Althouse: It's all beautiful fun and games until somebody leaves too much slack in the rope...

March 26, 2013

It's all beautiful fun and games until somebody leaves too much slack in the rope...

You've seen the famous largest swing in the world at Utah's Corona Arch:

"If you don’t do it exactly right, you can die," and, unfortunately, a young man did.

48 comments:

Big Mike said...: "If you don't do it exactly right, you can die," and, unfortunately, a young man didn't.

Fixed it for you, Professor.; 3/26/13, 7:16 PM
edutcher said...: Darwin nods.; 3/26/13, 7:23 PM
chickelit said...: Of course they must have video recorded it.; 3/26/13, 7:25 PM
n.n said...: Life is an exercise in risk management. Some activities entail higher risk than others. There is no evidence this was a suicide. It was a tragic accident that likely occurred due to negligent oversight, or perhaps an "Act of God" -- for insurance purposes, of course.; 3/26/13, 7:26 PM
Oso Negro said...: The ones who doublecheck the length of the rope stay in the gene pool.; 3/26/13, 7:30 PM
Paco Wové said...: Looks like a beautiful arch. Too bad the place is full of yahoos like those in the video.; 3/26/13, 7:34 PM
Palladian said...: There's something... poignant when media-driven, hip, young lifestyle culture comes face-to-face with that ancient, unhip, buzz-killing inevitability called Death.

Especially when it's set to an upbeat hip-hop soundtrack!; 3/26/13, 7:34 PM
George Grady said...: You pays your money and you takes your choice!

People shouldn't be insulated from the dangers they seek for themselves. That said, if you have children, you're a jackass for doing something like this.; 3/26/13, 7:35 PM
Rusty said...: Stupid people die in stupid ways.; 3/26/13, 7:55 PM
Rusty said...: Funny as hell if he rock broke though.; 3/26/13, 8:02 PM
MadisonMan said...: Dreadful for his family. Wouldn't want to be the friends watching either, as you slowly (or very quickly) realize that the rope is too long.; 3/26/13, 8:07 PM
Rusty said...: School voucher program passed the Indiana Supreme Court.
private and religious schools to benefit most.; 3/26/13, 8:07 PM
shirley elizabeth said...: I remember, in elementary school, the D.A.R.E. speaker scared us away from drinking by telling a story about a set of kids that tried to bungee jump while drunk, with one friend splattering like a watermelon. He actually used that analogy.; 3/26/13, 8:08 PM
CWJ said...: What a beautiful wonder of nature. Let's fuck it up doing stupid crap. It's what we want, who cares about anyone else. After all, my adrenaline rush is more important.

You know, I used to think that the nature purists were just elitist wussies. But I watch this and realise that there are others even more self-centered, selfish and unthinking than they.; 3/26/13, 8:08 PM
Astro said...: Clearly we need a federal law mandating that ropes be no longer than 120 feet.; 3/26/13, 8:14 PM
Emil Blatz said...: No need for new rope management laws - just enforce the existing laws which prohibit defacement of a national park (or monument). I couldn't see where this thing was anchored, but if it was hammered in or drilled in, that is a crime in my book. Next, these assholes need to be assessed the full cost of the emergency response that was mounted when these stupid fucks called in frantically for help.; 3/26/13, 8:31 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: YouTube standard rules apply here, skip to 1:00, turn off sound.; 3/26/13, 8:33 PM
Methadras said...: Ban all ropes. They kill people when they are on the loose.; 3/26/13, 8:41 PM
bagoh20 said...: Actually, even if you do everything exactly right you will die anyway. Deal with it.

This is a pretty simple thing to get right: start in the right place with the right length of rope well secured at both ends, and you will survive every time.

Compare that to the complexity and lack of control you accept in driving to work, and you may just stay home. Your body will be accelerated to many times the speed of these swingers, and then we throw a bunch of 80,000 lbs trucks at you head on at 60 mph, flying by just a couple feet away, just to make it fun, and we let hundreds of strangers of unknown capacity fly by reliving their fight over the credit card with the spouse last night.

You could tie yourself securely in the car just to be safe.; 3/26/13, 8:46 PM
bagoh20 said...: Remember, in the car you can do everything perfectly correct and still get killed for it. Now that's crazy!; 3/26/13, 8:50 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: "It's all beautiful fun and games until somebody leaves too much slack in the rope..."

At first, I thought it was a SSM caution note.

Honest.; 3/26/13, 9:04 PM
William said...: Red Bull should extend the brand and bring out a hip, new embalming fluid.; 3/26/13, 9:05 PM
XRay said...: I'm too damn cynical.

But so what, what do they do here.

Have any of them thought of risking their lives for their country instead of for a cheap, ultimately insignificant thrill.

I may be wrong, could be all of them are members of the military. Somehow I doubt it.; 3/26/13, 9:13 PM
David said...: But earlier this year Utah state officials outlawed the activity, largely because of the danger posed — and a forthcoming land exchange between the state's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The arch has nevertheless remained open for private parties wishing to climb or swing.

"If people want to huck themselves off a cliff or arch, that’s their business," John Andrews, SITLA’s general counsel, told the Tribune in February. "There is a general principle that owners who hold their land open for recreational use are insulated from liability. We felt there was more risk [exposure to the state] if someone operated under a permit and someone got hurt."

In other words, the government steps away from participation in order to insulate itself from liability, thus increasing the chances that someone will be hurt by removing competent outfitters.; 3/26/13, 9:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh no, does this mean they'll try to make it illegal?

I remember a college road trip we took to the 4 corners states, specifically Monument Valley. You couldn't do ANYTHING there anymore. It made it so boring.

I'm sure there is already a plan in place for the first live streamed GoPro death (err, as it were).; 3/26/13, 9:48 PM
Fritz said...: We must ban high capacity ropes.; 3/26/13, 10:20 PM
Jim said...: I'm pretty sure that the other guys was longer. So the video isn't really the "world's longest rope swing," now is it?; 3/26/13, 10:30 PM
Anonymous said...: A journalist once asked Tazio Nuvolari if he was afraid to get into his race car.
Nuvolari told the guy, "Most people die in bed. Are you afraid to get into your bed?
The funny thing is, Nuvolari eventually did die in bed.
Some folks just can't stand the idea of dying in bed.
This makes the Bloombergs nervous
Life isn't safe-wear a helmet!; 3/27/13, 12:58 AM
Anonymous said...: This looks like a lot of fun. I don't think it as dangerous as some pastimes, such as marrying a lawyer.
Marrying a lawyer is like a hurricane.
It starts out wild and wet and when it is over, your house is gone.; 3/27/13, 1:04 AM
Craig Landon said...: Nature loves honey traps. He also likes to play with folk who don't respect him. His brother in the sea collaborates.; 3/27/13, 1:38 AM
Rusty said...: In other words, the government steps away from participation in order to insulate itself from liability, thus increasing the chances that someone will be hurt by removing competent outfitters.

Pffft!
Once you step off that ledge you are totally and utterly alone and what happens next is on you.
No amount of bureaucracy is gonna change that.
It keeps the heard healthy.; 3/27/13, 6:13 AM
Larry J said...: Mick Havoc said...
Marrying a lawyer is like a hurricane.
It starts out wild and wet and when it is over, your house is gone

What does a fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado and a wife all have in common?

Sooner or later, one of them is probably going to take your house.; 3/27/13, 7:29 AM
Tank said...: Looks like fun. Exactly the kind of thing I liked to do when I was young.

Here's what I remember from shop class:

Measure twice, cut once.; 3/27/13, 7:32 AM
SGT Ted said...: Providing "competent outfitters" isn't the answer.

There are plenty of places to go for adrenalin rushes. It is not incumbent on anybody to provide a veneer of safety for adrenalin freaks looking for their next rush. Darwin shows us the way.; 3/27/13, 7:34 AM
Johnnygeneric said...: Florida Atlantic University 'Jesus stomping' case: Student Ryan Rotelas upset, Rick Scott comments

When the SCOTUS strikes down gay marriage ban, this will become a standard exercise in classes.

It will be like intolerance on steroids

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_s_palm_beach_county/boca_raton/florida-atlantic-university-jesus-stomping-case-gov-rick-scott-upset-over-deandre-poole-class

And I am damn sick of your dog photos.; 3/27/13, 7:51 AM
Bob said...: There is always one in the group that just has to add a little extra rope to get closer to the rocks. Or they forget to factor in a little more stretch because the next guy is 30 lbs heavier. I feel sorry for the family but not the ones in the group as those in the group participated.; 3/27/13, 8:28 AM
bagoh20 said...: What people perceive as stupidly dangerous has little to do with with it's danger and a lot to do with whether or not they have done it. Do something "dangerous" and get away with it and it's a whole new world out there.

Something I'm a little ashamed of is that I have never broken any bones. I did get a broken nose in my twenties while drunk and hitting on some guy's girl in a bar, but I was completely sloshed, so it doesn't count. I know I was really drunk because I never approach women otherwise. They are far too dangerous.; 3/27/13, 8:29 AM
MadisonMan said...: In other words, the government steps away from participation in order to insulate itself from liability, thus increasing the chances that someone will be hurt by removing competent outfitters.

It's folly to expect the Govt to protect from all your bad choices. Take some responsibility!; 3/27/13, 8:50 AM
rhhardin said...: Then it's still fun and games, just not around that person.; 3/27/13, 9:14 AM
rhhardin said...: A regular airplane gives you all the flying experience you need, only it takes a few hundred hours before you begin to feel what you fantasized it would be like.

It's hidden behind a lot of mechanism that you have to tune out by intuiting it.; 3/27/13, 9:18 AM
SteveR said...: A life style propped up with other people's money (dad's, student loans), lots of casual sex and alcohol intersecting with natural laws (gravity) not only means death but that no lessons are learned.; 3/27/13, 9:18 AM
Big Mike said...: There are plenty of places to go for adrenalin rushes.

They could, for example, enlist in the Army or Marines. Winston Churchill himself said that there's "nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result" (i.e., shot at and missed).; 3/27/13, 9:43 AM
firstHat said...: Sad about the boy. Sad for his family and friends. If one wants to take risks they should be allowed to.

But there's another hmmm moment here. May I ask why should the Feds be taking over even more land out West? The federal gov already owns more than I'd like of most of the Western US.; 3/27/13, 9:52 AM
Mitch H. said...: It's an attractive nuisance! The government's at fault for not dynamiting the arch!

The legalistic mindset is addictive, isn't it?; 3/27/13, 10:30 AM
Nomennovum said...: Speaking of making things illegal, Darwin is famous for saying*, "Stupidity is illegal and warrants the death penalty in certain cases."

So we alrady have a law for this type of stuff.

______________
* At least he should have said this.; 3/27/13, 11:48 AM
Geoff Matthews said...: Natural selection in action.; 3/27/13, 12:40 PM
Sam L. said...: Measure twice, and twice more. Close enough is not.; 3/27/13, 12:47 PM
Bart said...: remember life is hard, it is even harder if you are stupid.; 3/27/13, 3:07 PM