Since the dawn of time, man has been pushing the envelope of
what is humanly possible. Through the advancements of technology and the
imagination of men and women, every day people accomplish tasks prior
generations would never had imagined.
In the past two centuries we have flown through the air,
traveled under the sea, and landed on the moon.
As people and as nations we have challenged the laws of physics over and
over again. Sometimes we have done this
in order to advance society, other times we have done it simply because nobody
thought we could. As the bar of human
accomplishments continues to rise, people are more and more fascinated by these
incredible physical acts.
The most recent extreme event is the jump of Felix Baumgartner. Felix is an extreme athlete from
Australia. He has spent a majority of
his life skydiving and BASE jumping from recognizable landmarks around the
globe. He set the world BASE jumping
record when he jumped from the hand of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de
Janeiro. He was the first man to skydive
across the English Channel. His most
recent event is now scheduled October 14, when he will attempt to skydive from
an all time record of 120,000 feet.
The Red Bull Stratos project is unlike any project ever
before. Felix will take a helium balloon
23 miles into the atmosphere. Once he reaches
the height 120,000 feet, he will open the door, step to the edge and jump. He is expected to be the first man to break
the sound barrier reaching speeds around 620 mph. Attached is a CGI video.
What are your impressions as you watched the video? Would you ever be willing to perform extreme
sports (with the proper training and conditioning, of course)? Why or why not? Why do you think mankind is
fascinated with taking things to the extreme?
Ryan- Wow, I thought that was amazing. I would have never expected someone to do that. I'll be sure to be watching on Oct.14. I don't think I could ever preform an extreme stop because I would chicken out. Even with the right training I would freeze. I think man kind has been fascinated with someone doing extreme things since the dawn of time. You see it in history. The colosseums are a great example. People still love it because they like to see people test there strength and to see something that they don't see everyday.
ReplyDeleteAdriana: Holy cow I can't believe that guy would do that!!!!!!!! I think that if I got the chance to do something crazy like that cause well it would b awesome!!!! And YOLO I mean seriously!!! But I would probably have a hard time jumping and doing what that guy did in the vid cause first of all I'd b scared of catching on fire u know when it happens in those movies and second of all because I'm just a smidge afraind of heights. But besides that I'd do just about anything. As long as I know that nothing will happen that could possibly put my life on the line. I think that mankind is fascinated b y doing those things cause well, it makes them look pretty awesome and just to try on new thing and to test ur strength.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think mankind is fascinated with taking things to the extreme?
ReplyDeleteTomas-cool beans. that must be so awsome to look over teh world amd then jump 23 miles down and land on someone on earth and say, "HELLO!" with the proper training and conditioning, of course! the conditioning makes teh jump something that you could do every day. and i would like to beat everyone's story at the dinner table. someone would say i conducted an orchestra and you would beat his story a million to one. mankind is interested because then we could brake or make a new world record and then we could fly with a jetpack even farther outerspace. i bet we are just trying to be the most famous country in the whole world.
Grace-I think this guy is crazy! I could never do that. Even if I some how got to the point in the balloon way up in the air, I would chicken out. It wouldn't be a complete loss though because I still would have seen Earth in a way different perspective. I want to know what will happen to the balloon after he jumps. In the video, he's in a space suit, which gives you the impression that he is in space. If he's in space, then wouldn't he just float instead of fall? I could never do any kind of extreme sports. I'd be too scared and would chicken out. Quite honestly, I would probably end up killing myself because I messed up and broke my neck or something. I guess by taking things to the extreme, we are trying to prove that we can do anything. Obviously we cannot do anything we want, or else we would be God. That doesn't mean that we can't still try and achieve the impossible.
ReplyDeleteThomas-I thought it was amazing that someone would jump from that high up. I don’t think that I would do such an extreme sport as that. I might do more simple sports like soccer but I probably won’t BASE jump, because that doesn't sound like what I would do for fun. I think mankind has been fascinated by this because most people haven’t done extreme things or see people doing them a lot.
ReplyDeletetrue, what is also fun to do is base jump in the winter at a dropoff, you don't need a parachute, and if you land correctly, the snow cushions the fall.
DeleteLily- HOLY COW THAT GUY IS CRAZY!!!! If I had the chance to do something like that I don't know that i would do it! Like Adriana said "YOLO"! My only fear might be the whole part that i would be jumping 120,000 feet! I mean come on thats's CRAZY!! Even after al the training and prepration for the big jump, I think I would definetly chiken out! I may have the slightest bit of fear of hights, but no biggy! He has a very high chance that he could lose his family and friends. I don't think I would take that chance. It would be pretty cool though to say you jumped 120,000 feet. I think man kind is facinated in these types of things because people want to see how far we really can test our strenth. It definetly is not something you see everyday so people are very interested!!
ReplyDeleteNikita- I thought the video was incrediable. I could never do that. THe pictures were also amazing. I think I would if I had the training. It would be really cool to do all the stuff like skydiving thousands of feet into the air. I think mankind is fascinated with extreme sports because it's a thing that is hard for us to imagine. Who would have ever of thought of jumping 120,000 feet in the air?!
ReplyDeleteThat video was pretty incredible. I heard about Felix on the news; they've been talking about his jump for a while now. I don't think I would ever be able to do something like that! I got vertigo just watching the video! I'm not that afraid of heights, but jumping from a pod supported by a helium balloon in the stratosphere? I think not! There are some people out there, though, who are thrill-seekers. Like Evel Knievel, who attempted to jump a motorcycle over the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls. I think that mankind is obsessed with taking things to the extremes. I mean, look at that Evel Knievel guy! He failed the jump, but everyone knows about it! He's famous for that jump. We do it for the famous part of it, as well as the thrill of it, would be my guess.
ReplyDeleteThat was Natalie by the way
DeletePatrick- That video was absolutely the stupidest thing I have ever seen. You must ask your self why? Why would would you jump from space? I honestly don't know. Scientific research? I don't know. Would i ever do that. HECK NO!!!!!! All caps six exclamation points NO. Oh, good question. WHERE WOULD YOU LAND! Its also certain death. I know like YOLO but i don't think he meant to that extreme . Most of us have enough common sense to NOT do that. (hopefully) Why do i think man kind is fascinated with going to the extreme. No hard feelings to the guy but some of the people who do that are just plain dumb! Some times you just have to wonder....... Please never do that fellow students. Please.
ReplyDeleteTest one
Deleteaww someone change the pic i fail at it
DeleteStudent four will ALWAYS remain as 4chan
DeleteAndoni-This video reminds of a song that most people have referenced already. I think that this song's relevance to this story is substantial. It's all about making every moment of your life count and living by that your entire life. I think that this guy has some serious guts to put his life on the line to break a record. When you think of it that way it sound ridiculous. This would be something that would be a pretty cool thing to have done. In all honesty and without trying to sound like a tough guy, i would like to think that i would have enough guts to do it. But when it came time to make the jump i don't know if i would go through with it I understand that it is an insanely high risk stunt that does nothing except give you money, fame, and most of all the pride of knowing you did something that everyone else in the world wouldn't dream of doing. YOLO, that's the motto that we follow.
ReplyDeletewhat theory of yolo? the one where we make an idiot out of ourselves or doing something that matters?
DeletePetie- My impressions are "jeez, Does that guy have a death wish?" I mean if he does survive and land that would be AWESOME!! My other impressions is that if people are going this far to set a world record then I think that anything that can be done. I am also AMAZED at how calm this guy is acting like he is going to learn how to ride a bike, not putting his life on the line to break the sound barrier and the world record. If I had the proper training then heck yes I would do extreme sports!! I think that if you sit back and watch other people and be amazed, then why don't you go out and amaze people yourself, use your body until you can't.I think that mankind is amazed by these things due to the fact that you can use your body in ways that you never thought possible.
ReplyDeleteMegan-My first empression after watching this video was WOW THIS DUDE MUST BE MENTAL INSANE!!!! Then I thought it was pretty cool and impressive. I mean, I wouldn't want to do it! This is because, oh I don't know, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!! Sorry folks, I'm not the extreme extreme sports kinda person. But I do think Felix is very very brave! I think the reason humans are so fascinated by this is because we are never happy with just what we have now. We always have to push things to the extreme!
ReplyDeleteNathaniel- I actually have heard about this person, and have a great respect for his bravery. To tell you the truth I feel that I could do this too. One of my dreams is to see the earth from a space perspective (go to space), and this is partly one way I reach this goal. People enjoy watching other people perform these amazing tasks because feel a rush of adrenaline and think "Are they going to survive?" To tell you the truth, I'm not that surprised he is doing this, the sound barrier is bound to be broken at some time by humans. Maybe in a far, far, distant future people will be traveling at the speed of light on a regular basis. :D Seems impossible right? We'll see in a couple thousand years.
ReplyDeleteNathaniel- Everyone saying he won't survive, he will have a parachute he'll deploy at around 600 meters, just letting you know. He will also be up in the stratosphere, and there is a bit of gravity. This is the reason he won't float away... Thank goodness.
DeleteWes- Do you think the parachute will be any help going that fast?
DeleteNathaniel- Okay first of all I got the height wrong, the parachute will open at 1,500 meters. He will be descending at the speed of sound for a brief period, and at 30,000 feet, air resistance will begin to slow him down.
DeleteI've also been noticing most of the comments refer to him as a lunatic/and or a crazy person. I would like to say that Felix is doing this for science. If it wasn't for the last record (which was done by Kittinger in 1960), we wouldn't have the current space suit that's used by astronauts. Felix is trying to achieve this new feat to help in future space travel. I'd also like everyone to think what would have happened if The Wright Brothers never took their first flight which lasted around a minute. I'm sure there must have been many people at that time saying, that the Brothers were crazy. But can we imagine a life today without air travel?
Wes- True, but how does breaking the sound barrier help with anything?
DeleteMy impressions on this video is why would someone do this? No, I would definitely not attempt extreme sports, even with proper conditioning. It's just to dangerous, and why do it when you could simply watch other crazy people do it instead? I think it is human nature to be curious, and sometimes that curiosity leads us to do things like this, just to see what would happen.
ReplyDeleteThat's Nate, by the way...
DeleteWes- My impressions were THIS GUY IS A LUNATIC! I mean, jumping 120,000 feet is not a small number. This man will try the impossible and hopefully live (notice how I said hopefully). If that was me I would never be able to do it because I am not the kind of risk taker that is risking his life just to break a sound barrier. I mean it is true right. I think the reason is because we like to enjoy risk taking and possible other EXTREME SPORTS to feel good at something, but 120,000 feet! I say to Felix, good luck and TRY NOT TO DIE!!!
ReplyDeleteWes- HE ACTUALLY MADE IT! HOORAY
DeleteRaquel- OH MY GOODNESS!Through out the entire video my mouth was open. The part that got my heart pumping really fast was when it chowed him standing at the edge of the spacecraft thing. How could he have maintained so much calm. I was just impressed when i read that he had jumped off the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. Now he is to jump from 120,000 ft. That is just INCREDIBLE.I would never have the courage to do such a thing. I can barely jump of a couple of steps down the stairs without freaking out. I would never do any extreme sport in my entire life the word skydiving freaks me out and knowing that people that for fun gives me the shivers. I certainly am not the girl even with the proper training to perform any extreme sports. I really don't know why but, to tell you the truth i just think it is just so that those performing can leave a mark on earth knowing that if one day they die they know they did something worth living for.
ReplyDeleteNekane-That it was very cool and interesting. Yes ,but it depends on what it would be. Because I wouldnt want to do something and be terrifyed but it might be fun. Because people have to try new things like new things that are extreme if we dont try we will never know what it is like or how it feels to do extreme sports. Its like doing a sport your really good at and wanting to do even better then you choose to do extreme!!!
ReplyDeleteSydney- I acually just watched the jump on the news a couple minutes ago. I thought this was a very daring thing to do. I would never be able to do this because I am not that big of a dare devil and I wouldn't really want to risk my life for a world record. It may be fun for people, but I have a lot of other things I would want to do. I was afraid watching the actual footage of him jumoing because I thought maybe he wouldnt make it but he landed right on his feet! People really enjoy doing extreme things because they get put n record books and things like that. Other people are just very daring and have the kind of personality to do those kinds of things. I was so glad he survived landing right on his feet!
ReplyDeleteJustin- My impression of the video was if he's getting paid, why not? If he isn't getting paid, that guys stupid. Yeah i would do it... if I got paid. I think mankind is fascinated with taking things to the extreme because we like to test our boundaries.
ReplyDeleteSean-
Delete*paid:
I'm guessing that you are forgetting the reason that money exists; to limit what we can get, this is a simple explanation for the main rule of alchemy: "you cannot gain anything without first giving something of equal value in exchange"
thus, he risked his life to help save others who love aviation too, referencing back to my pilot explanation.
DeleteLuke-That guy is cool. that all I have to say about him. It is awesome that he broke that world record set in 1961. If I could do it i would. I can definitley do exstreme sports. I am strong enough and big enough. I also am kind of fond of risk taking. No guts no glory as they say. I have no idea what the majority of mankind thinks. All i know is that some people think its stupid, and some think its facinating like me. But we are facinated because is amazing what people will do for the glory.
ReplyDeleteHayley: My impression of this man is that he has a serious sense for adrenaline. I think I would be willing to do it is if we made sure I wouldn't die. I would also do it because it is a major YOLO. I think people are willing to lose their life over a world record because people today are blinded by fame and what the outcome of a scenario may be.
ReplyDeleteSean-
Deletethis is research and pure spite covered in the sense of sponsorship with the assumption of a "yolo" theory.
John-My impression of this guy who is doing a extreme sport is that he must be a major dare devil to jump so high up in the sky and land on earth because you might live or might die. I would do the jump if there was a lot of saftey and that the people made sure that i would live. I think people today like extreme sports today because they realize what people can do and people like watching cool and intresting things.
ReplyDeleteLauryn- Someone please get this guy to a metal hospital because he is crazy!! My first impression was that he was going to burn to death. Then I thought he was going to forget to pull the parachute. When he got closer to the water I thought he was going to drown. Throughout the whole video I thought he was going to die. I would never be willing to do extreme sports because I get really scared when I’m in the ocean and can't see land. Also I am a worrier so I think of everything that could possibly go wrong. And I would probably pass out. I think mankind likes things that are taken to the extreme because our brains have never seen anything like it. When we haven't seen something before it fascinates us.
ReplyDeleteSean- if he was higher, as in right on the brink of space, and if he had 100 pounds of weight added to his suit, he may get a little burnt, and he couldn't drown, you have all that extra air in there, and in your water to spaceman hypothesis: ships wouldn't float because they are heavy...
DeleteBailie- When I saw the video I thought that it was pretty amazing especially when Felix broke the sound barrier. I don't think I would like to do extreme sports because there are so many ways it can go wrong and you can end up dead or worse, even with all the training. I think that mankind is so fascinated with taking things to the extreme because we think it is impossible and then some goes off and makes it possible.
ReplyDeleteLiam~ This video is pretty remarkable, I mean it takes a lot of courage to jump 5 miles down to earth. I would most definitely do extreme sports, I mean if I had to pick a way to die young I would pick accidental extreme sport parachute failure. One of my goals is to base jump off the Burj Kalifa in Dubai, obviously I would start on like skydiving, then move to jumping off the Petronas Tower, which is the only legal building to base jump off, then I would ask permission from Dubai if I could jump off the Burj Kalifa. Man has always looked for a thrill and I think that Extreme Sports is definitely a popular thrill.
ReplyDeleteLiza- That man is CRAZY TO THE MAX!!!! I mean you don't walk around saying "Hey I think I want to jump out of a hot air balloon and the edge of the stratosphere!" That's insane I would never do that EVER!! I am so scared of that stuff! Why would anyone want to risk their lives for a stupid adrenaline rush! That's so wrong. Just because adrenaline makes us feel good doesn't mean we have to go around all the time saying "I think I'll go out and almost die today for adrenaline rushes." Mankind likes this stuff because we're so scared to go out and do that stuff ourselves, so when we see other people doing it we think "Hey now I don't have to do that because now I've seen how stupid and dangerous that really is." Or we think "Wow that looked boring so I won't do it."
ReplyDeleteif you fear the thought of living life, it causes a chain reaction that will make you think, skydiving is deadly, so is bungee jumping, so is cliff jumping, and so is swimming, and pretty soon, you will be afraid of even riding a bike. Like i said before; it is a mental decision.
Delete*Sean-
DeleteRylie: I think that this was heroic. Very cool to see someone do this. I believe that humans are always finding ways to make things bigger and better, and breaking the sound barrier was pretty cool. I would so be willing to do things like this! I love to do extreme sports and such. I would have so much fun. I think humans are fascinated by taking things to the next level, because we always want to outdo each other.
ReplyDeleteKeelie: YES OF COURSE I WOULD DO EXTREME SPORTS!!! i think that video was inspirational yo daredevils, like myself, and that it really makes me want to do something like that. and if i died while doing extreme sports no one could say they died the way i did. i think humans are fascinated with awesome stuff like that because of the adrenaline rush. that's why i do things that make my mom upset, like putting my hand in the toaster or trying to give my cat a bath.
ReplyDeleteTodd-He is crazy but also the bravest man that I have ever seen in my life. Yes, it would be a once and a life time experience to be able to say “'ya I jumped from 120,000 feet and I was what all the people were talking about, just saying”.
ReplyDeleteAubrie-This man is completely crazy. I would never be able to do something like that. I would be afraid of doing something like that because i would be scarred if something were to happen like the seat belt got stuck or the parishoot would not come out.I think that mankind is fascinated with taking the extreme because most people want to be the first person to do something so that they can be known.And also so that they can tell the story instead of listing to one be told.
ReplyDeleteWell, i would indeed do something like this, it is a simple mental decision, but in reply to you, Wes, it helps because if a jet were to shatter the sound barrier, and if the pilot were to make a turn, that would either break the wings seamlessly hurdling the plane back towards earth with no control whatsoever, which would then spiral around at an abrupt rate, causing the pilot to black out, or the jet would spin out of control at a violent rate, jerking the pilot around that ether his spinal cord would snap, or he would panicky attempt to eject the plane, which would result in the seat either getting caught in the cockpit space, crushing his head in the corner of the cockpit, or if he were to jump out, the parachute would be torn off if not properly stored, or he would again, snap his spinal cord from the abrupt jerk of the parachute at that great of velocity, yet Felix here survived shattering the sound barrier, in nothing but a space suit and safely coming back to the ground, without a scratch, unlike our jet pilot here. proving that the space suit and parachute models passing the momentum test, and helping save people like our pilot.
ReplyDelete*Sean-
DeleteClaire No I would not do that!! It is too scary. I might get hurt jumpring from tht high. People are weird and crazy. People are too competitive and keep trying crazy things.
ReplyDelete