Can you survive a fall from 10 stories?

Almost all falls from beyond about 10 stories are fatal, although people have survived much higher falls than this, even onto hard surfaces. For example, one suicidal jumper has survived a fall from the 39th story of a building, as has a non-suicidal person who accidentally fell from the 47th floor.



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Of course, there is an upper limit, set by how far up we can actually travel before we die from the effects of atmospheric change – which come into play at around 60,000 feet. So, how high is too high? In theory, we could survive falls of up to 60, 70, or even 80,000 feet, under exceptionally fortunate circumstances.

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Heavier things have a greater gravitational force AND heavier things have a lower acceleration. It turns out that these two effects exactly cancel to make falling objects have the same acceleration regardless of mass.

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The term skyscraper originally applied to buildings of 10 to 20 stories, but by the late 20th century the term was used to describe high-rise buildings of unusual height, generally greater than 40 or 50 stories. Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan.

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The Home Insurance Building in Chicago is often considered the world's first skyscraper due to both its design and height; the building was supported using an iron frame skeleton.

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