“Flugtag” means “flying day” in German. The challenge is to construct a homemade, human-powered “flying” machine and run them off a raised deck in hopes of achieving something resembling actual flight. Contestants are judged on distance flown, creativity, and showmanship.
The twist to the local event is that normal Flugtag “pilots” jump from 30-foot platforms into water. The Rubble Jump participants leaped from the garage overpass twice that high and landed in a pile of twisted steel, crushed cinder blocks, used syringes, and radioactive waste left over from the hospital.
About a dozen teams gathered Sunday morning to sign up for the attempt, but upon seeing the setup, only two stayed to jump.
Both teams crashed horribly, with Team Berzerk named the winner based on fewer number of injuries. Team members were unavailable for comment, but a hospital spokesman said they were expected to be out of ICU by midweek.
“The ironic thing is that they might have avoided some of the trauma if the hospital had been closer to the jump site,” the spokesman said.
The good news was that the winning team set a distance record of 60 feet.
That's gonna leave a mark.
ReplyDelete