# Yellowstone geyser guy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570 "2016-08-02T18:26:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/41 "2016-11-16T05:40:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > because Bucket Lady sounded more interesting. Boo-kay! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/42 "2016-11-16T05:59:05Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Go back to my chicken in the slow cooker analogy - even if the fluid is neutral, floating for hours or days in it at boiling or near boiling temperatures is going to cook, tenderize, and disintegrate a human body. The acid (if any) helps the process along but even without it you won’t wind up with much body left. Well at least it keeps the food and fuel costs down at the commissary. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/43 "2016-11-16T06:08:40Z")
I have this book, and may eventually read it. There is also an updated edition that came out in 2014. It opens with the story of the man who jumped into a hot spring after his dog. > **[Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park:...](https://www.amazon.com/Death-Yellowstone-Accidents-Foolhardiness-National/dp/1515963462)** > > Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park \[Whittlesey, Lee H., Thorne, Stephen R.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park I’ve also heard that when the settlers passed through in their covered wagons and discovered the geysers, they would throw rocks, broken wagon wheels, etc. down them and watch them fly out when the geysers erupted. :smack: More than one person died this way, and that may indeed be addressed in the above book. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/44 "2016-11-16T11:07:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Here’s another one](http://nypost.com/2016/11/15/man-dies-trying-to-hot-pot-in-yellowstone-hot-spring/): That’s the same incident. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/45 "2016-11-16T13:55:18Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Certainly… on a fairly small scale of change. The reports you cite, despite being an invisible blink of an eye later (in geologic terms) still just say that the average outflow is around pH 3.5. Nothing about acidic strength, and outflows are different in that they can pick up a higher concentration of solutes that dissipate in a standing pool. > > Anyone got a cite for “pools of boiling acid”? 🙂 :Sniff: A _professional_ barbarian would know this. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/46 "2016-11-16T14:08:58Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I have this book, and may eventually read it. There is also an updated edition that came out in 2014. > > It opens with the story of the man who jumped into a hot spring after his dog. > > [Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park: Whittlesey, Lee H.: 9781570980213: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Death-Yellowstone-Accidents-Foolhardiness-National/dp/1570980217/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479276300&sr=8-2&keywords=death+in+yellowstone) I recently purchased and read that book. It was a pretty good read. Like the deaths from environmental hazards more than the ones that happened due to other humans (apparently, there have been a lot of bar fights in the area that ended badly for someone). ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/47 "2016-11-16T14:22:29Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I have this book, and may eventually read it. There is also an updated edition that came out in 2014. > > It opens with the story of the man who jumped into a hot spring after his dog. > > [Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park: Whittlesey, Lee H.: 9781570980213: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Death-Yellowstone-Accidents-Foolhardiness-National/dp/1570980217/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479276300&sr=8-2&keywords=death+in+yellowstone) > > I’ve also heard that when the settlers passed through in their covered wagons and discovered the geysers, they would throw rocks, broken wagon wheels, etc. down them and watch them fly out when the geysers erupted. :smack: More than one person died this way, and that may indeed be addressed in the above book. :rolleyes: From the link, it appears there is a whole genre of such books I had never been aware of - basically, ‘people dying in national parks’. I must admit, I’d be interested in reading some of those! ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/48 "2016-11-16T14:53:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I have this book, and may eventually read it. There is also an updated edition that came out in 2014. I’ve read it – it’s well worth the read, at least in my opinion. I’d read it again if I knew where it was! ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/49 "2016-11-16T15:20:54Z")
In at least one of the gift shops at the Grand Canyon you can buy a book about the many people who have fallen to their death in the Canyon. When we were there one March it was extremely windy and I saw a tottery old couple climbing down a stairway with no railings whatsoever. I could not watch. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/50 "2016-11-16T15:22:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yellowstone is just the tip of the…er…iceberg. > … > I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen people step over guard rails in order to get closer to the edge of a crumbling precipice: Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Badlands, you name it. > … As I’ve said before, I spent about 6 months flying air tours to/through the Grand Canyon. One of the “perks” was a couple free (=unpaid) hours midday at the canyon airport. But we could ride the bus down to the rim and lodges at no cost. Which was a real perk. From the number of tourists I saw go beyond the railings at places with crumbling edges it’s a total mystery to me why the whole darn canyon isn’t full half with rotting tourist carcasses. I exaggerate slightly as I never saw anyone go over the edge. But it sure wasn’t something I’d be willing to do. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/51 "2016-11-16T15:39:33Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > In at least one of the gift shops at the Grand Canyon you can buy a book about the many people who have fallen to their death in the Canyon. When we were there one March it was extremely windy and I saw a tottery old couple climbing down a stairway with no railings whatsoever. I could not watch. Did you ever think the Park Service might have needed a witness? 😉 ---
**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:** [November 16, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/52 "2016-11-16T16:39:35Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > That’s the same incident. Damn. I checked the date of the article, but missed the date in the body of it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/53 "2016-11-16T18:48:50Z")
The newer article says his sister was taking cell phone video of him when he fell in, but they haven’t released it. How horrible. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/54 "2016-11-16T18:55:47Z")
I guess “Hey y’all! Watch this!!” has been replaced by “Hey y’all! Record this!!” Soon to be replaced by that facebook live streaming thingy: “Hey y’all! Stream this live!!”. If somebody could figure out how to filter the firehose streaming feed into a Darwin Award channel I bet they could make serious money off the ad revenue. Disgusting, but true. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/55 "2016-11-17T21:16:11Z")
I found this redacted official report on the incident, which may be of interest: [https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/YELL\_Scott\_Fatality\_IncidentReport\_NP16070606.pdf](https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/YELL_Scott_Fatality_IncidentReport_NP16070606.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/56 "2016-11-17T22:50:26Z")
> [@cwniles](#): > > One of my favorites was the footage from a few years back of the guy on Half Dome in Yosemite who, after fumbling with and dropping his phone, proceeded to crawl under the cable and out onto the very steep granite to retrieve it. All while numerous people can be heard in the background imploring the moron to stop. I hope it was at least a nice phone. About 35 years ago I saw some teenager doing the exact same thing for one of those metal camping cups. Nobody implored him to stop; they were all just shaking their heads and mumbling under their breath. I have an almost nonexistent fear of heights as long as I know I’m safe, but I had those damned cables in a death grip the entire way down. Just to change the subject a bit, I’ve noticed that almost everybody I’ve ever talked to about climbing Half Dome and reported fear said that it was going _down_ that freaked them out. They had no problems at all going up, but they were pooping their tighty-whities on the way down. Why is that? And by the way, is that footage you were talking about on YouTube by any chance? I’d love to see it. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/57 "2016-11-17T23:38:38Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > I found this redacted official report on the incident, which may be of interest: > > [https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/YELL\_Scott\_Fatality\_IncidentReport\_NP16070606.pdf](https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/YELL_Scott_Fatality_IncidentReport_NP16070606.pdf) One must give credit to the NPS for redacting the report, then using a scanned copy of the redacted report for the FOIA request. All too often someone just redacts an existing PDF and makes it available. It’s then real easy to reverse-engineer the redactions and view was was supposed to be hidden. Don’t ask me how I know this. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/58 "2016-11-18T00:13:58Z")
why is this news now? I saw it on the front page of CNN, but it happened several months ago and made news then. Just odd that it somehow got bubbled to the top of some editor’s list of interesting enough. Sure as hell isn’t current. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/59 "2016-11-18T21:49:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The paramedic told her about ‘Bucket Lady’. This was a woman who was drinking wine in her hot tub. For whatever reason, she passed out and drowned. By the time someone found her (I want to say a couple of weeks later, but I don’t remember), they had to take her out in buckets. If you’re feeling adventurous, [Rotten.com](http://Rotten.com) has a page about a similar incident titled “Simmer”. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570/60 "2016-11-18T23:13:55Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I hope it was at least a nice phone. About 35 years ago I saw some teenager doing the exact same thing for one of those metal camping cups. Nobody implored him to stop; they were all just shaking their heads and mumbling under their breath. I have an almost nonexistent fear of heights as long as I know I’m safe, but I had those damned cables in a death grip the entire way down. > > Just to change the subject a bit, I’ve noticed that almost everybody I’ve ever talked to about climbing Half Dome and reported fear said that it was going _down_ that freaked them out. They had no problems at all going up, but they were pooping their tighty-whities on the way down. Why is that? > > And by the way, is that footage you were talking about on YouTube by any chance? I’d love to see it. So, why didn’t YOU holler at him? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-geyser-guy/761570.md?page=4)