# What exactly happens when you fall from a height? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864 "2016-04-01T19:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/21 "2016-04-02T19:22:43Z")
> [@hello\_hello\_hello](#): > > yeah? do you know how he fell? I lived in the apartment directly below him. He had some people over and they were partying and dancing on the balcony. I popped out to get some beer and when I returned minutes later, that’s what I came across. I’m not sure of the exact circumstances, but he must have been standing on a chair at the time, otherwise it would have been impossible to tumble over the railing, unless he was purposely dangling over it. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/22 "2016-04-02T20:47:41Z")
I wrote some time ago here about a girl in my high school who fell from a 2nd floor apartment balcony during a party. She’d been sitting side-saddle on the railing facing inwards and somehow tipped over backwards. That’s probably about what happened in **Leaffan** ’s story. Our girl ended up a little brain damaged = mildly retarded and with a slightly crooked face but was otherwise uninjured. This was just from a 2nd story railing to face first on a sidewalk. It gets worse rapidly as you start from higher up. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/23 "2016-04-02T21:18:06Z")
> [@hello\_hello\_hello](#): > > Thanks a lot for the responses! I love this forum! > > I understand that falling head first = 100% death from that height. But falling in any other way, while still pretty certain, but is not guaranteed death. > > So if the guy were to tie something heavy to his head / chest (like a backpack with stones), will that be of help to “rotate him” over so that he falls head first? of course, he has to at least attempt to fall with in an initial inclination (as opposed to completely vertical - standing pose). Why not just have the guy dive, as he would into a swimming pool? ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/24 "2016-04-03T05:14:32Z")
One prisoner managed to kill himself by diving off the top bunk. The trick was to ensure that he landed on the crown of his head. Humans have an innate instinct (yes, redundant) to reach up and block the impact. He solved that problem by tying his hands behind his back. I have no idea where I saw this story, so no link. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/25 "2016-04-03T05:16:49Z")
Move the damned office building to SF and use the bridge - instant interest. Bridge jumpers get their fifte… well, two minutes of glory. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/26 "2016-04-03T17:40:04Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > _snip_ > There’s a very famous picture of a starlet who had committed suicide jumping off the Empire State Building. She did a perfect landing on a car roof, from the top she appears perfectly fine, although the car roof is pushed in a ways. She was dead. I assume the other side of her was not so pretty. > > _snip_ being morbidly curious, I went and looked this reference up. I didn’t link to the photo directly since it is kinda … disturbing in a non graphic way… anyway spoilered the link to the blog where I found it since there are some unsettling images on the home page. The accompanying text with the photo said > [@](#): > > … Fortuitously, he had his camera and took a photo of her as she lay on the roof of the crumpled car. It was snapped just four minutes after she died and, despite the 1050-foot fall (320 m), her body looked intact. Remarkably Evelyn shows absolutely no evidence of trauma and appears disarmingly placid and composed – as if asleep…According to reports she essentially “fell apart” when they moved her body. Her insides were basically liquefied… That blog was the most fascinating waste of time I’ve encountered in a long time. At any rate, if you want to look here is the spoilered link to the site [Rare Historical Photographs](http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/) Hopefully that gives the OP something to work with for the story ---
**Author:** ![hello\_hello\_hello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@hello\_hello\_hello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hello_hello_hello)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/27 "2016-04-03T19:11:42Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Why not just have the guy dive, as he would into a swimming pool? yeah, right? I don’t know why many suicide jumpers don’t do this. Some are stupid enough jump legs first intentionally. I was just wondering if somehow they end up doing a full somersault in the air causing them to fall in other ways than the head. That is why I was thinking of making the character tie a jacket filled with stones. Wonder if it will actually work in 3 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![hello\_hello\_hello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@hello\_hello\_hello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hello_hello_hello)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/28 "2016-04-03T20:01:10Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Move the damned office building to SF and use the bridge - instant interest. Bridge jumpers get their fifte… well, two minutes of glory. but the character is in India 🙂 he is a typical “IT guy” with a thick Indian accent. I also did a lot of research on what poisons are available in India. Turns out that there is something called “Aluminium Phosphide” which is pretty deadly and quite easily available as a pesticide. It takes about 4 hours to die from that, and it is pretty certain. It’s also pretty famous, so readers will be able to relate to it immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/29 "2016-04-04T23:03:13Z")
> [@hello\_hello\_hello](#): > > I also did a lot of research on what poisons are available in India. Turns out that there is something called “Aluminium Phosphide” which is pretty deadly and quite easily available as a pesticide. It takes about 4 hours to die from that, and it is pretty certain. > It’s also pretty famous, so readers will be able to relate to it immediately. They have something called “curry” that can be awfully deadly. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864/30 "2016-04-05T00:10:13Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > They have something called “curry” that can be awfully deadly. That’s not poison that’s a bio weapon. (Potentially delicious one.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864.md?page=1)