nPostednon October 18, 2014
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nDonnot (I repeat – DO NOT) jump off a bridge!
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nUnlessnyou have been highly trained in B.A.S.E. jumping with parachutes. Andnyou are an adult. And you have official sanction to make the jump.
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nEvennthen!
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nEvennunder all of those conditions, I still would not want to jump off anbridge. Especially not if it meant leaping more than 800 feet intonthe New River Gorge in West Virginia. But, for the past 35 years,nquite a few people have taken the training and made the leap – onnBridge Day!
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Ofncourse, most people who trundle out to the New River Gorge Bridge onnBridge Day are just there to watch. This year, more than 80 THOUSANDnpeople are expected! And they will watch more than 800 BASE jumpersnand some rappellers going up and down the bridge.
Ofncourse, most people who trundle out to the New River Gorge Bridge onnBridge Day are just there to watch. This year, more than 80 THOUSANDnpeople are expected! And they will watch more than 800 BASE jumpersnand some rappellers going up and down the bridge.n
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nBridgenDay has grown to be more than just extreme sports. There is anfarmers’ market and a festival with food and vendors. There are musicnperformances and a chili & cornbread cook-off. There are stuntnteam and car shows. There are down-under tours, in which people cannride down to the bottom of the gorge to watch the jumpers. n
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IsnBASE jumping safe? n
IsnBASE jumping safe? nn
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nActually,nthis sort of parachute jumping is far more dangerous than normalnskydiving, which involves jumping out of an airplane with anparachute. BASE jumpers are 43 times more likely to be injured or dienthan skydivers!
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nHowndid BASE jumping get its name? n
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nTherenare four sorts of things BASE jumpers can jump off of: Buildings,nAntennae, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs). The term was coined byna film making team led by Carl Boenish, probably in 1978 when theirnfilm of BASE jumps started the extreme sport. n
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nHowncan we celebrate Bridge Day if we live far from West Virginia?nAnd if we, you know, don’t want to participate in one of the mostndangerous and extreme of all extreme sports?
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nInpersonally prefer learning about bridges to jumping off bridges. Ifnyou feel the same way, check out this earlier post.
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nAlsonon this date:
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Anniversary of the freeing of poet Phillis Wheatley (?)
Anniversary of the freeing of poet Phillis Wheatley (?)
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nPersonsnDay in Canada
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nAlaskanDay
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nTeennRead Week (Octobern12 – 18)
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nThisnyear’s theme: Turn Dreams into Reality
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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- Historicaln anniversaries in October
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in November
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