This is wrong? Regular summertime activity when I grew up.....

Thank God my mom warned me against jumping off bridges with my friends.

In before.......County Supervisors considered a ban......

Why didn't this get a Ric Romero callout? Kids have been doing this for ages, and in every podunk town in the country.

If your municipal government told you not to jump off a bridge, would you do it?

If only they would have put up a strongly worded sign.

might as well jump .. jump !

Yes, it was one of the dumbest things I've ever done, but I can say that I HAVE jumped off of a bridge. So when my mother said "if all of your friends jumped off a bridge.. would you?" ........... I had to say... "No, mom, of course not, that would be retarded..."

NIXON YOU DOLT!!!!!: This is wrong? Regular summertime activity when I grew up.....

ditto.

and we jumped into a farking canal, because jumping into the Hudson, in a town called Hudson Falls, was suicide.

One of my very very favorite things to do in the entire world is to jump off bridges about 25 feet high into deep water. I'd rather dive, but I only dive into water that I know 100% is deep enough and contains no obstacles.

A local swimming hole that I used to frequent recently redid the creek for "flood prevention" but in reality it was to keep kids from jumping off a bridge into the creek. Kids would line up like 3-4 across and wait for the cops to come, give them the finger and jump into the creek.

Much higher than 35 feet and the possibility of bad entry and injury enters the picture, especially for someone old like me.

Highest I've ever gone is about 45-50, and I was terrified. All my friends have done the "crows nest" which is about 85, and there's a local quarry that has a "suicide" jump of about 110 or so. You need to get a full running start and jump FAR to clear the rocks at the bottom. Over the last 50 years maybe 5-6 kids have died there and another 10-15 severely injured.

Rick's in Negril Jamaica is the absolute best for this.

Good lord, subby, boys have been jumping off bridges since there has been bridges.

I imagine the Wapsi isn't as deep as usual; we haven't had enough rain this summer. Kid broke his legs and learned a lesson. And yes, there isn't much to do in Iowa in the summer.

Wait, those last three words weren't necessary.

NIXON YOU DOLT!!!!!: This is wrong? Regular summertime activity when I grew up.....

This. I seem to recall it being pretty high on the list of things to do.

Pocket Ninja: How do you farking write a location-based article like this goddamn stump of a piece and not send some local schmuck to the actual farking site to take a picture of the goatsucking bridge?

CSB:

Was arrested and given community service for jumping off this bridge 15 years ago?

Included picture of bridge; did not break legs though.

Came expecting a Flash joke.

Leaving disappointed.

Before jumping you may want to check that there has not been a drought in your area.

Pocket Ninja: How do you farking write a location-based article like this goddamn stump of a piece and not send some local schmuck to the actual farking site to take a picture of the goatsucking bridge?

Was this it?



/Dammit Vern!!

PYROY: NIXON YOU DOLT!!!!!: This is wrong? Regular summertime activity when I grew up.....

This. I seem to recall it being pretty high on the list of things to do.

If you grew up in Upstate NY it was a rite of passage for kids to jump off the bridges/locks into the canal. Very rarely do you hear of someone getting hurt or dying in your area. If you had REAL cojones, you do 'span' or jump off from the TOP of a bridge (~50-75') into the canal.

Where I grew up this is how you got your kicks before you were old enough to stand outside the 7-11 with your allowance and ask college kids to buy you beer.

As someone who use to go tressel jumping when I was younger, how the hell is this news. The way I see it is this. They could let the kids go jumping off bridges and having fun, or ban that and watch as the kids switch to breaking into houses and folks are working.

othmar: [media.treehugger.com image 468x342]



might as well jump .. jump !

The problem solves itself!

I did it too. I thought it was no big deal, everyone was doing it and it was fun. I never thought i would get hurt even though I soon needed to jump off higher and higher things to achieve the same feeling. I have a family, and I risked losing everything for a thrill. I knew it was selfish and reckless, Yet I kept doing it. I even started jumping out of planes. how can I look my son in the eye knowing I could have killed his father? Oh yeah I'm not a complete pantywaste. Ima have a beer.

Finally! Mother's advice is applicable!

NIXON YOU DOLT!!!!!: This is wrong? Regular summertime activity when I grew up.....

Jeebuz no shiat. The list of bridges I've jumped off of is long and unremarkable.

I guess "Kids play outside" is such an outdated concept these days it confuses people.

My dad did this when he was a kid in small town Ohio. And they did worse at the quarry.

Jump from bridges into creek - check
Ride car hood at 40 mph towed behind snowmobile - check
Skitch behind car, holding onto bumper for miles - check
Ride roof of van and avoid being thrown off by driver - check
Sled down steep hill onto 4 lane highway - check
Scale underside of bridge 120' high to secure rope swing - check
Bottle rocket fights - check
Hop freight trains with 6 pack and enjoy the ride - check
Ride elevator cable in 20 story building - check

Just some of the things we did to liven things up. Sure there's some risk involved with these but no one I know died doing it. If we ban all activities that involve risk that would just suck.

It's true; there is nothing to do in Central City. It's not a city; it's a main street with one or two restaurants and not much else. I grew up in Cedar Rapids, a half hour away, but I attended and worked at the Boy Scout camp that's close to Central City. There's no WAY I'd jump off any bridges around there, because the Wapsi is very shallow in most parts.

Rent Party: NIXON YOU DOLT!!!!!: This is wrong? Regular summertime activity when I grew up.....

Jeebuz no shiat. The list of bridges I've jumped off of is long and unremarkable.

I guess "Kids play outside" is such an outdated concept these days it confuses people.

Yeah, well so is my johns......wait a mine.

And as to your second point, you hit the nail on the head. Play.....OUTSIDE? There be DRAGONS!

Anyone older than 18 would have faced a $650 fine and up to 30 days in jail or be forced to hang up 'no jumping' signs on bridges.

/and then jump off, naturally.

Sounds like good summertime fun. Safer than cliffjumping. Which is also great.

Lord Dimwit: Came expecting a Flash joke.

Leaving disappointed.

The flash?



Oh yeah, he's from "Central City". Hmm a joke . . . Lets see . . .

"Jumping OFF bridges? I though they preferred crashing planes INTO bridges!!"



Meh. I got nothin.

Also, WTF is there to do anywhere for a teen? Most places want money to let you inside, so you get together with friends and find something outside. If there's a low bridge over water nearby, this happens.

What a Paris road bridge may look like (diff article)

/one the most useless pictures I've seen today

Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in Central City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "D"
And that stands for Dumbasses.

bdub77: It's called parkour, and it's french, so you know it's awesome.

Parkour is something entirely different. This is called jumping blindly off a bridge, and it's called doing something stupid.

R.I.P Lancifer, infamous Iowan bridge jumper. He graduated to building hopping and sadly missed one day. He didn't learn after he broke both his legs while bridge hopping.

/He landed on an aerial antenna after missing on his last jump.