Suppose the only way to survive a fire in your house was jumping about 10 metres out of the building onto the cement below. Scientifically speaking, what is the safest way to do the jump?

BRY2K

I suppose the safest way to jump in this unfortunate set of circumstances would be to use tips gleaned from the standard parachute landing technique. A Parachute Landing Fall is a safety technique devised to reduce the incidence of injury for those deploying a parachute. A PLF distributes the landing shock along the five points of contact: 1) balls of feet, 2) side of calf, 3) side of thigh, 4) side of hip, and 5) side of back ("push-up muscle"). During a PLF, the jumper's chin is tucked, and the risers are grasped in an arm-bar protecting the face and throat and the elbows tucked into the sides to prevent injury. The PLF is executed in one of six directions (left front, left side, left rear, right front, right side, right rear), depending on the direction of drift of the jumper, terrain, wind, and oscillation. With repeated practice PLFs into a sawdust pit from an approximately 1-meter platform, parachutists can learn to automatically make make smooth PLFs with a reflex action. Experienced paratroopers can naturally assume a PLF position when taking an accidental fall and have reduced or prevented injuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_Landing_Fall Visuals here: http://www.sportparagliding.com/?p=education&ed=PLF Jun 25 08, 7:54 PM