# Skydiving and Breathing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 1, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991 "2006-05-01T19:38:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![greyslip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@greyslip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greyslip)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/1 "2006-05-01T19:38:43Z")

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One of my students just told me that he heard that skydivers don’t need to breathe because the skin absorbs oxygen at terminal velocity. I told him it was rubbish but I thought I’d better check with you.

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/2 "2006-05-01T19:49:18Z")

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[Do skydivers breathe through their skin during free-fall?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=360418)

No.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/3 "2006-05-01T19:53:28Z")

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[Do sky-divers breathe through their skin during free fall?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=360418)  
[Skydivers don’t breathe?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=127983)  
[url=“[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=63429](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=63429)”]Skydivers and the need to breathe.

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/4 "2006-05-01T19:53:32Z")

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Sorry, bad coding.

[Do skydivers breathe through their skin during free-fall?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=360418)

Still no.

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**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:** [May 1, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/5 "2006-05-01T23:39:22Z")

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A sort-of-related (and equally false) factoid is that skydivers can be injured by the pointy tops of raindrops if they fall through a rain cloud. Raindrops have no pointy ends in the real world.

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**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/6 "2006-05-01T23:45:42Z")

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> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> A sort-of-related (and equally false) factoid is that skydivers can be injured by the pointy tops of raindrops if they fall through a rain cloud. Raindrops have no pointy ends in the real world.

What about if I shift position too fast? Will the pointy end of my heart hurt me?

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/7 "2006-05-02T01:22:27Z")

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> [@Speaker for the Dead](#):
>
> What about if I shift position too fast? Will the pointy end of my heart hurt me?

Yes. That accounts for 73% of skydiver deaths.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skydiving-and-breathing/354991/8 "2006-05-02T04:11:25Z")

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I heard that the other 27% die of asphyxiation from laughing too hard at the stupid urban legends that surround skydiving.