Posted on 09/20/2006 5:41:49 AM PDT by rightgrafix
PALMETTO, Florida (AP) -- Mark Giorgio figured a 50-foot plunge was worth $20. Giorgio, 47, was counting his money and walking across the U.S. 41 bridge over the Manatee River Monday when a $20 bill blew out of his hand and flew over the rail. He followed. And plummeted 50 feet into the river. Then he swam about 100 yards to fish the bill from the water. "I got my money back, hell yeah," Giorgio told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "Twenty bucks is a lot of money when you're broke." He was fished from the water by a passing Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer. Giorgio, who said he was already suffering from a broken collarbone, refused treatment for cuts and scrapes he suffered in the fall.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
50' isn't that bad. Not good, but not normally deadly.
I wouldn't do it for 20 bucks though... Or even a 1,000...
I wonder if he'll be billed for the rescue ?
I read an article once about professional sailboat racers. One guy was late for a race and the boats were already motoring away from the docks. His girlfriend took him to bridge and he timed his jump to land near the boat. After the race, he and his astonished crewmates went back and measured the drop. I think it was about 120 feet.
Moron
I got a Fifty right here for ya, pal.
Yeah, it's gonna cost him $20 LOL!
This reminds me of the story of a man who was counting his change and dropped a dime in the urinal. After thinking about it, he threw in another quarter and said, for a dime, no, but for 35 cents, yes!
Hell, Ill give him another $20.00 just for a great story this morning.
I did 35-40 feet once. Of course I knew what I was jumping into.
I'd hate to be around if he dropped a quarter out of his pocket into an outdoor privy.
I wonder if he knew how deep the water was when he dove? I mean, if it were only about 2 feet beneath the bridge...
Hurt every time. Not injury. Just sting, or bruise, or slap.
I tried for several years to make the dive with "no pain"....never happened.
Highest jump was about 76 feet....that hurt too!
Too old for that stuff now.
I wonder what he would do for a Klondike Bar...
I made a dive to 128 feet. But that was underwater as in Scuba diving.
One of those 10 meter platform diving boards is the highest I've jumped off of. ..that was way back when I was maybe 13 years old. And I jumped. Wasn't even the slightest bit tempted to dive. It looks much higher when you are standing up there about to jump off.
The dude is 47, not 14. It's amazing he survived life this long.
Ya, but I'm not a teen any more...
The standard 10 meter dive is 33'.
It was only money
as a kid we used to jump off a bridge (long since torn down)into Lake Washington. Must have been in the 120 range easily. SScared the crap out of me. Nobody dived off it, but jumping wasn't a problem. 50ft is easy.
That reminds me of the story of an old wino who walks into a public restroom to relieve himself. Upon glancing down into the toilet, he notices a dime resting on the bottom of the bowl. He says to himself, "I may be a drunk and a low-life, but I am not about to reach my hand down into this toilet for a dime." He then reaches into his pocket, pulls out a quarter. Tossing it into the toilet, he exclaims, "But I'll do it for 35 cents!"
Honorable Mention. But he got the money back.
50' is a piece of cake. I jumped 80' one time, broke my tail bone, a minor injury which caused discomfort for a week or so. I was attempting to determine the optimum altitude from which to cut away a parachute and fall into water with maximum crowd appeal and minimum pain. I settled on 50'. The jump was part of a halftime show at a concert at a waterfront resort. It all came off well, but next time I need to check the depth of the water more carefully.
I'm 36 and did 50' off a rope swing about a month ago. Three times was all I could take. 20 years ago I could have spent a day doing it. Oddly, the climb back up was tougher on me than the drop. ;>)
I've done 75' off a railroad tressle. My buddies were diving from the top which was 95'. 50' is no big deal.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Sounds like a tagline.
Dude, I thought I was insane.
You win.
"There's no such thing as gravity, the earth sucks."
Aw shucks...(kicking at dirt while blushing)
Same, same here. As kids in Boston, "Townies" used to swim at the "Low Bridge" that connects the North End to Charlestown. We'd swim over to the Northeast Artery Bridge adjacent to the old Boston Gardens, climb the steel girders (and we were wet!), and jump approx 100 feet into the Charles River. All the kids did it... of course, we had to take turns keeping an eye on "Sully", our less skillful swimmer!
Good friend of mine, a CMSGT para rescue guy, told about one of his buddies that drove a desk. He had to qualify HALO, and had avoided it for a couple years (back pain, whatever).
So he has to do the jump. My buddy was there, along with a lot of other Para guys. THey wore fins on thier feet, and tanks on their backs, and jumped from way up high.
Total darkness. No moon. You are supposed to watch your altimiter after deploying your parachute, and cut away at 50 feet or less.
So he is in the water, and his desk-jockey budy is still coming down.
He hears, click, YAAAAAAHHHH!!!! SPLASH!!!!
The guy had freaked, and cut away at 100 feet.
The guys in the water are calling to him, and he answers. "Swim towards us!" they say.
"I can't!"
THey thought he was severely injured, and could not swim. When they got to him, they saw his fins at the top of his thighs. His feet had punched right through.
Aha! There you have it!
Bush's fault.
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