I can't believe the hubris that some people have; oh they're so in control... NOT [video=youtube;sBQi2lS261E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQi2lS261E[/video] What I think they should do is actually post portraits of these young people at the sites in which they died. So that future generations of idiots can see that these self assured, young, vibrant and full of life people (ie. exactly like them) were killed when they thought themselves better than everyone else. Sheer arrogance will always be deadly. Same report in Cantonese: [video=youtube;SjZrVw9gnUg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjZrVw9gnUg[/video] And check out this idiot: [video=youtube;6pa3sO_6ktg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pa3sO_6ktg&NR=1[/video]
Pity. Could you imagine how cool those shots would've been if she just took pics as she was falling? But then again, if she was smart enough to do so, she probably wouldn't have fallen in the first place.
Here's another way to tempt fate: [video=youtube;Ar9pNenQbK8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar9pNenQbK8[/video] And of course, in locations like this, tragedy is always just around the corner: Spoiler: Woman Falls To Death From Half Dome... Woman falls to death from Half Dome in Yosemite Mon, Aug 1 2011 By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 26-year-old California woman has died after falling some 600 feet from the landmark Half Dome rock formation in Yosemite, a park spokeswoman said on Monday. Hayley LaFlamme was climbing down the granite monolith with the aid of fixed-line cables anchored into the rock on Sunday when she plunged to her death, Yosemite National Park spokeswoman Kari Cobb said. "She fell off the Half Dome cables and fell approximately 600 feet," Cobb told Reuters. "We received 911 calls reporting that she had fallen and our rangers were flown to the sub dome of Half Dome and pronounced her deceased when they arrived." Half Dome, which rises more than 4,700 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor, is one of the park's signature rock formations and a popular destination for both hikers and rock climbers. A death investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident, but Cobb said LaFlamme fell while descending Half Dome using cables installed to help climbers ascend to the summit without the use of rock climbing equipment. She had apparently hiked to the summit with three other people. "She was about halfway down the cables," Cobb said. "There had been thunderstorms and lightning rain, and so the granite was very wet and very slippery." LaFlamme, who was visiting Yosemite from her home in San Ramon, east of San Francisco, was the 14th person to die there this year, Cobb said, marking a especially treacherous year for the popular national park. Last month, three people who had been playing at the top of the 317-foot Vernal Falls waterfall plunged over the edge and were presumed dead, although their bodies have not been recovered. Two other people drowned at the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in June and a hiker died after slipping into the Merced River from the Mist Trail, which climbs alongside Vernal Falls. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/us-yosemite-death-idUSTRE77061G20110801
@ kdotc... what a bad mom in the photo. Seems like the mom is tryna push her son off but shes actaully holding her so she dun fall
[video=youtube;386a4-Ch7Nw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=386a4-Ch7Nw[/video] HOW DID HE NOT GO IN???
^ Wtf. Man's crazy. Is that even possible.. standing in the water while the strong currents are at you.. incredible balance.
That's called going out in style, LOL... -lol damned bunch of idiots. At any rate, the silver lining to all of this tragedy has been a repository of real life examples for me to teach my kids about hubris and what lack of forethought does to people. Some mothers need to be smacked. But honestly, I fault the designers of the plaza that these venues use to bring tourists right up to the edge of the water. Just look at the railing design; it looks like it is purposely inviting to be sat or climbed on. But look at the design on the top of the Empire State Bldg in New York: The railings there are tall enough so that no one can ever "accidentally" fall over them, and they're sparse enough so that anyone who wants to take a photograph through the rails is easily accommodated. Oh, and I purposely put this Cirque Du Soleil acrobat picture I found to show that no matter how "tourist proof" a site is, there is always going to be someone who circumvents safety features. Not a juggling act, but in this case, close enough, IMHO. Sadly though, Niagara has been used by those that obviously have issues, to end their lives in a dramatic way. One incident was caught on video by a horrified group of sightseeing tourists: Warning - This can be disturbing and unsettling, as the obvious conclusion is, the woman will fall to her death. If you're emotionally fragile, I would avoid watching this. Spoiler: Woman commits suicide over Niagara Falls The victim comes into view at ~ 1:20 and at first, I though it was perhaps just some discarded clothing. Then, after seeing her more closely, I thought perhaps a mannequin or life sized doll, until she began to lift her arms... [video=youtube;gzn0935tKPo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzn0935tKPo[/video] Ditto what the videographer said, "OMG" is right. Truly sad.
WOW, I think she was nude too eh.. Kinda speechless how someone can do something like that, She probably started regretting putting herself into that situation right when she was going to go in...
Indeed. But IMHO, it's more a "...SPLAT!" (ie. sudden stop) against the rocks below, that usually kills them; the antecedent falling event gives them just enough time to admit their stupidity to themselves. But on a more serious note, if the authorities are correct, in that people "choose" to climb over the fence and put their own lives at risk, ie. it is their choice in the matter; then why put up barriers at all? The same could be said then, for toddlers and children too, who fall in; that their parents failed at supervision of the child, right? But if one is going to erect a barrier for safety reasons, then the Niagara railings are a dismal failure. The police official who stated that in 30 years he had never seen anyone fall into the water in such a manner, if true, IMHO had more to do with serendipity than design. The rails, by their physical appearance and construct, seems to compel visitors to climb atop of, especially those stone (Hi I'm A Chair, Come Sit On Me) pillars every ten feet. IMHO, they need to add another layer of rail on top of it, as the short wall, once mounted by adventurous tourists, will render their center of gravity above the top and final rail, making it a no brainer that they can easily fall over into the water. The should also spike cap the the granite pillars, ie remove the flat seat like surface as it is so ergonomically, hence dangerously appealing.
