Re^2: Smithsonian Article on Real Cargo Cult

They had them on (no lie) ABC's Wide World of Sports a very long time ago. I wonder if those people (New Zealanders?) who "invented" bungee jumping knew about these guys.

It's got to take guts and self-confidence (or drugs and hubris) to build a tower by tying a bunch of wood together, tying a rope to one foot, and jumping off.

emc

" When in doubt, use brute force." — Ken Thompson

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Re^3: Smithsonian Article on Real Cargo Cult by zentara (Cardinal) on Feb 14, 2006 at 23:34 UTC
Yes it does. But they didn't show any cripples in the tribe, so apparently they "do it right". The particular show I watched, showed how they did it in detail. They put alot of soft dirt at the bottom. They said the worst problem is not the length, because they can correctly determine vines that don't exceed the height. But they have a mechanism for "breaking the fall", where there is a collapsable piece of wood, which acts as your springboard. This wood is tied to the vines, so that it cracks, at full vine extension, and gives a soft springiness to the last few feet of fall (like a bungee stretch). If that peice of wood malfunctions, I guess it really hurts. :-) And there is a team member, who has to cut a support rope after you leap, with split second timing, in order for this all to work. It was interesting, the champ was treated like a SuperBowl hero, and got the right to take extra wives. :-) I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. flash japh	[reply]

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Re^3: Smithsonian Article on Real Cargo Cult
by zentara (Cardinal) on Feb 14, 2006 at 23:34 UTC

It was interesting, the champ was treated like a SuperBowl hero, and got the right to take extra wives. :-)

I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. flash japh

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