# Burj Khalifa: First Suicide Leap **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532 "2011-05-11T16:41:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/21 "2011-05-11T17:52:27Z")
It doesn’t give his name. I suppose we could just call him “Penny.” ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/22 "2011-05-11T18:28:25Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > IA young man in his 20s jumped from the 147th floor, supposedly after his company refused him permission for a vacation. Well, at least he had a good reason for jumping. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/23 "2011-05-11T18:51:24Z")
rapid deceleration trauma ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/24 "2011-05-11T19:16:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Did he survive? Briefly, yes. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/25 "2011-05-11T19:50:35Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > As Seinfeld said about people that fail to kill themselves. “Great, just another thing you failed at in life. Ending it.” A friend of a friend (no, really!) used to be not only a college professor, but also something like a floor monitor for a dorm. One night he got a frantic call that a girl in the dorms had tried to kill herself. She had slashed her wrists. The guy got over there to take care of her. When he asked her why she wanted to kill herself, she said it was because she couldn’t do anything right. Fortunately, she was OK, as she’d slashed the tops of her wrists. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/26 "2011-05-12T00:13:00Z")
He had a bouncy personality. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/27 "2011-05-12T01:15:15Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > As Seinfeld said about people that fail to kill themselves. “Great, just another thing you failed at in life. Ending it.” Or as Frank Zappa sang… "Just make sure you do it right the first time, 'cause nothing’s worse than a Suicide Chump" ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/28 "2011-05-12T01:26:57Z")
Another argument for mandating Bouncy Castles around tall buildings. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/29 "2011-05-12T01:31:45Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > Another argument for mandating Bouncy Castles around tall buildings. Yeah, right. “Rugrat killed by depressed jumper.” Think of the children! ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/30 "2011-05-12T01:52:10Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We had a jumper in Bangkok one time who hit something similar on his way down. But he hit the edge, and his body ripped in half. One half stayed on the terrace above while the other half continued on to the ground. I suppose the only thing more surprising than seeing a person land in front of you would be seeing half a person land in front of you. Caused quite a panic frm what I heard. Believe I’ve posted this around here before, but: > [@http://bash.org/?488793](#): > > \: Best suicide plan ever > \: what is it? > \: you go up to the top of a roof > \: string piano wire tight across the front edge at neck level > \: tie a cord to your foot and the other end to the building so that you’ll be above sidewalk level when its fully stretched > \: then you put super glue on your hands > \: and put your arms around the front of the wire and then back to touch your head > \: then you lean forward, so the piano wire cuts your neck but not your elbows > \: when the cord goes taut, youll be hanging upside down with no head…except your head will be in your outstretched arms thanks to gravity and the glue, staring at someone upside down and spewing blood everywhere. > \: And some poor bastard will be traumatized for LIFE. > \: i dont think i can be your friend anymore ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/31 "2011-05-12T02:14:34Z")
Dude, talk to your school counselor, Clergyman or Physician. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/32 "2011-05-12T02:34:15Z")
[quote=“BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed, post:30, topic:581532”] Believe I’ve posted this around here before, but… You are seriously one sick & twisted individual! As bad as it was for me to see the guy who intentionally 'Texas \_\_\_ Saw Massacred" himself; his wife is probably \*still \*in therapy from when she walked outside some 14 years later. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/33 "2011-05-12T02:56:47Z")
Sorry, to clarify, I’ve posted the quote here, but I didn’t write it originally. That could’ve been clearer. ETA And didn’t Hemmingway shoot himself with a shotgun in a doorway so his wife would have to walk around him? _wikipedia…_ Hm, maybe apocryphal. Although the shotgun is true. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/34 "2011-05-12T02:58:18Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yeah, right. > “Rugrat killed by depressed jumper.” > Think of the children! Another jumper here – we get a lot of jumpers – was a Thai man who decided to end it all by flinging himself off the top of a condominium building in the lower Sukhumvit Road area. Despite the street-hooker sleaze in that particular area, there are loads of upscale condos. The jumper landed square on top of a 16-year-old Scandinavian girl sunning herself by poolside, killing them both. Norwegian I think she was. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/35 "2011-05-12T03:22:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The jumper landed square on top of a 16-year-old Scandinavian girl sunning herself by poolside, killing them both. Norwegian I think she was. You always make me feel better, Sam. :rolleyes: Can we get back to elephant polo or something? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/36 "2011-05-12T03:28:19Z")
Then there was the “jumper” in Pattaya, 90 minutes from Bangkok. After this one farang (Westerner) hit the ground, it was determined that he had apparently died before going out the window. Hmmm. The police, ever helpful, postulated that he had happened to die of natural causes while sitting in the window, and then the force of gravity eventually caused him to tumble over out the window. I believe this was a shady businessman with lots of enemies. Last I heard, the case was closed. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/37 "2011-05-12T03:49:17Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Then there was the “jumper” in Pattaya, 90 minutes from Bangkok. After this one farang (Westerner) hit the ground, it was determined that he had apparently died before going out the window. Hmmm. The police, ever helpful, postulated that he had happened to die of natural causes while sitting in the window, and then the force of gravity eventually caused him to tumble over out the window. I believe this was a shady businessman with lots of enemies. Last I heard, the case was closed. Sounds like those detectives… _puts on glasses_ Fell for it. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/38 "2011-05-12T04:00:26Z")
They told me there would be elephants. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/39 "2011-05-12T04:04:53Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Sounds like those detectives… > > _puts on glasses_ > > Fell for it. > YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Thailand has the best police that money can buy … very literally. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532/40 "2011-05-12T14:54:29Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > Believe I’ve posted this around here before, but: Um, I don’t get it. If you string piano wire across the edge of the building at neck level, but you have your arms in front of it as you lean forward to fall, you won’t have enough momentum to cut your head off. You might cut off your oxygen enough to faint and collapse under the wire, but then you will simply look like a failed bungee jumper, and you might not even succeed in killing yourself at all, although you might have dislocated hips. Certainly not very traumatizing to anyone happening to see it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burj-khalifa-first-suicide-leap/581532.md?page=3)