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Calvinjamesscott t1_ixq934w wrote

Water has a lot of mass and surface tension. When you hit it at velocity, the g's from the impact can be fatal. People who cliff dive purposely land with a very narrow profile to minimize the force of the impact.

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JustTrixxy t1_ixqawkh wrote

Workers on the Golden Gate Bridge always kept their toolbelts loose and quickly detachable so if the fell, they could throw it while falling to break the tension, thus saving them for the surface splat

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PM_ME_A_PLANE_TICKET t1_ixqik6k wrote

This sounds like the kind of thing that's completely made up, but nobody can really disprove.

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km89 t1_ixqkwhm wrote

It is, but it's not un-disprovable. Mythbusters did this and found that it doesn't really help. The tools break the surface tension, but the surface tension isn't the only factor, and the water still hits you like a truck.

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Target880 t1_ixq9ktc wrote

To feel the forces of the water do a belly flop by jumping from just above the water's surface and you will notice the water can have quite a high force on you and take time to move away

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