# Dangerous forms of recreation **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134 "2009-01-13T19:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/21 "2009-01-14T01:22:42Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > There are truly dangerous sports like bull riding, motorcycle racing, and noodling and I have no interest in those. :eek: **Stop** bringing up the noodle incident!! ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/22 "2009-01-14T01:27:01Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > If you’re an adult and single go for it. It’s your life and if it makes you feel alive more power to you. > However, once you’ve got a wife and kids you need to knock that shit off and start thinking about them instead of yourself. :dubious: And what if it’s the wife who’s the daredevil? ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/23 "2009-01-14T01:38:23Z")
Like **Valgard** , I used to skydive a lot. I’m not a thrill-seeker or an adrenaline junky. I did it because it’s like flying around the sky, like Superman. There is no sensation of falling; you’re too high above the ground. Nothing is whizzing by to give a frame of reference and tell your brain you’re falling. After you’ve done it a bunch of times, you don’t get the adrenaline rush, it just feels like you’re floating. You learn to control your body, go forward, back up, fly up to a group of people and link up with them in formations, stand up vertically, do barrel rolls, and so on. It really feels like you’re flying. And that’s why I jump out of perfectly good airplanes. It’s not nearly as dangerous as most people think, either. According to the [U. S. Parachute Association](http://uspa.org/AboutSkydiving/RiskOverview/tabid/63/Default.aspx), there are less than 30 fatalities per year on average. In an average year, over 2,000,000 jumps are made- which comes out to about one fatality for every 70,000 jumps. You risk your life every time you drive somewhere. You put your children’s lives at risk every time you drive them to soccer practice, or the mall, or to a friend’s house. Is the risk of death less than 1 chance in 70,000? I don’t know; it probably is. But I doubt if it’s a lot less. My point is, people do risky things every day without thinking twice. ---
**Author:** ![Diz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Diz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diz)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/24 "2009-01-14T01:44:04Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > During the 10 years I drove race cars, 2 others paid the ultimate price for choosing driving race cars as a hobby. I was caught in in one of the crashes. Despite the dangers I continued to drive and it never crossed my mind that I could die doing something I loved. Looking at the safety requirements of today with the total lack of safety equipment I used when I drove, I consider myself to be very lucky. I think that’s an important point. I very much doubt that most of the people who do these things genuinely believe they might die. Not that they aren’t aware of the risk, they just don’t think it will happen to them. I’d be lying if I said the danger didn’t add to the thrill, but that isn’t the primary motivation and in fact every reasonable effort is taken to minimize that danger. I race a car too. I accept the risk of injury or death. But when putting my helmet on, if I thought I might be dead sometime in the next 20 minutes, I don’t know that I’d be able to keep going… ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/25 "2009-01-14T02:09:18Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > :eek: > **Stop** bringing up the noodle incident!! Noodling has got to be the ultimate form of dangerous redneck entertainment. The goal is to free dive down as far as you can and stick your arm in a hole far enough to get bitten badly by a very large catfish and shove your arm down its throat. You hold on as you start the drowning process and then find a way to the surface with the help of a spotter on the surface. Of course, the animal in the hole may not be a catfish. It may be an alligator or snapping turtle. The kicker is that the more successful you are, the more likely you are to drown. Most people can’t swim to the surface with a 50+ pound catfish clamped down hard on one hand and arm. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/26 "2009-01-14T02:21:24Z")
I totally thought this was going to be about promiscuous use of drugs and sex. Bummmmmer. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/27 "2009-01-14T02:47:18Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > I totally thought this was going to be about promiscuous use of drugs and sex. Who says it isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/28 "2009-01-14T03:03:13Z")
> [@mauxlicious](#): > > I have no problem with it, if as stated, the risk is calculated and prepared for. > > In the case of the famous last words of a redneck, “Hey y’all, watch this!” I consider that to be a thinning of the herd. > > This discussion reminded me of my favorite quote from Hemingway- “Old men don’t grow wise, they grow careful.” Or there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no “old & bold” pilots. I can only imagine (having slid down a few hurricane induced 8-10 foot sets myself) what it would be like to kamikazie down a 70 foot wave face, like some of those tow-in surfers do. I am certainly not going to sit here in judgement of them and tell them not to. If they have studied their craft all their life they likely know what they are doing. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/29 "2009-01-14T07:34:22Z")
I think those that cry, "What about the kids are just hiding their own fears behind that because they can not be honest with themselves… YMMV ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/30 "2009-01-14T08:32:01Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Define “dangerous”! [joking and please don’t try this at home kids]Russian roulette[/joking and please don’t try this at home kids] ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/31 "2009-01-14T08:32:33Z")
What exactly constitutes a “dangerous form of recreation?” The OP has no definition, yet is getting some strong responses based on what posters _perceive_ to be a “dangerous form of recreation”. I’m sure this phrase evokes a very different mental image to different people. Driving a car is dangerous. Flying a plane is dangerous. Colliding atoms at near light speed could possibly be _very_ dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/32 "2009-01-14T09:30:30Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > What do you think of people who enjoy dangerous forms of recreation? Do you admire their fearlessness? Ridicule their foolishness? Ignore them entirely? I’m a rock climber myself, but only climb in (mostly) safe top-roping situations. The only real danger is during anchor setup at the top of a hill, but even then I typically clip myself in to the bolts before going over the cliff edge. There are people who climb the same routes I do with no protection or rope whatsoever. They climb up, across, down, and again, just for practice. If they fall, death is virtually guaranteed. It’s not quite stuff like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D0P9aPu51A), but pretty darned close… I have nothing but pure admiration and envy for these people =) One day, when my technique gets better and my balls increase a million-fold on the Mohl scale, I just might give this a try. There’s no better way to die! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/33 "2009-01-14T13:37:15Z")
A few points. Many of the activities are perceived by the common man to be much more dangerous than they actually are. Also, as a well trained and reasonable participant, you can improve your odds even more by not doing the cutting edge stuff (leave that to the hotshots). Yeah, jumping out of planes is probably pretty fun, but waiting to last possible second to open your chute doesnt really add much to the whole experience, but certainly increases your risk factor. No doubt some particants are adrenaline junkies and/or do it for macho/look at me reasons (which I find laughable and pitiful, but thats MO). However, with the “dangerous” stuff I do, or would do if I could afford it or lived in the right places, I would be perfectly happy if it was 100 percent safe, and I imagine a good number of my cohorts feel the same way about it. I wonder how folks feel about astronauts with wives and kids? Thats a virtual suicide pact compared to some other stuff that folks find dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/34 "2009-01-14T14:38:08Z")
Yeah, but astronauts do that for a living (and a hefty paycheck at that, WAG), but hobbyists spend hard-earned money on their activities. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/35 "2009-01-14T15:27:33Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > According to the [U. S. Parachute Association](http://uspa.org/AboutSkydiving/RiskOverview/tabid/63/Default.aspx), there are less than 30 fatalities per year on average. In an average year, over 2,000,000 jumps are made- which comes out to about one fatality for every 70,000 jumps. And of those 30 fatalities, probably at least 28 (and possibly all) involved conspicuous departures from known good procedure. The saying is: “In aviation, no one is figuring out any new way to kill themselves - they keep on making use of the old methods.” It follows that a skydiver who is willing to learn and follow good procedure is not participating in a particularly dangerous sport. The fact that it nonetheless seems quite dangerous to onlookers is part of the appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/36 "2009-01-14T15:38:39Z")
Through most of our history, many or most humans have lived with danger in our lives. The ability to largely avoid this is recent and arguably unnatural. It’s very possible that the appeal of dangerous activities has something to do with a need to restore this balance in our lives. There’s also the point that danger, well managed, gives genuine satisfaction. The fact that something like, say, bull riding is genuinely dangerous makes it more satisfying, both for spectators and the cowboy. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/37 "2009-01-14T16:11:10Z")
I’m physically unable to do more or less ALL sports - I have a form of MD. But I DO have the same sort-of feeling that these guys do that pain is just pain. If I could have when I was 16, I’m sure I’d have been one of those douchebags on YouTube or Jackass trying to jump a bus in a shopping cart. It looks fun! And I guess I have a high tolerance for pain. That might change if I broke my ass, but it still looks fun… Joe ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/38 "2009-01-14T19:02:10Z")
a subject near and dear to my heart. As a former skydiver, and current mountain biker, motorcyclist AND er nurse I know how grumpy and out of sorts I can get without my dopamine supplements. If anyone wants to make a distinction between my professional and recreational behaivour they can kiss my ass ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/39 "2009-01-15T00:19:31Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > There are people who climb the same routes I do with no protection or rope whatsoever. They climb up, across, down, and again, just for practice. If they fall, death is virtually guaranteed. It’s not quite stuff like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D0P9aPu51A), but pretty darned close… Who of course eventually fell to his death. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134/40 "2009-01-15T00:21:44Z")
A lot comes down to objective verses peceived risk, and the knowledge and experience of the participant relative to the objective risk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-forms-of-recreation/481134.md?page=3)