DexterBungee Jumping
July 4th 2008 02:06
The bouncing Diver
The James Bond Bungee Jump
Relying on the reverse physics of what goes down must come up Bungee jumping isn’t so much a sport as an extreme adrenalin rush. In its basic form Bungee involves leaping from atop a high structure with an elastic cord fastened around the ankles.
Participants plummet many metres towards the ground and are whipped back from death at the last second when the attached cord achieves maximum tension.
What goes down must come up
The word bungee came into our language n the 1930’s as a description of rubber eraser. Modern Bungee in its current form was inspired by the rites of passage of tribal societies. First gaining attention in the 1950’s images of young men attaching vines with limited elasticity to their legs and jumping from erected platforms were captured by documentary filmmaker David Attenborough.
Bungee to restrictions
The first official Bungee Jump was performed in 1979 from the Clifton Suspension Bridge 250 foot high by pioneers Ed Hulton, Chris Baker and Alan Weston. Since then stunts have not been restricted to solid land masses or man made structures alone bungee is also performed from helicopters, hot air balloons and any other device capable of soaring to high altitudes.
the View from the top
According to the Guiness book of records the highest commercial platform is the Bloukrans River Bridge which is 216 metres up. The Versaca Dam stands at 220 metres and was where James Bond dove from in the film Goldeneye.
The popular bridge jump
I have only bungee jumped once myself and can confirm the unbelievable rush that is triggered in mid flight. My own leap was only from a crane with solid ground below and so I can only imagine the buzz of sacrificing to the whims of gravity from one of nature’s larger spectacles.
Video 1 – The Bloukrans Bride South Africa
Video 2 – Helicopter Bungee
Video 3 – Lunacy base Jump/Bungee Jump combined
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