An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week
In a classic scene from the 1993 movie The Fugitive, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) appears to be trapped in a drainage tunnel; Deputy Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) is approaching and a dangerous waterfall looms behind. Gerard of course believes that the fugitive is trapped; a plunge down that waterfall is surely a death wish.
And yet Kimble does what everyone knows he’ll do: he dives right off and survives.
While he doesn’t have safe form, and appears to flip over once or twice no less, it is indeed possible to survive a fall like that — especially with improved technique. Just last month, in fact, a man survived a 170-foot plunge over Niagara Falls.
The reason folks perish when they fall into water from a significant height is because the speed of the fall combined with the surface tension of the water makes it akin to landing on concrete. But with a waterfall, the force of the water coming down breaks some of that tension and makes for a “softer” landing. That said, it’s still a highly dangerous endeavor. Colliding with rocks and drowning from not being able to get up to the surface in time are just a couple of the potentially fatal risks involved. So, never attempt for fun, but if you find yourself in a situation where you’re unavoidably about to tumble down a waterfall, utilize the above tips to increase your chances of survival.
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