Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping is an adventurous sport in which people jump from higher ground such as a bridge with an elastic rope tied to their ankles to stop them from hitting the ground. The rope is designed to stretch, not break. When the rope has stretched all the way, the jumper bounces back up. When people jump they wear safety equipment like helmets and a harness.
History
It started as the coming-of-age ceremony in a small village on South Pentecost Island in Vanuatu.[1] The young men jump from the top of a 30 meter high tree to demonstrate their courage as an adult. They tied jungle vines around their ankles so that they would not hit the ground.And from then it started to become a sport in which people take part and it was named bungee jumping .
Modern bungee jumping
Modern bungee jumping began when four British men jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In 1987 A.J.Hackett became world famous when he jumped from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.[1] Later he set up the Kawarau Bridge in New Zealand, with a height of 47 meters, as a commercial bungee jumping area. People could pay money for the fun of jumping.[1] The idea quickly spread around the world.
Safety
Bungee jumping has several dangers. The rope has to be the right size for your weight, or it may break. The safety harness has to fit properly or the force of the drop could cause a person's bones to break. The rope has to be the right length or a person could hit the ground before being stopped by the rope. And it always needs to be supervised by an professional.
Bungee Jumping Media
Bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge in Zambia/Zimbabwe
Bungee Jump in Normandy, France (Souleuvre Viaduct)
A steel cage platform used for lifting it with a mobile crane. In the center of the base, a 15 cm wide hole with rounded plastic rim is provided to guide the bungee rope during the jump.
Bungee jumping from the Souleuvre Viaduct in Normandy
SCAD dive system rigged on a crane
Jumping at Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge in Queenstown, New Zealand, April 2007
.jpg)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "History". AJ Hackett Cairns. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
Other websites
- AJ Hacketts official website Archived 2009-09-13 at the Wayback Machine