Thinker

Hi. Just wondering if anyone thinks it'd be a good idea to make mandatory in high rises a parachute in every desk drawer. Part of orientation would be a drill on the operation of the parachute only in the event of an emergency such as a fire when the stairwells and elevators are blocked, such as the case in the World Trade Center. Think of all the lives that would have been saved if those people trapped above where the airplane hit had had parachutes!!! If employers are worried about lunatics using a parachute during non-emergencies, or a parachute coming into a car or getting hung up on a bridge during the crises, it shouldn't matter because the person would have died anyways in the disaster, and the small number of potential parachute mishaps should outweigh the advantage of another way out in a real emergency. Thanks.

geth

I don't think that will happen. Not because its a bad idea, but because then people would have to admit that this CAN happen again. And frankly, that thought is just too horrible to bear.

withheld

Yes, and a bullet-proof outfit... just in case... and a heat-proof suit like a firefighter...

What a weird sence of humor you have!

Thinker

HEY! Is this what happened to the people that thought of the yellow Oxygen masks that drop down from airliners or the inflatable seat cushions that we're told about on every flight? I don't think the parachute idea is that far away from this....AND, the cost probably isn't so bad...

Shel

This kind of creative thinking *will* lead to solutions! Absolutely. Keep it up, Thinker, don't let the naysayers get you down. You may come up with an idea that will save lives!

Realist

But in the meantime, shelve this idea, as it is really dumb.

Let's see. There is a fire in a highrise, and people are to start throwing office furniture out the window (the windows do not open), quickly overcome their fear of heights, then strap on a parachute and make their very first free-fall jump next to a glass building in God-Knows-What wind conditions. Then they are supposed to land clear of traffic, power lines, each other and glass atriums?

No, let's beef up airport security and make sure all modern high-rise buildings have sprinklers, adequate stairwells, and good emergency evacuation plans.

thinker

I didn't know that high rises don't have windows that open, AND i didn't say it would be mandatory for them to jump out with the parachute. Only if they want to. They can perish for sure in the fire OR they could swallow their fear of heights (I don't think they'd really have a fear of heights if they're working in a high rise, but any way)...there would be a lot more saved than killed by cars, etc as you mentioned than if they hadn't jumped. All those people above the airplane died-all exits were blocked. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if SOME of them had a parachute and lived? Also, it's not only the airports that need to "beef up" security. What about TRAIN TRAVEL? No one checks your bags there. Why not?

x

Wait a second -- aren't you the same person who wanted to put sleeping gas on airplanes? Keep those ideas coming -- remember, people thought a horseless carriage was crazy too. And don't forget the Pet Rock and the Topsytail.

x

I knew it would be a matter of time before all the nutcases came crawling out of the woodwork...God help us all!

x

x([email protected]): ssshhhhhhh...i know his ideas aren't very good but i'm just trying to humour him...

boing

Maybe they could put springs on the bottoms of their shoes so that when they hit bottom, they just bounce around like Tigger.

Thinker

GOD! You people are so mean! I can't believe it. Don't try grabbing onto my parachute as I'm stepping off the ledge to safety cuz I wouldn't want YOU comin' along with me!

Philip

This would not have worked in the recent World Trade Center tragedy. There was a strong south wind blowing that day and anyone parachuting out of the North Tower would have been blown right into the flames of the South Tower.