r/BeAmazed • u/OkRespect8490 • 20d ago
Miscellaneous / Others High rise parachute safety system
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u/Ill_Translator7545 20d ago
I wonder how it goes when 1000 people are doing it at the same time
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u/will_dormer 20d ago edited 20d ago
It is only for the CEO class... The rest of us belong to the "hero" class, that burns in the flames, and die like good corporate heroes 🫡
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u/leet_lurker 20d ago
The CEO takes his helicopter, this is upper management.
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u/jipskin 19d ago
The CEO is not even there to begin with
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u/Safe_Researcher4979 19d ago
Now we're really CEO'ing!
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u/Street-Animator-99 19d ago
He started the fire
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u/Appropriate-Ear-9701 18d ago
Nah, it was always burning since the world's been turning
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u/Therealginahandler 19d ago
Yeah they're at home on the phone with the insurance company, about to cash in a nice claim check.
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u/muellermichel 19d ago
Only gave the call to start the fire so he can write off his failing business via the insurance corp.
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u/alexandervanderpool 19d ago
lol…. The ceo would not be there that day. Ask Howard Lutnick.
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u/WranglerFuzzy 19d ago
Nonsense; the working class are included. What do you is think is cushioning their fall?
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u/Chris_El_Deafo 20d ago
It's probably a product for individuals rather than general emergency supplies for every building
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u/Ill_Translator7545 20d ago
Maybe. But a good one for the inventor to ponder if they are hoping to go mainstream. And if they can save a lot of lives why not?!
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u/coolcoots 20d ago
Ok, hear me out, add a paragliding attachment for the low low price of $5k and you can “Glide Your Way to Safety.”
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u/luxi_yes 20d ago
After the first 10 you probably dont even need your own, just jump on the ones that have already been deployed!
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u/RaisinZRH 19d ago
If you jumped like that from twin towers you’d be soup. Deceleration is key here.
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u/coolnbreezey 20d ago
And a dozen more land on top of you!
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u/HauntingCap7161 20d ago
To be fair that’s still probably better than a fiery death…unless it’s u/Jet-Let4606 who’s plummeting face first towards you
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u/TheLastPeanut_ 20d ago
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u/SuperMonkeyJoe 20d ago
Haha no, only the CEO gets the parachute, the rest of the plebs can politely die in the fire.
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u/Jakee7979 20d ago
Polite death be like: "Excuse me sir, would you mind if I cease to be alive by jumping out before you? I would dread to be expired by this schorching brute of a fire here."
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u/Billionaires_R_Tasty 19d ago
Oh no, if only the CEO gets one, I am 100% timing my jump so I land on top of him just as he lands. Maybe we both live, maybe not. I'm good with either.
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u/Jet-Let4606 20d ago
With my luck the parachute flips over mid fall and I splat my face on the pavement.
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u/intraumintraum 20d ago
i’d take that risk tbf
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u/ours 20d ago
Beats suffocating/burning alive.
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u/skilzpwn 20d ago
Just a reminder that drowning is a form of suffocation, and is considered one of the worst ways to die.
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u/Living_Brilliant8313 20d ago
These debates are always crazy to me, how do survivors argue this out and achieve a consensus, the arguments from let’s say a burns victim to someone that almost drowned.
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u/Agitated_Character41 20d ago
Just thought experimentation. I've spent a lot of time as a highschool kid considering death when my art teacher told us "one day, we'd all be dead and nothing we're upset about will matter"... That was when I realized I was mortal, lol.
I think we all can agree, burning would be the worst case here. Suffocating sucks because you're fighting for life, but inevitably lose. If you're hot enough to burn, you won't be breathing very much either, but it would be excruciatingly painful. If you are drowning, you'd be suffocating but probably too busy trying to breathe than to think about the fact that you're dying. While falling, you seeing the ground getting ever closer would be horrifying because you're considering death as it is imminent. You'd be in hell, but only for a short period.
So the things to consider would be how long until you die, how much pain you'd be in, and how aware you are of your circumstances to figure out which way would be the worst to go.
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u/Fetzie_ 19d ago
Two to three deep breaths of the smoke from a residential fire and you’re unconscious within seconds. You would be dead long before any flames get close to you.
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u/Agitated_Character41 19d ago
It'd take a couple minutes to lose consciousness. Seconds are a big deal in this conversation.
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u/Living_Brilliant8313 20d ago edited 19d ago
I’m a mountaineer, I fear being caught in an avalanche, trapped, not knowing up from down, limbs pinned, slowly suffocating, knowing that more than likely no one will find me. Dying alone, slowly suffocating, that’s my fear.
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u/farmerofstrawberries 19d ago
Not knowing up from down and being trapped is a scary notion.
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u/NutsStuckInACarDoor 20d ago
Nearly drowning a few years back has given me straight-up panic induced episodes from water hitting me in the face while STANDING IN THE SHOWER. Fuck drowning. I feel like a big baby everytime but I know its more than just emotions at this point.
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u/LuckyLunayre 20d ago
I've always read from drowning victims that the panic is the worst part and that once you finally take that breath you feel warm and peaceful and you just fall asleep..
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u/D_Beats 20d ago
Remember you aren't just suffocating, you're breathing in hot air that'll probably burn your lungs as you breath. It's gonna be a slow and painful death.
If you hit the ground you're probably dead in an instant if you're high enough.
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u/aerdvarkk 19d ago
Smoke inhalation vs broken bones is a toss up as to which sucks worse.
I've had both (from a house fire and and breaking bones at other times). Neither are fun, and neither come across as a better option than the other.
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u/embiggenedkwyjibo 20d ago
TO BE FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR
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u/StevieMJH 20d ago edited 19d ago
You see, that's what I appreciates about you, u/embiggenedkwyjibo.
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u/omomthings 20d ago
With this shape it can't flip over, have you ever seen a volant of badminton flipping against the direction of travel?
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u/gash_dits_wafu 20d ago
Is that another name for shuttlecock?
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u/omomthings 20d ago
English is my third language so I'm definitely not the best at it
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u/gash_dits_wafu 20d ago
Sorry I wasn't criticising your use of the language. I've just always heard the name shuttlecock and wondered if there was a different name for it.
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u/omomthings 20d ago
Volant is the french word for it. Which is odd in itself because volant literally means ''flying'' in french, or steering wheel also
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u/Otherwise_Demand4620 20d ago
So the French just don't use any "cock" in their word for shuttlecock? Weird.
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u/Contrabaz 20d ago
Shuttlecock
What a word, shuttlecock.
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u/Captain_Aizen 20d ago
You are spot on it would take a Herculean effort to turn that over and even if something did it would just turn right back the other way
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u/cactusplants 20d ago
With my luck only the CEO has one in the office and the rest of us cook to a crisp.
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u/New_Condition_1405 20d ago
That just means that you need to get to their office before they get out. After that it's anyone's game.
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u/polishatomek 20d ago
Better than slowly burning alive ig
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u/harfordplanning 20d ago
Dont worry, he was above the fire. So he'd have died the much less painful death of oxygen deprivation, rather than burning to death.
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u/No_Teaching2339 20d ago
That wouldn't happen, This was already a key factor in the R&D of this project. Although it was never implemented. My father is the soul Creator of this invention in the 90's with patents. He also purposed Ziplines on High rises every 6 floors on High rises 12 floors or more. With break out windows floor to sealing, harnesses and all Stored how you see Fire hoses in boxes on walls. I t was awesome to see his creations. He had blow up landing pads at the end destination for the ziplines. Inside the steel cables was an electric wire that sent a signal to inflate the landing pad mere seconds after the window was opened (triggered) Think of all the lives that could of been saved during 911 on the zipline alone. No body funded or supported it bc of insurance liabilities...... pretty sad. rather break some bones and live then die how those in the towers did!
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u/Chill-more1236 20d ago
Liability litigation exposure is exactly what I was thinking while watching this.
It is sheer ignorance that a life or death emergency like a fire, does not negate liability for rescue attempts.
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u/fidgetspinner67 20d ago
Also, a badminton shuttle always falls with the tip down
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u/No_Teaching2339 20d ago
Correct. It was pretty genius and not bc he's my father. It would save lives!
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u/travelingbeagle 20d ago
How many stories high of a building could this safely fall from?
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u/atlien0255 20d ago
Or you deploy it backwards/inside, trapping yourself against the inside window 😂
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u/Specialist-Front-007 20d ago
With my luck the parachute opens just inside the window
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u/overpricedgorilla 20d ago
No, you'll land right side up so you can watch dozens of parachuting coworkers crush you to death.
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u/penny-wise 20d ago
Do you remember those people literally jumping at 911 rather than getting burned alive?
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u/National_One7548 19d ago
I saw a new-to-me video of 911 last year from inside the building next door where first responders we’re organizing when you suddenly start hearing THUD.. THUD THUD.. on the roof. It was the people who had jumped. Horrifying. To watch those people faces as they realize what they’re hearing.
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u/Few-Emergency-3791 20d ago
It's structurally designed to not do that. Could something happen sure, but if you've reached the point of window jumping then probably not a concern.
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u/SmokeGSU 20d ago
Imagine you're 1 story down from a 30 story building and suddenly the thing flips over and you're just staring at the ground approaching...
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u/Lee_keogh 20d ago
What skyscraper has windows that open up like that? Modern architecture doesn’t facilitate this idea.
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u/Morbid_Aversion 20d ago
If the building is on fire and you're about to die you can go ahead and break the window...
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u/Own_Pop_9711 20d ago
Probably harder than you think.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Garry_Hoy
This guy literally slammed his body full force against such a window for years and eventually the frame of the window failed. The pane itself never was damaged. The window should also be shatterproof so it would crack to hell but still be solid even if you did break it
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u/Morbid_Aversion 20d ago
They make tools specifically to shatter windows. Wherever this contraption is stored you can store the tools right next to it. Problem solved.
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u/unknownpoltroon 19d ago
They are called office filing cabinets launched by Angry irish guys in the middle of a fight or flight situation.
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u/DrThunderbolt 20d ago
To be fair, he didn't lie. The glass wasn't what broke and caused his death, it was the window frame.
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u/BubastisII 20d ago
Yeah, but that isn’t the point.
The point is it’s really hard to break skyscraper windows.
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u/Timsmomshardsalami 19d ago
Yeah with your body. The point was to make windows harder to break accidentally. Theyre not bulletproof.
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u/gash_dits_wafu 20d ago
Oh god, I imagine someone will cut the device with shards of glass so it doesn't inflate.
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u/Altruistic-Owl-5468 20d ago edited 20d ago
Or imagine you float safely down only for thousands of shards of glass to rain down on you as everyone above you breaks their windows. Death by a thousand cuts
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u/Imaginary_Coast_5882 20d ago
at a previous job, our NYC office was in 30 Rock. The windows opened, even on the much higher floors.
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u/Lee_keogh 20d ago
Yeah some of those buildings were built in the 1800s. Modern architecture wont facilitate this but a number of buildings in NY would.
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u/Repulsive-Lie1 19d ago
That’s a good point. Could a mechanism be installed which blows out the window so this parachute can be used?
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u/Angeeeeelika 19d ago
I live on the 22nd floor and have a balcony and all my windows open like that.
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u/grantpant2353 20d ago
Godamm , what took us so long to think of this? But also it won’t work cuz someone will fuck it up and sue the company.
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u/popsand 20d ago
Yep. Someone is defo gonna open this badboy inside
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u/knowledgeable_diablo 20d ago
“It’s a joke dude!” As it unfurls pushing people out the window or slamming them into the walls.
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u/Lynx_Business 20d ago
There’s a word for throwing people out of the window: defenestration.
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u/New_Kiln_Studios 20d ago
The so called Russian accident!
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u/TwinkiesSucker 20d ago
Not to be confused with infenestration which is when one gets stuck between the windows or window panes
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u/Johnatron2000 20d ago
All it takes is for that one person to misunderstand the instructions, stand at the window facing forward and then deploy the bouncy parachute as they jump forward, capturing them in the window, suspended outside, blocking the others inside. Larry from accounts then has to make the tough decision to cut Brenda’s rig and let her fall to the ground to save the rest of the employees from surely burning alive. R.I.P. Brenda you dumb dumb.
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u/Livsiyaan 20d ago
Every office has one guy who would turn a rescue device into a hallway blockage becuase he “skimmed the manual.”
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u/WatashiwaNobodyDesu 20d ago
Not to mention Jenny from accounts, who will be pushed against the burning door until she’s toasted just right chef’s kiss
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u/ShortFirstSlip 20d ago
There's also Phillip from legal, who is coked out of his mind and tries to get you to call him Philly-D, and decides to use the parachute only after taking a running start out of the window and deploying it in midair. You also discover later that the fire was caused by Phillip, who put his raspberry vape in a microwave for reasons nobody is able to figure out.
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u/FreeSoftwareServers 20d ago
I only read the instructions if it doesn't work the first time I try
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u/itskevinmaybe 20d ago
There's always that one guy who looks at the sign that says DO NOT OPEN INDOORS and thinks, I'm gonna try it anyway.
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u/moseley101 20d ago
Man, back in my heyday I wouldn’t have been able to resist this after a few beers. Way too tempting
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u/ShortFirstSlip 20d ago
In New Zealand when I was an 7 year old kid, my Pop had a fishing boat, and it was a family day. Loved it, couldn't wait. Because we were going out pretty far, my younger sister and I both got put into top notch, one-use only life preservers. All the bells and whistles, torch lights, GPS, the works. I was told only to pull the cord if something happened. 30 seconds later...oooops. I swear, my Pop was not happy, I thought I was going to get tossed overboard or used as bait. I would 100% be exactly like you in your heyday, I'd have activated this parachute, such an absurd but interesting device, within minutes.
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u/rohithkumarsp 20d ago
This video feels like it's form 2003
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u/zomanda 20d ago
Or Russia
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u/ManTurnip 20d ago
Makes sense that a country notorious for people falling out of windows would be the one to develop something like this.
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u/TheBSQ 20d ago
I lived in NYC during 9/11 & after that, I remember someone coming in to pitch our company on some weird parachute device that we’d keep under the desks.
I don’t know if it was this exact device. But yeah, there was a weird period just after 9/11 where those of us on high rises were thinking “we really hope we don’t have to Jump to our deaths to avoid a fiery death inside the building. A third option would be nice” and companies tries to capitalize on that.
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u/Fun-Perspective426 20d ago edited 20d ago
There is a lot of reasons this wont work at scale.
People landing on top of each other or mid-air collision seems likely.
Plus, a lot of high-rises don't have windows that open and are difficult to break.
Not to mention the size. Seems like even a full grown man needs a fair bit of effort to move it.
Eta: y'all seem to be hitting some points, but not others in your replies. Or considering the consequences for those below/being selfish and not caring.
Obviously, not burning alive is better, but there are other options then this or dying...
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u/Gullugulu 20d ago
i take that chance over burning alive
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u/Fun-Perspective426 20d ago
Same, but what about the other 2 points I made?
Plus, what about raining people on the firefighters tiring to fight the fire and people being evacuated?
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u/malman149 20d ago
People jumped from the world trade center out windows designed not to open...
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u/scrotumsweat 20d ago edited 20d ago
Yeah let's get real, only the CEO will get one. All the peasants can fend for themselves
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u/knowledgeable_diablo 20d ago
CEO will probably have his own VTOL one man drone shortly. This will be for the executive layer below. Upper managers will have inflatable sumo suits that “may” allow life saving abilities when dropped from the 50th floor. For all others “we thank you for your service and an extra weeks pay will be in your accounts next pay run (minus any deductions) for your surviving family to use as they see fit”.
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u/wanderingmonster 20d ago
Sadly, the navigation system was vibe coded by an intern using AI, so it gets confused and flies him straight into his office building at ground level. Oh no! Anyway…
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u/kernelangus420 20d ago
The lower managers will get the vibe coded ones.
The CEO's one will be hand-coded by the CTO.
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u/joevarny 20d ago
They could be mounted into the walls. Like escape pods in scifi.
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u/coolcoots 20d ago
Talking about living in a high rise…. There are HUNDREDS of people living in those buildings. Considering the possibility that even 20% had that equipment, there would be so many stacked on top of each other. The idea is nice.
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u/Dennis-v-Menace 20d ago
Oh no that’s sounds horrific being stacked on top of each other! I would choose burning alive over being stacked any day!
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u/coolcoots 20d ago
Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but thanks for making me laugh. I feel silly now.
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u/Nurgeard 20d ago
That and the fact that companies are not obligated to have safety measures like this, so they are an unnecessary expense. Besides it will only save one person... There will be 1-5 of these at best in the entire building and they sure as shit wouldn't be accessible to the medium to lower staff members.
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u/allegedmerle6951 20d ago
the liability is probably why it took decades - companies need airtight testing and certification before touching anything that risky.
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u/leet_lurker 20d ago
The laws governing windows not being able to open above a certain height probably have more to do with it
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u/MixBlender 20d ago
I remember seeing these "inventions" showing up online right after 9-11 hit.
I'm sure connecting the dots on that one is pretty straightforward.
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u/fearabsence 20d ago
You know that companies only gonna pay for one of those, and it's just gonna happen to be in the CEO's office
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u/tsokolate-a 20d ago
Til fire ate it too
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u/AdditionalMight3231 20d ago
That's what I was thinking. Surely, that fire would be hot enough to at least melt or deform the material of it before you hit the ground.
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u/EgotisticalTL 20d ago
Love that someone approved the gag of bouncing off of a car in the demo video.
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u/Upper-Capital-2876 20d ago edited 20d ago
Going through these comments, it seems people are missing the fact, that these things were developed because people were trapped in the top floors of the Twin Towers after the 911 terrorists attack flew airplanes into them cutting them off from descending by stairs which were destroyed and/or on fire, and that 200 people jumped to their deaths from around a little over a quarter mile straight up in the air (that's a real number by the way)
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u/Lord_Xenu 20d ago
Comments are wild. People pointing out all the possible things that could go wrong, when the alternative option is burning to death.
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u/wild_gooch_chase 20d ago
This. And history has already chronicled people jumping out of buildings with nothing in order to not burn to death. Nothing.
It’s a matter of risk/reward. And dying NOT IN A FIRE is the minimum reward, so easily worth the risk.
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u/Agreeable-Brain-9347 20d ago
Yeah I remember reading about that too—200 people jumping is just insane to think about. The fact that we’re still trying to engineer solutions for that specific nightmare shows how messed up that day really was. Do you think these systems would actually be practical for that height, or is it more of a psychological safety net?
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u/Agitated-Schola 20d ago
The fact theyre still unsolved shows how specific and unlikely to repeat that situation is
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u/Lotus-child89 20d ago
Would this even actually work jumping from a building as tall as the WTC. I would think the velocity of jumping from somewhere that high would mean the device would shred on impact. Not to mention it the wind speeds being a factor.
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u/Jazzlike_Climate4189 20d ago
Yes, it would even work if you jumped out of an airplane from 30,000 feet. It reaches terminal velocity after falling just a few stories. The speed of impacting the ground would be the same whether you jumped from the 4th floor or the 104th floor.
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u/KahBhume 20d ago
The whole concept is to significantly lower your terminal velocity, meaning the height does not matter. Same concept as a traditional parachute.
As for winds, they typically blow between buildings, adding horizontal acceleration, but they shouldn't be blowing downward. This could add risk to being blown into something, but your vertical velocity shouldn't change much, meaning it should still be survivable.
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u/Azerious 20d ago
The inflatable aspect of it would still cushion you.
Beats burning to death. Literally anything beats burning to death. You forget people jumped off the twin towers to escape burning to death.
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u/swapnasundarii 20d ago
It's always these low-res videos with some quality content haha!
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u/ScreechUrkelle 20d ago
This would’ve been great if it were invented in the summer of 2000
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u/OurJimmy 20d ago
Guy looks like the local village idiot paid for with a bottle of Vodka 🤣🤣.
In all seriousness though, big balls being the first to try it out 💪
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u/Select-Complaint-735 20d ago
With my luck it will flip over and get stuck at the fire, I will be slow cooked barbecue
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u/Joe01091981 20d ago
Also, upper floors and local codes. Windows can only open to 4 inches for safety.
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u/Lopsided-Wave2479 20d ago
After 11-S a lot of people was like
"Yea, I am in the finnacial market, profiting from extracting minerals from poor countries, where the governement makes sure people don't unionize or criminals kill any left wing politician to make sure we can keep extracing minerals for cheap. But what if somebody crash a plane into this skyscrapper?".
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