Bungee Jump in Normandy, France (Souleuvre Viaduct)

Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. Viaduc de la Souleuvre is a well-known permanent Bungee jumping facility in La Ferrière-Harang, Normandy France The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that has the ability to hover over one spot on the ground; fixed-wing aircraft are unsuitable because they only stay aloft when moving rapidly forward. The thrill comes as much from the free-falling as from the rebounds. ^[1]

When the person jumps, the cord stretches to absorb the energy of the fall, then the jumper flies upwards again as the cord snaps back. A bungee cord is an elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core covered in a woven sheath usually of nylon or cotton The jumper oscillates up and down until all the energy is used up.

History

The word bungee (pronounced /ˈbʌndʒi:/) first appeared around 1930 and was the name for a rubber eraser. An eraser or rubber is an article of Stationery that is used for removing Pencil and sometimes Pen writings The word bungy, as used by A J Hackett, is said to be "Kiwi slang for an Elastic Strap". Alan John "A J" Hackett (born 1958 is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the Extreme sport of Bungee jumping. Kiwi is the nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand, as well as being a relatively common self-reference ^[2] Cloth-covered rubber cords with hooks on the ends have been available for decades under the generic name bungee cords.

View from the top of AJ Hackett Bungy Tower, Cairns, Queensland

In the 1950s David Attenborough and a BBC film crew brought back footage of the "land divers" of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu, young men who jumped from tall wooden platforms with vines tied to their ankles as a test of courage. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS (born 8 May 1926 in London, England Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island

The first modern bungee jumps were made on 1 April 1979 from the 250-foot Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, by David Kirke, Chris Baker, Ed Hulton and Alan Weston of the Dangerous Sports Club. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a Suspension bridge, spanning the Avon Gorge and linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in The Dangerous Sports Club, a group of adventurers and extreme sports pioneers based in Oxford and London, were active from the late 1970s for about ten years during The jumpers were arrested shortly after, but continued with jumps in the US from the Golden Gate and Royal Gorge bridges, (this last jump sponsored by and televised on the American program That's Incredible) spreading the concept worldwide. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the That's Incredible! was a Reality television show that ran on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. By 1982 they were jumping from mobile cranes and hot air balloons, and putting on commercial displays.

Commercial bungee jumping began with the New Zealander, A J Hackett, who made his first jump from Auckland's Greenhithe Bridge in 1986. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Alan John "A J" Hackett (born 1958 is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the Extreme sport of Bungee jumping. The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) ^[3] During the following years Hackett performed a number of jumps from bridges and other structures (including the Eiffel Tower), building public interest in the sport, and opening the world's first permanent commercial bungee site; the Kawarau Bridge Bungy at Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel /tuʀ ɛfɛl/ is an Iron Tower built Queenstown is a Resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand 's South Island. The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island ^[4] Hackett remains one of the largest commercial operators, with concerns in several countries.

Jumping from the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, New Zealand, April 2007. Queenstown is a Resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand 's South Island.

Despite the inherent danger of jumping from a great height, several million successful jumps have taken place since 1980. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) This is attributable to bungee operators rigorously conforming to standards and guidelines governing jumps, such as double checking calculations and fittings for every jump. As with any sport, injuries can still occur (see below), and there have been fatalities. A relatively common mistake in fatality cases is to use too long a cord. The cord should be substantially shorter than the height of the jumping platform to allow it room to stretch. When the cord reaches its natural length the jumper either starts to slow down or keeps accelerating depending upon the speed of descent. One may not even start to slow until the cord has been stretched a significant amount, because the cord's resistance to distortion is zero at the natural length, and increases only gradually after, taking some time to even equal the jumper's weight. See also Potential energy for a discussion of the spring constant and the force required to distort bungee cords and other spring-like objects. Potential energy can be thought of as Energy stored within a physical system

Equipment

The elastic rope first used in bungee jumping, and still used by many commercial operators, is factory-produced braided shock cord. This consists of many latex strands enclosed in a tough outer cover. The outer cover may be applied when the latex is pre-stressed, so that the cord's resistance to extension is already significant at the cord's natural length. This gives a harder, sharper bounce. The braided cover also provides significant durability benefits. Other operators, including A J Hackett and most southern-hemisphere operators, use unbraided cords in which the latex strands are exposed. These give a softer, longer bounce and can be home-produced.

Although there is a certain elegance in using only a simple ankle attachment, accidents in which participants became detached led many commercial operators to use a body harness, if only as a backup for an ankle attachment. Body harnesses are generally derived from climbing equipment rather than parachute equipment.

Retrieval methods vary according to the site used. Mobile cranes provide the greatest recovery speed and flexibility, the jumper being lowered rapidly to ground level and detached. Many other mechanisms have been devised according to the nature of the jump platform and the need for a rapid turn-around.

Looking down from atop the Verzasca Dam bunge tower near Locarno in Ticino, Switzerland

Highest Jump

The Guinness Book of World Records states the highest commercial bungee jump is off of the Bloukrans River Bridge, 40 kilometres east of Plettenberg Bay in South Africa. Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore ( Lago Maggiore) in the Swiss canton of Canton Ticino or Ticino ( Italian: tiˈtʃiːno French and German: Tessin and) is the southernmost canton of Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records (and in previous U The Bloukrans Bridge is an Arch bridge located near Nature's Valley, Western Cape, South Africa. Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plet or Plett, is a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa This jump takes place from a platform below the roadway of the bridge, and the height from the platform to the valley floor is 216 metres (710 ft). There is another commercial bungee jump currently in operation which claims to be slightly higher, at 220 metres (720 ft). This jump is located near Locarno, Switzerland and takes place from the top of the Verzasca Dam. The Contra dam (or Verzasca dam) is a 220- Meter high arch Hydroelectric Dam in the Val Verzasca, Switzerland. This jump was prominently featured in the opening scene of the James Bond film Goldeneye. James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story GoldenEye (1995 is the seventeenth Spy film of the British James Bond series directed by Martin Campbell and the In December 2006, AJ Hackett added bungee jumping to his Macau Tower facility in Macau S. Macau Tower ( also known as Macau Sky Tower, is a Tower located in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, now a Special A. R. China, making it the world's highest commercial jump at 233 metres (760 ft). . The latter of these higher jumps does not qualify as the world's highest bungee as it is not strictly speaking pure bungee, but instead what is referred to as a 'Decelerator-Descent' jump. The bridge at Bloukrans and the Verzasca Dam jumps are pure freefall swinging bungee from a single cord, while the Macau Tower jump has a secondary cable which controls descent and trajectory, thereby failing to take the place in the record books.

Guinness only records jumps from fixed objects to guarantee the accuracy of the measurement. John Kockleman however recorded a 2,200-foot (670 m) bungee jump from a hot air balloon in California in 1989. In 1991 Andrew Salisbury jumped from 9,000 feet (2,700 m) from a helicopter over Cancun for a television program and with Reebok sponsorship. The full stretch was recorded at 3,157 feet (962 m). He landed safely under parachute.

One commercial jump higher than all others is at the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado. The Royal Gorge Bridge is a Tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado, within a 360 Acre (1 The height of the platform is 321 metres (1,053 ft). However, this jump is rarely available, as part of the Royal Gorge Go Fast Games—first in 2005, then again in 2007.

In popular culture

Bungee jumping from the Souleuvre Viaduct in Normandy

Several major movies have featured bungee jumps, most famously the opening sequence of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye in which Bond makes a jump over the edge of a dam in Russia (in reality the dam is in Switzerland: Verzasca Dam, and the jump was genuine, not an animated special effect). Viaduc de la Souleuvre is a well-known permanent Bungee jumping facility in La Ferrière-Harang, Normandy France Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story GoldenEye (1995 is the seventeenth Spy film of the British James Bond series directed by Martin Campbell and the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The Contra dam (or Verzasca dam) is a 220- Meter high arch Hydroelectric Dam in the Val Verzasca, Switzerland.

It appears in the title of the South Korean film Bungee Jumping of Their Own (Beonjijeompeureul hada 번지점프를 하다, 2001), although it does not play a large part in the film. Bungee Jumping of Their Own (번지점프를 하다 Beonjijeompeureul hada) is a 2001 South Korean film

In 1986, the BBC TV program The Late, Late Breakfast Show, presented by Noel Edmonds, was taken off the air after a volunteer for its 'Whirly Wheel' live stunt section, Michael Lush, was killed while rehearsing a bungee jump. The Late Late Breakfast Show was a BBC television light entertainment show broadcast live on Saturday evenings from 4 September, 1982 to Noel Ernest Edmonds

A fictional proto-bungee jump is a plot point in the Michael Chabon novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Michael Chabon (pron SHAY-bon (born May 24 1963 is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation" according to the The Virginia The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a 2000 Novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize

In the film Selena, in which Jennifer Lopez plays Selena Quintanilla-Perez, she is shown bungee jumping at a carnival. Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (April 16 1971 – March 31 1995 best known as Selena, was an American Singer who has been called "The Queen of Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July This is an actual event which took place shortly before Selena's death in 1995.

Variations

In "Catapult" (Reverse Bungee or Bungee Rocket) the 'jumper' starts on the ground. ^[5] The jumper is secured and the cord stretched, he/she is then released and shoots up into the air. This is often achieved using either a crane or a hoist attached to a (semi-)perma structure. This simplifies the action of stretching the cord and later lowering the participant to the ground.

"Twin Tower" is similar with two oblique cords.

Bungy Trampoline uses, as its name suggests, elements from bungy and trampolining. The participant begins on a trampoline and is fitted into a body harness, which is attached via bungy cords to two high poles on either side of trampoline. As they begin to jump, the bungy cords are tightened, allowing a higher jump than could normally be made from a trampoline alone.

Bungee Running involves no jumping as such. It merely consists of, as the name suggests, running along a track which is usually inflatable with a bungee cord attached. One often has a velcro-backed marker which is used to mark how far the runner got before the bungee cord pulled back. There is always a competitor alongside.

Safety and possible injury

There is a wide spectrum of possible injuries during a jump. One can be injured during a jump if the safety harness fails, the cord elasticity is miscalculated, or the cord is not properly connected to the jump platform. In most cases this is a result of human error in the form of mishandled harness preparation. Another major injury is if the jumper experiences cord entanglement with his/her own body. Other injuries include eye trauma ^{[6] [7]} , rope burn, uterine prolapse, dislocations, bruises, pinched fingers and back injury.

Age, equipment, experience, location and weight are some of the factors, and nervousness can exacerbate eye traumas ^{[8] [9]}.

In 1997, Laura Patterson, one of a 16-member professional bungee jumping team, died of massive cranial trauma when she jumped from the top level of the Louisiana Superdome with improperly handled bungee cords and smashed head-first into the concrete-based playing field. The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the She was practicing for an exhibition intended to be performed during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI. halftime show is a performance given between the first and second halves or the 2nd and 3rd quarters of a sporting event Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26 1997 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana to decide the National The bungee jumping portion of the show was removed from the program and a commemoration of Patterson was added.

In August 1998, Jerome Charron, died in a bungee ride accident at the Ottawa Exhibition in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada when he was hurled 40 meters into the air before plummeting to his death as his harness had detached. Ottawa SuperEX (officially the Central Canada Exhibition) is an eleven-day annual exhibition that takes places every August at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa Ottawa (ˈɒtəwə or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/ is the Capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest municipality. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page In February 2000, the firm responsible for the ride, Anderson Ventures, was fined $145,000 for this incident. Provincial inspectors had inspected the ride just 4 days before the incident and approved it, but did not see the strap because it was in a nearby box.

References