# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/41 "2009-05-13T15:11:34Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Let’s be honest, though, how many of us scan the air above our heads for falling men as we walk past 40-story buildings? And making sandwiches, while walking on a treadmill? ---
**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 13, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/42 "2009-05-13T15:31:21Z")
Wait, is she on a treadmill now? That changes the whole equation, since she’s not moving. You could just jump whenever you wanted. ---
**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 13, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/43 "2009-05-13T15:32:22Z")
… Unless she were to _run fast enough to take off_, in which case you’d open up a whole new set of problems. ---
**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 13, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/44 "2009-05-13T16:02:18Z")
With the manbomb having a horizontal speed component… What you really need is a trapdoor, suspended next to the roof. Then you can initiate the fall without any horizontal speed to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/45 "2009-05-13T16:16:04Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > 10% longer would mean that he should jump when she’s 26.6 feet away. If your freefall calculator is correct, that would not be a completely negligible difference. I’m happy to report that my independent dynamic simulation freefall spreadsheet calculates an ideal jump from 600 feet at 24.1 feet in vacuum, and 26.7 feet in air with some reasonable assumtions about manbomb size and form factor. Wind, however, plays a surprisingly large role, with even a 3mph wind changing the landing point by nearly 6 feet (due to the rather interesting interaction between the vertical and horizontal motion). ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/46 "2009-05-13T17:16:06Z")
Maybe a special streamlined suit, to minimize the influence of air? ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/47 "2009-05-13T17:26:37Z")
Guys, guys, guys… We put in a \*\*zip line _from the roof to the target spot on the sidewalk!!!_ ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/48 "2009-05-13T17:32:49Z")
No no no. That will become a pedestrian obstacle that the target will avoid. OTOH, maye a ground level chute to force the target along a predictable path… ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/49 "2009-05-13T17:34:14Z")
Duh, the zip line will be _camouflaged_, of course. ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/50 "2009-05-13T17:40:09Z")
Is the target a pole dancer? 'Cause a stripper pole would be a good disguise. And kind of a lure too. ---
**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 13, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/51 "2009-05-13T17:57:33Z")
Dare I say, _a lure with allure?_ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/52 "2009-05-13T18:25:38Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Let’s be honest, though, how many of us scan the air above our heads for falling men as we walk past 40-story buildings? % it’s raining men…% ---
**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 14, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/53 "2009-05-14T03:21:30Z")
So quick question, addressed to those knowledgeable in the skill of manbombing, what gear/s do I need? Is it feasible from only 600 ft. up? or should you do it higher? ---
**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 14, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/54 "2009-05-14T03:35:06Z")
You mean, besides a man? Like any other sport, there’s a range of gear available. Spend more, get more, but of course like in anything else there is a law of diminshing returns. But I say, spend every penny you got, because frankly, you aren’t going to be able to trade up for future man bombings. Michael Phelps had some super special low-drag swim suit when he won his medals, so I sould think you might start with some all-over suit of the same materials. Make sure you shave any uncovered skin. Um, this is one sport where a helmet is not going to do you any good, it might even critically interfere with your visibility. As for height, you’ll have to use your own judgement. The greater the height, the higher the point value for a hit, but the greater the CREP (it’s a probability of error stat developed by the military for planning tactical and stratgic bombing). ---
**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 14, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/55 "2009-05-14T16:11:53Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > … Unless she were to _run fast enough to take off_, in which case you’d open up a whole new set of problems. _Groans_ maybe if the building was on a treadmill, a very big one at that… ---
**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 14, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/56 "2009-05-14T16:14:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > You mean, besides a man? > > Like any other sport, there’s a range of gear available. Spend more, get more, but of course like in anything else there is a law of diminshing returns. But I say, spend every penny you got, because frankly, you aren’t going to be able to trade up for future man bombings. > > Michael Phelps had some super special low-drag swim suit when he won his medals, so I sould think you might start with some all-over suit of the same materials. Make sure you shave any uncovered skin. > > Um, this is one sport where a helmet is not going to do you any good, it might even critically interfere with your visibility. > > As for height, you’ll have to use your own judgement. The greater the height, the higher the point value for a hit, but the greater the CREP (it’s a probability of error stat developed by the military for planning tactical and stratgic bombing). I think we can safely assume that manbombing will involve, not to be sexist here, a man. Women are probably too smart for it, that’s why they’re in the kitchen making me something to eat 🙂 ---
**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 14, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/57 "2009-05-14T17:08:29Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Um, this is one sport where a helmet is not going to do you any good, it might even critically interfere with your visibility. Sorry, I’m going to have to disagree with you here. A good solid helmet can drastically increase your damage on impact. Like many rookie manbombers, you’re probably finding yourself confused by the fact that in manbombing, a helmet does not exist to protect your head from what it’s hitting, but rather to allow your head to do more damage to what it hits. Before, you know, pulping and all that. ---
**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 14, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/58 "2009-05-14T17:29:10Z")
Whoa, let’s step back. What’s the real point of the manbomb? Some would say to kill the target. Some would say it’s something more abstract, like a demonstration of precision flying. Me, I think it’s to make the largest possible mess. That means all skulls need to shatter equally, and ideally the manbomb should land on a troop of Boy Scouts. ---
**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 14, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/59 "2009-05-14T17:33:20Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Me, I think it’s to make the largest possible mess. That means all skulls need to shatter equally, and ideally the manbomb should land on a troop of Boy Scouts. I don’t think you’re going to do much damage on the rebound, sad to say. On a Scout-based measurement of devastation, you’re probably looking at somewhere from two Eagles up to seven Cubs, max. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068/60 "2009-05-14T17:40:28Z")
Ya’ll realize that Letterman actually does this on occasion on his show. The pumpkins and watermelons are pretty good substitutes for the human head when they hit the ground. Except for the seeds. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/practical-daily-question-about-jumping-off-a-building/496068.md?page=4)