxx, on 01/14/2008, -0/+6not even close
      • wicketr, on 01/14/2008, -0/+6Add to that, you land on a hammer when you hit the water. I'm sure that doesn't feel good.
        • mysedai, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1At that point, landing on a hammer might be the least of your worries...
    • Sabarok, on 01/14/2008, -0/+11No. That myth was about holding onto a sheet of plywood like a parachute above your head. In this case, it sounds like the worker was inside a rig for cleaning the windows, and clung to the floor of it, and was on top of the wood, and not below it. Perhaps this will be the next Mythbusters revisit. The biggest issue the Mythbusters found was actually holding onto the piece of plywood
    • TridenTBoy, on 01/14/2008, -10/+3Don't the mythbusters bust a lot of things and still I bust what they did as myths themselves? (Paper folding ***** for example, it was wrong!)
      • Namaha, on 01/14/2008, -0/+5What?
      • mickcn, on 01/14/2008, -1/+1Your not alone.
      • mickcn, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3I tried to edit, but I was not fast enough, sorry. He means it is very easy to pick out holes in what the "mythbusters" have "proven". They have no idea what the chaos theory is.
        • Namaha, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Ok, but how do you pick out holes in their paper folding experiment? They used a legitimate (albeit extremely large) piece of paper, and folded it several times past what the myth said was impossible.
          • mickcn, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Its been a couple years since I've last seen that show. I just remember why I stopped watching it. I'm sorry, I should've been more specific. I don't mean to say everything they do is *****. I had just seen enough to irritate me.

            They must have needed to burn airtime, it was already solved(they just took the credit, which makes them assholes.):
            http://pomonahistorical.org/12times.htm
    • toekneebullard, on 01/14/2008, -0/+46So you're saying that real life is fake, but the TV show is genuine?
    • gstep, on 01/14/2008, -1/+40Because we all know that Mythbusters uses precise scientific methods and has never been wrong.
    • Blazers, on 01/14/2008, -5/+0Ya it was throwing Tori off a building then burying he body somewhere in the m3 wherehouse. I hate that tool!
      • Ramble, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1But you get kari in return, and the occasional episode where he hurts himself.
    • ReaverKS, on 01/14/2008, -3/+4Actually, if you're referring to the skydiving myth, they explicitly state that a larger surface area DOES slow you down, which is essentially what his survival was about. He grabbed onto a larger object with a much greater surface area than his own, limiting the velocity he could reach to the velocity the scaffolding could reach.
      • passedoutghost, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1I don't see why you're being dugg down. You're right.
      • chrismgtis, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Yea, pretty much and I AM a skydiver. We are trained to fall slower and faster. That is how we stay beside other people in freefall.
  • legoalert33, on 01/14/2008, -6/+0The next time I'm cleaning windows this might become useful /s
  • Archaeopterx, on 01/14/2008, -6/+3he should shake hands with the guy in this video lol:
    http://www.clipta.com/play?v=abf4aac7ea4a3c5560ae
  • adml_shake, on 01/14/2008, -0/+6Something tells me that if you were taking that plunge, this would be the last thing on your mind.
  • Teaboy, on 01/14/2008, -0/+11And I thought that Angels & Demons was unrealistic!
    • Knucklecallus, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2My god, exactly what I was thinking about when I first heard this story. Although the whole story was ridiculous.
  • foetus, on 01/14/2008, -5/+198The trick to flying is to fall and miss the ground. This happens only when someone falls and becomes so preoccupied with something else that they forget that they are falling, and therefore are no longer doing it. Flying is just a permanent state of falling, minus the hitting the ground part.

    I can't believe I'm first with the Hitchhiker's quote!
    • skarbreeze, on 01/14/2008, -9/+1qft!
    • FXPooky, on 01/14/2008, -10/+1What is that, the americanized version of Hitchhiker's Guide?
    • mysedai, on 01/14/2008, -5/+6You weren't
      • Hollic, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1I don't know why you're being dugg down. You're right, he wasn't the first, though it's still funny.
    • twertyto, on 01/14/2008, -2/+13You sir, win the internet. Press A to play on nightmare mode.
    • chadillak, on 01/14/2008, -2/+1sounds like a Warner Bros. cartoon reference.
    • Lanlost, on 01/15/2008, -0/+0Uh...

      42?
  • smacksaw, on 01/14/2008, -15/+9"The answer has a lot to do with physics, luck and a 16-foot plank."

    I'd say it was prayer. Science cannot explain the divine hand of God, so I have learned from those Top 100 Evangelical quotes.
    • Murdats, on 01/14/2008, -1/+8well apparently science explained 'the divine hand of god' in this case.
      • shodanx, on 01/14/2008, -1/+7we prefer to call it the divine appendage of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
        • mysedai, on 01/14/2008, -2/+0I prefer to call it the noodley appendage of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
    • chingy1788, on 01/14/2008, -3/+1one digger converted... damn
    • r3negadeX, on 08/11/2008, -0/+9I think he was joking. I hope so, anyway
      • smacksaw, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2I was joking, but sadly the people I was mocking are deadly serious.
    • dildoolielly, on 01/14/2008, -2/+624000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes, 74% of them are children. About 800 million people haven’t enough food
      5700 Africans die each day of Aids
      We have Cancer, Aids, Polio, Yellow Fever, Influenza, Measles...
      Billions of people will supposedly burn in "hell fire" for all time because they don't believe in the equivelant of Santa Claus

      Yeah, some "divine hand"
      • Murdats, on 01/14/2008, -1/+3well you know, as long as he alters the natural order of things once ever few years/decades in order to save 1 person out of the many, people will still believe in him.
        its like a reminder saying "hey guys, im still here, keep paying attention to me"
        that or its just an anomaly, a freak occurrance.
        if you have near 1000 people die of falls a year, chances are once a decade or so at least one will get lucky.
      • Envark, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Mysterious ways, my friend. Mysterious ways.
        • dildoolielly, on 01/19/2008, -0/+1Those actions are NOT "mysterious". They're PSYCHOPATHIC
    • ours, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Gravity is a lie: TFA is proof! ;-)
    • JavertHolmes, on 01/14/2008, -1/+9Is people's inability to detect sarcasm properly an age thing, a cultural thing, or an intelligence thing? Whatever it is, Digg lacks the majority populace that would easily be able to detect the sarcasm in a post like this that would be caught on a site like Slashdot. Sorry to see you being buried.
      • UtopiaInTheSky, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Digg doesn't like sarcastic religious comments... No matter how blatantly sarcastic they may be.
    • Masterful1, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1I counter your argument with these 1165 (and counting) atheist quotes
      http://www.chrisbeach.co.uk/viewQuotes.php?QuotePa ...
      I agree with the physics and luck assessment, and throw a little Chaos theory in there.
  • hokie47, on 01/14/2008, -5/+5When I was climbing El Capitan last Summer my boy Spock saved my sorry ass once again.
    • AdmiralKarelia, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3It appears I'm the only one that got it.
  • davidave, on 01/14/2008, -0/+19in summary: he got lucky
  • evilregis, on 01/14/2008, -3/+428How to survive a 500 foot fall? Easy. Fall from 510ft. I can almost guarantee you'll still be alive after 500. I can't guarantee as much 10ft after that though.
    • lukas88, on 01/15/2008, -0/+15A comment so great that no one even felt worthy enough to reply for 10 hours.
    • L4WL3RS34L, on 01/15/2008, -3/+1While the comment was funny, it would have been 10 times more funny if you didn't point out the obvious parts of the joke. The first 3 sentences would have been enough.
  • josefresco, on 01/14/2008, -2/+123Dugg because they actually cited Spiderman as a reference.
    • Veritate, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3Kakalios has a book: The Physics of Superheroes. It's pretty good as an intro to physics principles in various unlikely situations.
  • honus, on 01/14/2008, -1/+21Summary: Hold on to anything. Be lucky.
  • aladrin, on 01/14/2008, -3/+16Buried for inaccurate summary. He wasn't traveling 124mph. He -could- have, had he not done what he did.
  • Tu13erhead, on 01/14/2008, -0/+50one page >> four pages

    http://www.newsweek.com/id/90686/output/print
  • zyl0x, on 01/14/2008, -4/+4Is that a Spiderman 3 spoiler on the top of the second page?
  • Norina, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4Strangest part is in the end: In 1972, Vesna Vulovi survived a 33,000 feet fall after her plane exploded (suspected terrorist attack, by the way, never proven, though). I also read that she was found in the midsection of the plane. I can't begin to imagine how she survived this.

    And Paul McCartney gave her the Guinsess Book record.
    • bioskope, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/carkeet.html
    • legendxx, on 01/14/2008, -6/+1why don't you people cite your sources
      • MikeFromAmerica, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3My brother's girlfriend's former college roommate's cousin knew this guy who lived across the street from Vesna Vulovi. He confirms everything Norina just said. Plus it's in Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fall_survivo ... for the whole list)
        • legendxx, on 01/14/2008, -3/+1thx
          • krebcycle, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2all you had to do was google her name, it would have taken less energy than complaining here on digg
        • buckrogers1965, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1OK, in one of those survival stories a big glass roof broke his fall. Ouch. I'm also betting that a lot more people would survive big falls like that if the heart attack they were having on the way down hadn't already killed them. Joking, but just a little bit.
    • Sabarok, on 01/14/2008, -0/+7I've seen that one in Discovery a few times. Scientists are still working it out, but she was a stewardess and strapped into one of their chairs (I think closer to the tail section), and the entire section landed in snow and crumpled around her. The thing with terminal velocity is, it doesn't matter how high you are, above a certain point (which is smaller than the tallest buildings) you hit terminal velocity. Any higher up, and you still hit the ground at the same velocity, it just takes longer to get there.
  • SydneyHopper, on 01/14/2008, -2/+10Everyone working in a building that is more than one storey in height, should be given a complimentary plank of wood
    • b1kerguy, on 01/14/2008, -0/+7"whats this for?"
      "oh, when the time comes, you'll know"
  • HaSatan, on 01/14/2008, -8/+1"Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you're here. "
  • 1807, on 01/14/2008, -9/+6I don't know that I would WANT to survive a 500 foot fall
  • Lasereth, on 01/14/2008, -1/+19WHY is this 4 pages?
  • MisterEX, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3Damn, poor brother. I wonder if their fates would have been different if they had both grabbed hold of the 16 foot plank.
    • wrillo, on 01/14/2008, -2/+0with how slim the dude escaped death, I'd say that an extra body would have been too much downforce = both dead.
      • Aleriya, on 01/14/2008, -1/+0All objects with the same air resistance will fall at the same velocity. An extra dude on the plank may have actually provided more air resistance and slowed them down.

        Get an empty can of pop and a full can. Put duct tape over the opening of the empty can so that air doesn't get in. Drop them from the same height and they will land at the same time.
        • dougmc, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Um, you're either on crack, or live in a vacuum -- and since you mention air resistance, that suggests it's not a vacuum.

          Your full can of pop will fall faster than the empty can.

          Want an extreme case? Which will fall faster? A balloon full of air, or one full of water? How about one full of helium? Same size, same shape ... but they all fall at very different rates -- and the helium one probably won't fall at all.
  • DetpackJump, on 01/14/2008, -1/+14"he was traveling upward of 124mph".... No he wasn't
    • yashrg, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Exactly! the article says that he 'could' have reached the terminal velocity if he hadn't held on to the plank.
      • overkilpro, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1he could have gotten achievment points
      • chrismgtis, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1He also may have reached his terminal velocity-with plank while falling with the plank. That is until his body position changed, which never stops happening. His bodies terminal velocity would have for sure been faster without the plank.

        Personally the best way I can think of to fall without a parachute is belly-to-earth and de-arched as hard as possible with arms and legs extended to slow myself down. That's up to debated I guess, but that's the best way I know possible to slow a body down in free fall. Obviously, falling head down or sitting is much much faster. I would rather hit the ground at 90mph rather than 120-140.

        When falling your body is always moving. It doesn't even matter how good you are. You can be a world champion skydiver and your position in the air is still constantly changing, therefore your terminal velocity will never ever be a fixed speed. I know for a fact from experience that the smallest movements in arm, leg, head and other body parts make drastic changes in a persons movement in the air and speed. If you ever watch a free fall formation or someone good in a tunnel, it's hard as hell to really see the small changes they make with their body to move specific ways. I have tunnel experience also so I've see it first hand in more than one way.
    • chrismgtis, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Um, guys, if he was falling as fast as he could with a plank attached to his body, that speed IS his terminal velocity. I'm a skydiver. His terminal velocity when falling alone is not his terminal velocity when other objects are attached to his body causing extra resistance.

      Some of you guys are so dense sometimes. Terminal velocity is NOT, I repeat NOT a SET speed for anyone or anything. Terminal velocity is not even a set speed for a naked person falling from the sky. Terminal velocity changes depending on your body position. Whether you are arched, de-arched, tumbling like a rock, etc.
  • markgl, on 01/14/2008, -1/+1i guess you're a dead mean without a plank. If you fall with nothing but yourself, adios man.
  • GiJoeBob, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Dugg for the Dr. Kakalios video.
  • fant0m, on 01/14/2008, -0/+19FTA: In the comic, Gwen went from at least 95mph to zero in a split second--which means that Spider-Man was responsible for the death. He should have figured out a way to use his web to slow her descent before catching her.

    Sounds like someone has a Spider-Man issue...
    • MikeFromAmerica, on 01/14/2008, -0/+10Yes... The Amazing Spider-Man issue #121 (June 1973).
    • FishHammer, on 01/14/2008, -4/+1... since when is a comic book even remotely scientific or referencable? come on digg stop doing this to me
    • Shiftyeyedgoat, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1C'mon man, has ANYONE in the comics ever liked Spiderman?

      He's like the superhero world's Larry David.
      • MikeFromAmerica, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1Shut up. And it's "Spider-Man."
  • Regulator980, on 01/14/2008, -0/+7This guy has him beat at a fall of 22,000 ft. without a parachute.

    http://survival.wikia.com/wiki/Alan_Magee

    Or this person who survived a fall of over 33,000 ft. without a parachute.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87
    • r00tus3r, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1022,000 Feet is nearly four miles and is almost a certain death fall. However as Magee was about to crash into the St-Nazaire train station a bomb exploded as he went through the glass roof cushioning his fall saving him from certain death. Out of the remaining 9 crewmates in the plane only 2 managed to survive impact with the ground.

      WHAT THE *****! THE DUDE FELL ON A ***** BOMB! Who knew that was a good thing ... :/
    • JavertHolmes, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1The article mentions higher falls.
    • AdmiralKarelia, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1I always heard that he landed in a huge snowbank, which cushioned his fall. Maybe that's the corruption of word-of-mouth, or maybe it's another incident.

      Either way, I went into this story planning to reference that bomber story. It seems you beat me to the punch.
    • Cedriick, on 01/15/2008, -0/+2Once you get to a specific height, you stop falling faster, and fall at a constant rate (terminal velocity). The article says the person reached terminal velocity from the 500 foot fall (not sure if this is correct, but it sounds about right). Falling from any higher height will result in the same speed as you hit the ground, therefore a 500 ft fall has you spattering on the ground at the same speed as a 33,000 ft fall, therefore about the same odds of survival (all things being equal)
  • smackafiyah, on 01/14/2008, -3/+2*insert falling noise followed by SPLAT*
  • mwosh, on 01/14/2008, -1/+27Step 1: Don't Fall.

    Repeat.
  • ventralnet, on 01/14/2008, -6/+3I thought the myth busters proved a similar incident as impossible.
    • Namaha, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1The Mythbusters, for one, don't always get everything right in their experiments. Second, they tested what would happen if you grabbed the plank of wood and used it as a parachute (they said this was impossible), but, in the article, it seems that the guy was on top of the plank of wood, using it as a sort of "surfboard."
  • TheBuzzKiller, on 01/14/2008, -0/+10Buried for having an audio ad that woke up my neighbor.
  • littlewing82, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2dugg for not only a spiderman reference, but also for the advice from a guy who survived a golden gate bridge jump......
  • catch-22, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4I was hoping for the heel springs from Portal...
  • roninhobbit, on 01/14/2008, -1/+25I like how they mentioned that "Following the training provided by his company, Moreno held fast to the platform..." when a few sentences earlier, it says "Neither wore a saftey harness." Well, it's good to know that he remembered the grab the plank part, but didn't remember the "WEAR A ***** SAFETY HARNESS" portion of the safety training.
  • MarsSentinel, on 01/14/2008, -9/+2what about God? maybe he was praying when it happened and God saved him but his mean twin brother wasn't praying and so he got bisected. always pray?
    • fflis, on 01/14/2008, -2/+1your an idiot, god doesnt save people who shoot up meth and he doesnt save people who choose to go up 500 feet on a sketchy rig without a safety harness. He saves people who have accepted him into their life and he still doesnt save their life, but rather their afterlife. Or at least thats what the bible says. Personally i think its all a crock o shnit
    • alien420, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1too bad theres no such thing as god *****.
  • dougmc, on 01/14/2008, -1/+2This question comes up more often than you might think. And here's an answer --
    http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Long-Fall
    Though I don't think I'll be trying it out.
  • mikehrp, on 01/14/2008, -1/+134 pages? Really?
  • sharkd, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Dugg for James Kakalios
  • STKD, on 01/14/2008, -0/+5I'll begin selling Life Saving Planks on ebay shortly if anybody wants one.
  • StiffNeckFools, on 01/14/2008, -1/+11Damn...He lost his brother though.
  • robbymcdobby, on 01/14/2008, -5/+9So, the guy's brother dies. He nearly dies. And they call it a "modern-day miracle"?
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