David W. Swanson

Pastor and Author

giant waterslide jump

The quietness of the blog is evidence of my post-Lollapalooza state of mind.  Two days of non-stop music in the Chicago elements (rain all day Friday and blazing sun on Saturday) wore me out.  Tiredness notwithstanding, the festival was a lot of fun and I’ll post some tunes from my favorite musical discovery on Saturday.

I’ve got two Lollapalooza related articles in the works, so this blog continues to get the shaft.  However, thanks to my mom, I have the following video to share.  (That is, my mom sent the link.  That’s not her in the video.  At least, I don’t think it is.)

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So, is it real? Or even possible? Regardless, it looks fun.

David Swanson

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7 responses to “giant waterslide jump”

  1. Edgar Avatar
    Edgar

    Amazing. personally, I don’t think it is possible as the force would probably break your back but like thomas… if I see it, i’ll believe it.

    Reply
  2. Keith Avatar
    Keith

    It looks real but how do you practice for such a thing…crash test dummies?
    Upon review, at the very beginning there are two at the top of the hill who pour water on the track, aparently for lubrication. What about the ramp? Two buckets of water wouldn’t suffice for the entire device (or so I think). Also, if they had poured water onto the track previously then it would have pooled at the ramp base and slowed down the projectile person and not speed him up, as he appears to do at 0:11.
    Despite my disbelief, I would love to try it out…into a lake not into a pool several hundred feet away.

    Reply
  3. Josh S Avatar
    Josh S

    Fake. Unequivocally Fake.

    Clue 1) Physics. The top of the ramp (part in the air) looks to be only about 10 feet lower than the starting point. Imagine going down a 10 foot slide–even one coated in teflon. You will not fly dozens of feet. At best, you would launch about a couple feet.

    Clue 2) The ‘slider’ disappears from view at the bottom of the ramp. Easy way to cut a scene. Likewise, when he lands in the pool, he vanishes from view. Both times, there is a moment (at least a couple frames) where there is nobody in the picture.

    This is a beautiful piece of video editing, but a fake nonetheless. Sorry.

    In contrast, check out this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryr2npAA18g

    You can see that despite the 2 story drop, the ‘flight’ is much shorter.

    Reply
  4. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    We debated the video on our morning walk today… Not sure if it is real or not, but it sure looks like fun…. in the doing and in the creating. Story telling, right? What kind of story telling we’re not sure, but it seems to be in the big fish story category! Me, the gullible thinks its real. Your Dad, with more experience creating stories, is skeptical.

    Reply
  5. jujbird Avatar
    jujbird

    Definitely think it isn’t real, but not for lack of trying. The end title actually is what make me think it. It says, in German “Make it possible” (roughly). I think it could very well be a challenge of some sort…
    Actually just visited the site, and either this guy is pulling a very elaborate farce, or it really is true. He has skematics, and physics , and other things on his site. I’m definitely not physics minded enough, to understand if its possible or not.

    Reply
  6. BC Avatar
    BC

    I used to do something like this at camp. Ok, not exactly like this – but it did involve a long roll of plastic, a steep hill, lots of water and dish soap and not a few grass burns. If there was a way to erect a working ramp that would achieve real airtime without killing ourselves we would have. I’m pretty sure this is fake – but it’s brilliant! I love the way the guy hurtles effortlessly through the air – impressive, real or fake!

    Reply
  7. stanford Avatar
    stanford

    Agree with all. Great video but probobly fake. The process would be far to stochastic for that kind of calculated precission and the forces induced would be bone crushing. But I love it.

    On a side note, could we get the Lollapalooza left overs here. surely you have thoughts that will not make it into the articles. A sort of ‘Dave at Lol unplugged and unfiltered’ type post. 🙂

    Reply

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