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Myth Busted: Mary Poppins — Parallax Forums

Myth Busted: Mary Poppins

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2013-03-05 11:15 in General Discussion
Disney lied about Mary Poppins' flying umbrella!!!??? http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/clip-board/201302/mans-unbelievable-mary-poppins-esque-skydive

Actually I'm surprised how long the (industrial strength) umbrella stayed intact before ripping itself apart. Hmmm. Maybe Mary Poppins needs an ELEV-8?

Edit: Wrong forum! What happened to the delete button? Moderators, feel free to move to General Discussion.

Comments

  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2013-03-01 11:06
    My brother already proved the umbrella trick was a lie. He jumped off a tower with an umbrella as a child and it hardly slowed him down at all.

    We had a play tower in our back yard that seemed like it was 20 feet high from my four year old's memory but it was probably about six feet tall. My brother jumped off this tower with an umbrella with predictable (to an adult) results.

    Who builds a tower in a backyard for kids to play on?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-03-01 11:43
    That looks like just an unmodified patio umbrella, like the one in my backyard that got shredded by the local southerlies. With better material and reinforced struts, I'd bet someone could still pull it off.

    -Phil
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2013-03-01 12:44
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    That looks like just an unmodified patio umbrella, like the one in my backyard that got shredded by the local southerlies. With better material and reinforced struts, I'd bet someone could still pull it off.

    -Phil

    Better material and reinforced struts may keep the umbrella together but it would need to be quite a bit larger to make the descent slow enough to land without injury.
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2013-03-01 16:26
    And here I came expecting to see a story about a spoon full of sugar and medicine ....

    I never tried the umbrella jump, but really enjoyed making parachutes for the "green army men" airborne invasion.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-03-03 08:58
    Mary Poppins was just a Peter Pan wannabe with an umbrella. It was all done with wires. Without Tinker and real pixie dust, you just won't get anywhere.

    BTW, the umbrella was there to fool you into not looking for the wires.
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-03-03 09:55
    I've been working on perfecting jumping into chalk sidewalk paintings. Almost therre. Will post a YouTube video as soon as I manage the first successful jump.

    -- Gordon
  • JordanCClarkJordanCClark Posts: 198
    edited 2013-03-05 08:41
    Gordon, you reminded me of this guy...
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2013-03-05 11:15
    The umbrella did seem to act like a drogue until the strain became too much for it. So there still might be something to the mini-chute used by Catherine Zeta Jones in that heist film who's name I can't remember.
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