# Practical Daily question \[about jumping off a building\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068 "2009-05-11T18:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/1 "2009-05-11T18:29:40Z")
So a friend and I were discussing this question, and we reached a point of standstill. Here’s the question: Suppose you were on a 40 story building, and suppose all below you were people walking. Suppose now, that there is a woman, whom normally walks pretty fast (2.7mph). Assuming that she is walking in a straight line to class, when would you need to jump to land on her? Need quick answers! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/2 "2009-05-11T19:30:39Z")
I work in a 40-story building, so I’ll use its height of 601 feet. After working the whole thing out with a bunch of equations and values I had to look up 'cause I don’t really remember them… [spoiler]Time \*t \*taken for an object to fall distance _d_: t = sqrt(2d/g) Assuming a value for \*g \*of 32.2 ft/s^2… t = sqrt(2\*601/32.2) = 6.11 seconds. 2.7 mph = 14256 feet per hour = 237.6 feet per minute = 3.96 feet per second 3.96 fps \* 6.11 sec = 24.2 feet[/spoiler] You should jump when she’s **24.2** feet from the point directly beneath you. Caveat being I haven’t had a math or physics class in about nine years. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/3 "2009-05-11T19:31:42Z")
> [@McLuhan's Thunder](#): > > So a friend and I were discussing this question, and we reached a point of standstill. Here’s the question: > Suppose you were on a 40 story building, and suppose all below you were people walking. Suppose now, that there is a woman, whom normally walks pretty fast (2.7mph). > Assuming that she is walking in a straight line to class, when would you need to jump to land on her? > > Need quick answers! Thanks! At 12 feet/story, when she’s about 21.6 feet away, according to my napkin. My napkin frequently contains incompetent arithmetic, unfortunately. Not a very fast walk, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/4 "2009-05-11T23:05:16Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > At 12 feet/story, when she’s about 21.6 feet away, according to my napkin. > My napkin frequently contains incompetent arithmetic, unfortunately. > > Not a very fast walk, by the way. Fast from the perspective that she’s a moving target. Makes it so much harder to aim… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/5 "2009-05-11T23:07:15Z")
Y’know, once the feminists get to this thread, it’s gonna get ugly. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/6 "2009-05-12T03:12:03Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Y’know, once the feminists get to this thread, it’s gonna get ugly. > > Just sayin’. Nah, I bet there’s no feminist on the board. It’s a male only board, mostly. Besides, they’re too busy making sandwiches 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/7 "2009-05-12T05:08:49Z")
> [@McLuhan's Thunder](#): > > Besides, they’re too busy making sandwiches 😉 I thought so too, but then I realized that I’m still hungry and don’t have one. Where is that woman? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/8 "2009-05-12T14:24:10Z")
> [@McLuhan's Thunder](#): > > It’s a male only board, mostly. _points at her boobs_ ETA: And you can make your own damned sandwiches. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/9 "2009-05-12T14:30:34Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > _points at her boobs_ > > ETA: And you can make your own damned sandwiches. 😃 What _SHE_ said. Besides, it wouldn’t matter, since a woman would be smart enough to notice the manbomb and move out of the way. You’d kiss the concrete. ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/10 "2009-05-12T14:47:41Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > What _SHE_ said. > Besides, it wouldn’t matter, since a woman would be smart enough to notice the manbomb and move out of the way. You’d kiss the concrete. Okay, here, let me re clarify myself: What I mean when I wrote, Making me a sandwich, is really, I deeply understand the feminist view point, a.k.a the ethics of care, and completely understand that it is a very good point of moral determination, but I find serious flaws in it. Meaning that, in feminist ethics, you do not have to care about people outside your circle of friends. Thus universalization of said ethics is impossible to discern. and wow, manbomb, that’s a new one 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/11 "2009-05-12T15:01:25Z")
I’m with ya there, **Thunder** , but that’s why I define my personal brand of feminism as, “Stop basing the way you treat and regard people on their naughty bits and/or the gender they identify as, plzkthx.” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/12 "2009-05-12T15:28:22Z")
You’re going at this all wrong. Forget the 40 story building. Stand outside the classroom, and jump on her there. No need to go all superhero on her. Nobody meets cute by jumping off a building. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/13 "2009-05-12T15:37:41Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Time \*t \*taken for an object to fall distance _d_: t = sqrt(2d/g) This works, provided your building is in a vacuum. (I think I read somewhere that feminists abhor a vacuum.) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/14 "2009-05-12T16:05:20Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > This works, provided your building is in a vacuum. Well, it does suck pretty hard. (Serious response: I highly doubt wind resistance will play anything but a negligible role when you’re only falling 600 feet.) ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/15 "2009-05-12T16:42:20Z")
Hm… I just noticed, I think we are assuming, we reduced the woman to a point on a Cartesian coordinate system. So what has to be done is that we have to add about 5 feet to equation. Thus falling: 596 feet. Second thing I’ve noticed is that from above is that the two answers were a little bit different. 21.6 ft. and 24.2 ft? Is that difference to account for the width of the woman. Besides, I think she’s pretty, and if she’s really 2.6 ft. wide, I doubt I’m as attracted as before. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/16 "2009-05-12T16:44:08Z")
Make sure to land horizontally, aligned with the pedestrian’s direction of travel, to maximize the margin of error. A 6’ jumper and a 4’/sec. walking pace means about 1.5 seconds when the two bodies will at least partly overlap. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/17 "2009-05-12T16:57:23Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Make sure to land horizontally, aligned with the pedestrian’s direction of travel, to maximize the margin of error. A 6’ jumper and a 4’/sec. walking pace means about 1.5 seconds when the two bodies will at least partly overlap. If you have to land horizontally, at what point are you measuring the height of the fall – from the manbomb’s feet, his waist, his head? Does the manbomb simply lean forward until he tips off his perch, or does he propel himself? Furthur study is indicated. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/18 "2009-05-12T17:00:59Z")
This is too easy. Assume there’s a treadmill on the roof … how fast do you have to run then? What? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/19 "2009-05-12T17:09:14Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I’m with ya there, **Thunder** , but that’s why I define my personal brand of feminism as, “Stop basing the way you treat and regard people on their naughty bits and/or the gender they identify as, plzkthx.” Well, stop pointing at your boobs then. 😉 > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > (Serious response: I highly doubt wind resistance will play anything but a negligible role when you’re only falling 600 feet.) A stiff breeze could easily change your landing point, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/20 "2009-05-12T17:12:43Z")
> [@McLuhan's Thunder](#): > > Second thing I’ve noticed is that from above is that the two answers were a little bit different. 21.6 ft. and 24.2 ft? Is that difference to account for the width of the woman. 1.) We don’t need to account for width (why would you aim for anywhere but the center?), and height will probably only make a negligible difference. 2.) If you scroll up, you’ll see that my answer was arrived at using a building height of 601 feet (the height of the 40-story building I work in), while **Chief Pedant** was assuming 12 feet per story, which would give a 480-foot building. ETA: **RNATB** , they were the closest secondary sex characteristic I could find to demonstrate that not everyone on the board is male. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068.md?page=2)