# Would you die from 11 meters drop **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270 "2020-02-21T00:38:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/21 "2020-02-21T02:52:05Z")
I’m no doctor or physicist, but a headfirst fall onto concrete from that height sounds all but guaranteed to be fatal. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/22 "2020-02-21T02:53:34Z")
duplicate ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/23 "2020-02-21T03:08:01Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > I had a neighbor that was knocked backwards and hit his head on a curb and died, and people whose parachute failed hit the ground and lived, so it depends. But did the latter land on their heads? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/24 "2020-02-21T03:14:03Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > Also depends on what you’re landing on. If it’s into water and you do it properly, you might be an Olympian! What if you fall into an enormous vat of warm marshmallow fluff? Need answer fast. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/25 "2020-02-21T03:19:39Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I thought we weren’t supposed to do people’s homework for them. Aww, c’mon, it’s her one & only post here. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [February 21, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/26 "2020-02-21T06:24:14Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > What if you fall into an enormous vat of warm marshmallow fluff? Need answer fast. How warm are we talking here? Is it too late to switch to a stiff meringue? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/27 "2020-02-21T06:24:47Z")
I’ve seen the LD50, the point where 50% die, listed as anything from 30 to 50 feet, depending on what you’re landing on and how you fall. Regardless, the LD90, where 90% die, seems to be around 80 feet. Falling 36 feet head-first onto concrete? I’d give about a 50% chance of dying and a much higher chance of having lasting disability. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/28 "2020-02-21T06:27:07Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I thought we weren’t supposed to do people’s homework for them. From the FAQ, conflicting answers: > [@](#): > > Please do not ask other members to do your homework or provide input for your article, paper, or other off-board project. > [@](#): > > Q: May I ask for help on my homework? > A: Yes. You may ask, but no one is obligated to do your homework for you and typically posters prefer to guide you to the proper resources so that you have the ability to do your own homework. Sometimes other posters may oblige your request. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/29 "2020-02-21T06:28:39Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > What if you fall into an enormous vat of warm marshmallow fluff? Need answer fast. It’s winter. Where are you getting **warm** marshmallow fluff from? ---
**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:** [February 21, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/30 "2020-02-21T06:30:50Z")
I will caution the OP on the danger of mixing units on a homework problem, and suggest that she sticks with SI units. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/31 "2020-02-21T07:01:17Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > It’s winter. Where are you getting **warm** marshmallow fluff from? You just gotta cross the streams. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/32 "2020-02-21T07:22:30Z")
I’m not going to answer your homework question of ‘Will you die’ but, IF you survive, a likely outcome would be acquired brain injury. It does not heal. With surgery and rehabilitation and time you might regain the physical ability to pat your dog, or wipe your bum or pick up a sandwich and navigate it to your mouth, but you may never regain the mental capacity to handle such complex tasks ever again. As someone said upstream, you might wish you’d died. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/33 "2020-02-21T10:49:30Z")
Emma, You may have gathered that questions on this forum have to be very carefully phrased to elicit the answer you want. I am puzzled about what kind of homework it is that would frame such a vague question. I would answer by saying “probably”. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/34 "2020-02-21T11:04:27Z")
I had second thoughts about this. If we assume a 100kg man, then the fall would be exactly the same as hitting him on the head with a 100kg rock. I am thinking that you are supposed to calculate how fast he (or the rock) would be travelling at the point of impact and then (somehow) to compute the likely damage to his skull. I am raising my former answer to “almost certainly”. ---
**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 21, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/35 "2020-02-21T11:58:37Z")
Asking for help with homework is allowed, with caution. Asking for someone to do your homework for you is not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/36 "2020-02-21T12:34:12Z")
A dude at my work fell from a height (20ft or so) onto pavement, head first, and everyone was shocked that he survived. He was seriously, seriously hurt, and took a long time to get back. He’s still affected by the injuries, speech and motor functions aren’t 100%, but he’s able to do a desk job. Add another 16 feet to the drop… I’m not liking someone’s chances. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/37 "2020-02-21T12:44:02Z")
In the fire service a person dropping/falling from 30 ft or higher is considered a high fall or some term like that. I would have personally considered a ‘high fall’ much less then that, but that’s what they set at the limit for a high fall/fall. This was taken as extent of injury to be expected. And yes what they landed on would make a huge difference. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/38 "2020-02-21T12:50:48Z")
Very easily. People fall from far less of a height and die because of head trauma. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/39 "2020-02-21T12:57:35Z")
In a prior [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=361878)the sadly inactive **gabriela** cited an unpublished study that an attending physician in a Brooklyn hospital did showing that four floors had an LD-50 and six floors had an LD-95. This concurs with the Hemlock Society report that six floors is enough to reliably kill, but that ten floors is recommended to kill quickly. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270/40 "2020-02-21T13:07:46Z")
It’s not the fall that will kill you. It’s the sudden stop when you hit the ground. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-from-11-meters-drop/848270.md?page=3)