# Book research...falling from a high place

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-research-falling-from-a-high-place/125132>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 22, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-research-falling-from-a-high-place/125132 "2002-08-22T20:53:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-research-falling-from-a-high-place/125132/1 "2002-08-22T20:53:25Z")

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Picture a building of at least 10 stories high. What would happen to a body that jumped off of the roof, onto the sidewalk? I’m picturing Louisville, KY as the locale. Along the sidewalks, there are big ventilation grates that are apparently cast-iron. What damage would be done to a living human body (average height/weight) upon impact with one of those grates? I would imagine the force of the body would cause the grate to collapse, but there would seemingly be major damage to the body.

How extensive would the bodily damage be?