# Guy jumps from bldng w/ other guy as mattress: how high and live?; which weapon (recoil)to levitate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793 "2013-02-09T15:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/1 "2013-02-09T15:59:51Z")
Ok, I’m slow on modern culture, but I thought of this from one of the Bourne movies: 1. Hero jumps down high stairwell with dead guy as mattress to absorb the impact. From what maximum height would that work? 2. While plummeting down on top of said dead guy, Hero kills other guy on stairs by firing by firing a handgun in each hand, no less. (IIRC) You have to admit that’s pretty cool. But not cool enough, says I. This is going into cartoon world, as opposed to the plain simple workaday reality of the above activities: Guy with weapons in each hand wants to slow down his fall by using recoil of the weapons. I know that recoil is equal and opposite to the energy put out (I’m sure theres a correct way to say that), but I don’t know weaponry. So, what would he use to fire downwards? Assume he is impervious and won’t blow his arms off or himself into atoms. Remember, he’s our Hero. ---
**Author:** ![eltro102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@eltro102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eltro102)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/2 "2013-02-09T16:09:38Z")
For the second question : [Machine Gun Jetpack](http://what-if.xkcd.com/21/) ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/3 "2013-02-09T16:13:42Z")
This is as good a place as any to share this: [a Youtube clip of some truly EPIC trampoline jumping.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSC4BpgVZ8)With some naughty hiphop music as score, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/4 "2013-02-09T16:15:52Z")
Thank you. Amazing cite; will work on digesting it. So I am not the first person to have thought about it. As have you, presumably, judging by the speed of your post! ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/5 "2013-02-10T07:14:29Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > This is as good a place as any to share this: a Youtube clip of some truly EPIC trampoline jumping. With some naughty hiphop music as score, sorry. I fail to see any relevance of this link to the thread. It’s just something that you thought was cool and didn’t want to start a thread for. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/6 "2013-02-10T08:02:48Z")
Hey, recoil’s recoil. I love the way the way the human muscles work on the landing on the up-bounce. It’s like little vids played forward and backwards, but better, because of the grace when re-arriving. Also, you’ve saved me from succumbing to bumpitis: no-one’s touched question one yet… ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/7 "2013-02-10T08:33:49Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > I fail to see any relevance of this link to the thread. It’s just something that you thought was cool and didn’t want to start a thread for. Exactly. I missed this was in GQ, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/8 "2013-02-10T08:38:39Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > I fail to see any relevance of this link to the thread. It’s just something that you thought was cool and didn’t want to start a thread for. Exactly. I missed this was in GQ, sorry. It was about recoil though, as\*\* Bloom \*\*said. (there’s another bump for you; I want the answer to your first question, as well 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/9 "2013-02-10T13:42:51Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > This is as good a place as any to share this: [a Youtube clip of some truly EPIC trampoline jumping.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSC4BpgVZ8)With some naughty hiphop music as score, sorry. Strange Grid Ball House! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/10 "2013-02-10T19:02:38Z")
Using a single corpse as a mattress wouldn’t help you much. The idea of a mattress is to increase the amount of distance you travel while stopping. If you’re deliberately jumping and are good at what you do, you can make this nearly as long as your whole body, by landing feet-first and tumbling as soon as you land. Assuming that the dead body you’re using is horizontal, it’ll only add a few more inches (however much a corpse can compress) to that. You’d be a lot better off with a deep pile of dead bodies. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/11 "2013-02-10T22:32:08Z")
Or standing on the shoulders of an upright corpse and using him as a crumple zone when he lands. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/12 "2013-02-10T23:10:59Z")
In principle, yes, but I wouldn’t expect the corpse to stay close enough to upright to matter. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-jumps-from-bldng-w-other-guy-as-mattress-how-high-and-live-which-weapon-recoil-to-levitate/649793/13 "2013-02-11T01:17:56Z")
Oh it would definitely need some stabilizing fins. ETA probably a nose cone, too!