I’ve been on top of the WTC. You can see cars moving, but they’re literally like watching ants. There’s no pinpointing where you’re going to land from that height 1/4 of a mile up, and certainly zero chance that you’re going to survive that fall, even if the ground was lined with Posturpedic beds. In the end, as a being comprised largely of water, physics dictates that you will not survive that impact.
Physics dictates no such thing. the likelihood of survival is small, but not absolute zero.
However I did in fact fail to mention other options that would significantly increase my chance of survival, even though the resulting chance would still be very small. I would think to most likely one would be to attempt to use an object as a crude parachute. Say, something like an office cube wall panel – get on it and try to ride it down. Odds are that turbulence would tumble you off on the way down, but again, it’s better than just a free-fall.
Me too although this makes the assumption that you know you are going to die.
Sure we know that now but if you were in one of the towers the day it happened would you be climbing outside or waiting for fire rescue to come save you?
I suspect it would be the latter. I do not think anyone was guessing the towers would collapse.
Personally I would have made for the roof and tried to get a helicopter to rescue me even without knowing the towers would collapse.
If I was in the 2nd tower and watched the first one collapse, that wouls be evidence enough to motivate me.
When I worked at a government building downtown, we had a rumor of a bomb threat. I was one of the few people who left the building and went down the street a few blocks away, cause I was not willing to run the risk that the bomb threat was real and that by staying in the building we could have possibly been killed. So if something like that happened more likely than not I would probably leave the building even if it was suggested to us that we didn’t need to. Because I am one of those overly cautious types and it would have probably saved my life in the long run. Or, I may have been killed trying to help somebody else that I saw trapped or hurt. I’ve been almost killed a few times helping people that needed help like trapped in the middle of the street during a car wreck or when I leaned over a cliff edge to help somebody up who had gotten stuck on a rappelling rope, and I didn’t have any safety harness . And in those situations I don’t think about my own safety and only think about helping the person that looks hurt or trapped. Not a very good way of maintaining my self preservation.
So either Vesna Vulović never studied physics, or she wasn’t a being comprised largely of water.
See also Alan Magee, another failed physics student.
Ultra rare =/= impossible.
Well, ain’t that something. Consider me learnt.
If I were in the second tower, I think I would have panicked the second the plane hit the first tower and run down stairs as quickly as possible. I would have ignored the announcements to stay. I don’t know if I would have had time to make it, but I know I wouldn’t have felt safe anywhere in that city and would have left the area as soon as possible. Sometimes having high levels of anxiety rewards you with survival.
It just kills me that people were told to stay. Especially the one (or more) who made it down to the turnstiles, only to be told to go back up! WTF??! I would have been so pissed at whoever told me that if I were him! It was eerie, the way he described it, as if he was being forced to go back up, against his will. Was there some type of security policy that people aren’t allowed to come and go as they please? I would have said screw you, I’m outta here!
this is correct according to This Book
tells you what it was like in the towers, including above the impact. most people had no idea what the heck was going on but this was before most people had smart phones, wasn’t it?
Cinnamon Imp has just checked in at “Burning to death, on my office floor, brb”
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OK, I laughed, but it might still be a bit too soon for that.
partly because I don’t have a smart phone yet myself it didn’t strike me, at first, how different it would be today. or - maybe not - if those in the towers couldn’t get a signal and use their phones it wouldn’t have mattered…
In a perfect scenario where lets say you found a really durable set of bed sheets/comforter, some rope and whatever “tools” were necessary along with enough time… would it possible to have made a parachute that gave you even something close to a 50/50 chance of surviving a jump?
Completely fantasy land I know, but now I am curious… 
Hey! Are you my son?
The plight of the people above the impact has haunted me more than once. One of the few things that gave me any sense of comfort at all for these unfortunate people were the pictures I saw of people holding hands and jumping.
If I had to jump I think that’s what I’d want. To hold the hand of an office co-worker and friend.