“The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss”
- Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
From Science Creative Quarterly:
…But the ground is really big, and, as the Tick so sagely noted, “Gravity is a harsh mistress.” So herein contained is my handy-dandy explanation of how you can impress your friends and family by throwing yourself at the ground and missing:
Step one
Throw yourself at the ground. Luckily, this is really easy thanks to gravity, which will pull you down to the ground at an acceleration rate of 32.174 feet per second per second, meaning every second you are falling to the ground, you fall 32 feet (9.8 meters) per second faster. If you want to fall for one second, just spend enough energy to climb 16 feet (4.9 meters) above ground and drop. Voila!
Step two
Miss. This is the not so easy part…
Continue reading at Science Creative Quarterly. Here’s an example:
2 minutes. Link to Video
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