Something I've always wanted to try is skydiving. Maybe I'll like it, but maybe not. Either way, I'd really enjoy giving it a shot. The problem? Now that I'm married, the decision isn't all my own. Apparently about 30 people a year die from skydiving annually. That sounds like a lot, but there are about 3,000,000 jumps a year so it turns out to be 1 in 100,000. Unfortunately I haven't seen data on how many of those deaths are first time jumpers. A first time jumper, and several jumps after that, have to be a tandem jump. The mortality rate for tandem jumps is one in every 420,000 as of 2002. In just the US however, the rate is even lower with one death for every 540,000 jumps over a three year period!
From data in 1998, bee stings were responsible for 46 deaths, snakes, lizards, and spiders killed 5 people, and 15 Americans died after being bitten by dogs. Those numbers don't even include the number of kids killed every year by digging holes at the beach.
That all said, I have to consider the wishes of my wife, LL, who, God forbid, I do die in a freak accident, will have to live without my company. While many people would consider this a reason to drive me to the airfield and push me on the plane, LL thinks it's a terrible idea. Skydiving is not completely out of the question, but it's on life support!
3 comments:
PULL THE PLUG ON THE LIFE SUPPORT LL!
you might also want to consider the death rate of the specific skydiving company you are considering. I recall there was a notorious one in IL...
Skydiving would scare me to death! But it's a pretty popular thing around here. There's a place in Wisconsin about a half hour from here where you can pay to do a jump. I know a few people who have done it... and survived! Even enjoyed it! I'm still not doing it though.
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