Okay I tried for a long time on google and got nothing but statistics about old people breaking their hips and base-jumping. :P

So here's my question, any idea how far the average human is able to "fall" assuming they are able to land on their feet and avoid dehabilitating injury?

Like if I were gonna jump off a tree or out of a window how far would I be relatively safe for?

Is it like some formula like bodyheight x 1.5, a set number or just completely and utterly random and dependant on the circumstances?

Reason I'm asking is I have to give an information speech in one of my classes this semester and decided to do it on how to survive zombie attacks -- I'm looking for a statistic to give about how high of windows or ledges you can jump from as an alternate means of escape.... and teh internet is failing me!1!!!

I don't think there is any good answer to that. You can fall 4' and break your leg. You can fall 20' and be fine. I would say 5-10'-ish?

I was going to say you can fall your own body height and be pretty safe if you land good. Problem is I just pulled that out of my ass and need some kind of source to back it up with :P

Any PhD's in the house want to lend me their name???? :P

Oooo score! I just thought of a possible source...

*runs to check his DMG for falling damage statistics*

my vote is for completely and utterly random and dependant on the circumstances.

Ive heard of people breaking a hip falling out of a kitchen chair changing a light bulb, and then people falling off a 2nd storry roof and getting up laughing. But any good stunt man will tell you if you know "how to fall" you can fall a lot more distance without injury.


Maybe you can get some info from that can help you. (click the guy )


edit-mirroring image and cause i just want to keep it myself too :P

I think it depends too much on how you land, if you don't bend your knees at all to soften the blow it hurts from like 2'.

Mwahaha got it --
For the speech:

Assuming you land well, you can fall distances of up to 10 feet in relative safety.

Cook, Monte. DMG 3rd Ed.
Washington: WoTC, 2000

In actuality:

"The basic rule is simple: 1d6 poitns of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maxiumum of 20d6. If there character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage is the same but the first 1d6 is subdual damage. A successful jump check allows the character to avoid any damage from the first 10 feet."

Cook, Monte. Dungeon Master's Guide 3rd Ed.
Washington: Wizards of the Coast, 2000


---

Of course any actual statistics are still welcome :P

[ body mass (kg) * height of fall (m) * gravity ] / [ 1 + percent body fat (kg) ]

i think it mostly depends on how well you're able to fall. if you absorb the impact over a long period of time, say, by bending your knees as your falling to then rolling down and stuff, the force will be distributed over a length of time. if you just land straight on your leg all of the force goes to your leg at that instant and it snaps. knowing how to fall, and what your falling on have an effect on it a lot.

Nothing useful to add, just wanted to say that this is one of the greatest speech topics I've ever heard. :D

Your average person can fall about ten feet and walk away if they know how to land. In other words, you could jump out a second-story window and keep on running. Anything higher than that and you won't be able to limp faster than zombies can shamble.

I suggest you work the word "defenestrate" into your speech.

Synrax
go go physics!!

I kept thinking about this and went down the same line, but went with the calculation of force.

F = ma, or Force = mass X acceleration where force would be the impact
freefall acceleration is approximately 32 feet/second[sup79138ea41]2[/sup79138ea41].

so at about 6 stories you hit the ground at about 50mph, OUCH!

On a parachuting site i found this..

PS hope any of this helps, and how about posting the final report for us here?

Have you considered adding the variable of shoving someone else out first, then landing on top of them? People have survived failed parachute openings by landing on their instructor.

this site talk about freefalling

http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffincident.html

can come in handy i think

When I was younger, I jumped out of my 8-10' high treeless treehouse on a regular basis. But I was fleeing from imaginary zombies, not real ones, if that makes any difference.

It totally depends on the way you fall, as well as body mass/flexability/physical fitness.

I remember reading in an article about 3 months ago of a gymnast in germany falling out of a 4th story window. She stablized herself on the way down, landed on her feet, and only suffered...either a sprained, or broken ankle, I can't remember which.

If you go on ebaums world, or maybe it's kontraband, it has this guy who is working on an electrical box at the top of this building about 15 feet up. Gets electrocuted, and falls all the way down. Gets up perfectly fine.

I've heard of people parachuting, and their chute not opening up, and them only sufferering a couple broken legs.

There's to many factors to really give a definate answer on what height you can survive from.

-Doof

You take 1d6 of damage for every 10 feet you fall.

Owen Hart fell 70-80 feet, and we all know how that turned out... however I don't believe he landed on his feet. :( There's stories of people jumping out of 2 or 3 story windows and escaping serious harm though.

Oh, and I agree that you need to work "defenestration" into your speech at some point.

My dad fell off a second-story roof and landed on his back, on a pile of dirt and got up about 10 minutes later without harm (though he refused to go to the hospital). He probably broke some ribs.

Quite a difference from getting a shock (alive) and being electrocuted (dead). I think this guy was a zombie if it happened as you describe.

It probably depends too on certain people and their bone density. Elijah Price wouldn't be able to take a fall from but about a foot or so and he could shatter his leg. David Dunn, on the other hand, could take a good 5 or 6 story dive and walk away perfectly fine.

I'd look up stuntman training schools and see if they have any information on the subject

http://www.thesafehouse.org/viewtopi...=185681#185681 <-- surviving zombie attacks. You should pick up a copy of this book if you haven't already, Glip

I would say that it matters whether or not you fall *on* a zombie. That could help break your fall if you do it right, and it might kill that zombie.

I would just like to mention that about three years ago someone told me that if you jump off of a table and land barefoot on tiles on your heels instead of the balls of your feet, you'll probably be crippled for life. Since then, every single time I've been barefoot in a room with tiles, I've had this image of myself jumping off of a table and landing on my heels. I always cringe and try to think about something else, but the thought keeps resurfacing.

Yep.

Senn -- I've got that book in digital format and in paperback.

Also picked up the Zombie Movie Enyclopedia for this project and while its a little outdated (printed just before the first Resident Evil movie came out--so it doesnt have anything on any of the 'new' zombie flicks) its got tons of info on just about everyfrom from 1968-1998

And I'd be more than happy to post what I've got when I'm done here. Its not a report per se though, its a speech. So it won't read like a typical essay would.

(Height in inches x 2.5) + Weight in pounds x .1 = DP (damage potential). 36 would be an average DP for a male of 70 inches (5'10") and 180 pounds.

FF (Fall Factor) is determined by dividing feet fallen into 10 foot segments and then adding them together. Multiply this total by 2.

Example: Falling 30 feet you would add 10 + 20 + 30 = 60 x 2 = 120.

The model assumes falling onto concrete. If you are falling on to something softer you can divice the FF by up to 2 to determine your Final Fall Factor (FFF). Examples: Water 2. Snow 1.5. Grass 1.2.

DP + FFF = Ouch Factor (OF)

Spryness (S) determines how well you can take a fall. Spryness has a default value of 20 modified as follows: +3 if very young. +2 if still athletic. +6 if you "professionally tumble" (Gymnast Airborne etc.). +3 if you take a martial arts class or otherwise jump around a great deal. -3 if showing age. -6 old. -5 to -10 if unprepared for the fall or other bad falling conditions.

Divide Ouch Factor by Spryness and consult the table below.

1: Possible bruising or scrapes.

2: Pain sufficient to cause impairment.

3: Sprain.

4: Break.

5: Multiple breaks, Trauma and possible unconsciousness.

6-7: Internal damage and multiple fractures.

8-9: Severe trauma. Death likely.

10+: Greater damage and likelihood of death for each extra point.

15+: At least a 99.9% chance of fatality.

Speaking of zombies...

... the hell? decayed zombie of Rodney Dangerfield?

and thats not just a bad pic...... but he is 82, and was a party hard person

I'd propose autodefenestration. That is, Defenestration of one's self, not defenestration from a moving auto, which introduces a whole 'nother level of difficulty.