[AlphaOp]

I've been watching the show Mythbusters on the Discovery channel (Wedsnesdays at 9PM EST) and think it's a fantastic show. Most recently they debunked the myth that if you jump up before impact in a falling elevator you will survive, which doesn't work.

I've been recording and then digitizing the shows and put 3 episodes, sans commercials, on a DVD. Cool.

Anyone else watch the show?

[Ryan]

I watch it. It's a pretty cool show. Just about any show in the Discovery channel is cool. I liked the one where they dropped the dummy from a crane to see if a wrench would help you survive the impact.

[AlphaOp]

I gotta say the idea was interesting- that the wrench would disturb the surface tension, but surface tension isn't what counts, it's more about the overall density of water. But I was thinking if it got the water moving it might help.

People have survived falls from incredible heights, though, including WWII pilots who decided to jump rather then burn in an airplane, and I heard of two accounts where they survived the fall with only moderate injuries (one crashed through some trees, another hit a slope of snow and was even less injured.)

[theMusicMan]

Hi Alpha

Nope - not here yet, but I'd love to hear the explanation they gave as to how jumping when in a falling lift wouldn't help your survival chances.

Any chance you might explain please?

[Danny1810]

because you dont change your actual velocity all that much, it just seems like you are moving upwards when in fact you are just falling ever so slightly slower

[Devon Aster]

I keep forgetting about this show. I love watching it when I happen to catch it on. I haven't seen the one about the wrench or the elevator.

[harley]

Regardless of whether anyone is strong enough to jump with enough force, there's still that little issue of elevator ceilings =P

[AlphaOp]

Last night's one was interesting. The one I liked was if you could survive a fall by holding onto a piece of plywood and letting it act as a sail. (Didn't work.) Ironically jumping off of a building holding tightly to a large beach umbrella kinda worked - made the fall a little less-then-absolutely fatal. A standard umbrella didn't do much. (Hillarious.)