37 year old window cleaner Alcides Moreno survived a 47-storey fall last month, but has little to recall about the fall. Mr. Moreno met the ground after traveling 500 feet (150 meters) through the New York City skyline, and suffered painful major injuries to his spine, brain, legs, arm and hips. The event has been described as miraculous, as the death rate from even a three-story fall is about 50 percent. Mr. Moreno's free falling misfortune allowed him to fall an extra forty-four stories.
Falls are not just the stuff of slapstick routines involving bananas, but unfortunately have a less comedic side as well - they're among the leading causes of accidental death. Around 12 000 Americans die each year as a result of falls. The US National Safety Council provides us with even more downright dismal stats on your likeliness of taking a lethal spill. During your lifetime, there’s a 1 in 200 shot that you’ll die from a fall. Maybe it'd be a good idea to tie ourselves to our desk chairs and roll around the office from now on. But take heart - for the actuarial types out there, the International Space Station has the same chance of colliding with space debris. Now doesn't that make you feel safer?
