What If You Fell From 356 Meters? (THE LAB)

TL;DR

A 77-kilogram person falling 356 meters from the CN Tower would reach up to 300 kilometers per hour and hit the ground in under 9 seconds without air resistance, making survival unlikely. Mitch and Greg explore the physics of the fall while confronting acrophobia on the tower’s EdgeWalk, revealing how air resistance, landing surfaces, and prolonged exposure to heights affect the outcome and their fear.

Transcript

[Intro music plays] Mitch: Hello, and welcome to The Lab, where we take your questions and turn them into experiments My name is Mitch, Greg: And I'm Greg, and today, we're gonna be conquering one of our greatest fears, which is the fear of height. Mitch: Specifically, we're gonna be climbing one of the tallest free-standing structures in the weste... Read More

Key Insights

• 😨 The fear of heights, or acrophobia, can lead to physical symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and shaking, making it a challenging fear to overcome.
• 😨 Humans are born with a natural predisposition to be cautious around heights, which contributes to the fear of heights being common.
• 🍂 Falling from extreme heights, such as the CN Tower, would lead to speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour, making survival unlikely without external factors impacting the fall.

Questions & Answers

Q: What would happen if you fell 356 meters from the CN Tower?

A 77-kilogram person would reach speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour and hit the bottom in under 9 seconds if no drag acted against the fall. Survival would be unlikely, though the landing surface could affect the outcome.

Q: How fast would a person fall from a height of 356 meters?

Without air resistance, a 77-kilogram person falling 356 meters would reach up to 300 kilometers per hour. The person would reach the ground in under 9 seconds.

Q: Would air resistance change a fall from 356 meters?

Yes. Human skydivers facing stomach-to-earth have a terminal velocity of around 195 kilometers per hour because air resistance opposes their motion. They reach that speed after around 12 seconds or 450 meters, which is farther than the 356-meter fall considered here.

Q: Could someone survive a fall from 356 meters?

Survival would be unlikely, but the transcript notes reports of people surviving falls from over 5,000 meters with many injuries. Those people landed on surfaces such as pine trees, soft snow, or glass roofs.

Q: How does the landing surface affect survival in a high fall?

A surface with high deformity, such as snow, can increase the chance of survival. The transcript also cites pine trees and glass roofs in reports of people surviving extremely high falls.

Q: What is acrophobia, and what symptoms can it cause?

Acrophobia is the fear of heights. Its symptoms can include dizziness, nausea, and shaking, all of which Mitch and Greg experienced or discussed during the EdgeWalk.

Q: Is the fear of heights learned or something people are born with?

Although many fears stem from learned experiences or trauma, the transcript says fear of heights is something people are born with. Visual-cliff studies involving domestic animals and toddlers found cautious behavior around cliffs from a very young age.

Q: Did spending time on the CN Tower EdgeWalk reduce Mitch and Greg’s fear?

Their fear eased somewhat as the height became more familiar. Greg felt less dizzy and scared, while Mitch felt more confident after spending time looking out, though stepping onto the edge still caused genuine fear and nausea.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Mitch and Greg embark on an experiment to overcome their fear of heights by walking around the edge of the CN Tower, one of the tallest free-standing structures in the western hemisphere.

• The CN Tower stands at 553 meters high and offers the highest external walk of a building in the world.

• The fear of heights, or acrophobia, is a common fear that can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and shaking.