When Risk-Taking Takes Lives
Famous motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel once said, "The people don't come to see me die. They come to see me defy death."1 While death-defying stunts are not new, the ability for anyone to become internet-famous by doing them is. The opportunity to combine thrill-seeking and notoriety has led to a surge in the number of self-uploaded or live-streamed videos of individuals engaging in extreme sports like BASE jumping.
BASE jumping resembles skydiving, only instead of jumping from an airplane, the individual jumps from a stationary height; "BASE" is an acronym standing for the most common jumping-off points: Building, Antenna, Span (bridge), and Earth (cliff). In...
has an M.S. in chemistry from the University of Texas at Dallas, and an M.A. in bioethics from Trinity International University. She resides in Dallas and currently works as a freelance science writer and educator.
Get Salvo in your inbox! This article originally appeared in Salvo, Issue #41, Summer 2017 Copyright © 2024 Salvo | www.salvomag.com https://salvomag.com/article/salvo41/jumping-to-conclusions