Hochgeschwindigkeitskaefer & JATO 1995

Was man nicht so alles in seinen alten Tagen noch machen kann. US-Buerger Ron Patrick zum Beispiel hat es sich nicht nehmen lassen, aus seinem VW Beetle ein Jet-Duesen-angetriebenes Fortbewegungsmittel zu schnitzen, welches es mit spielerischer Leichtigkeit mit den Waegelchen von Kollege James Bond aufnehmen kann. Somit erreicht der junge Mann mit diesem Gefaehrt Geschwindigkeiten, die mit denen eines handelsueblichen Kampfflugzeuges zu vergleichen sind. Nur auf oeffentlichen Strassen darf er damit nicht fahren ... -.-' [...]
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als ob das nicht schon lustig genug waere, schickt mir mein Bruder ausserdem noch eine (alte aber) aehnliche Geschichte: und zwar geht es um den Gewinner der Darwin Awards des Jahres 1995.

Darwin Awards, kurz erklaert: eine Sammlung von lustigen Geschichten zu meist daemlichen aber erfolgreichen Versuchen, die menschliche Spezies zu perfektionieren, indem sich die Idioten dieser Welt selbt filetiern. Obendrein, wie der Name schon vermuten laesst, werden diese Herren und Damen der Grenzdebilitaet noch gekuert. Bravo!

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Jet Assisted Take-Off
1995 Darwin Awards Winner
Confirmed Bogus by Darwin
The Arizona Highway Patrol were mystified when they came upon a pile of smoldering wreckage embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The metal debris resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it turned out to be the vaporized remains of an automobile. The make of the vehicle was unidentifiable at the scene.

The folks in the lab finally figured out what it was, and pieced together the events that led up to its demise.

It seems that a former Air Force sergeant had somehow got hold of a JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) unit. JATO units are solid fuel rockets used to give heavy military transport airplanes an extra push for take-off from short airfields.

Dried desert lakebeds are the location of choice for breaking the world ground vehicle speed record. The sergeant took the JATO unit into the Arizona desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, accelerated to a high speed, and fired off the rocket.

The facts, as best as could be determined, are as follows:

The operator was driving a 1967 Chevy Impala. He ignited the JATO unit approximately 3.9 miles from the crash site. This was established by the location of a prominently scorched and melted strip of asphalt. The vehicle quickly reached a speed of between 250 and 300 mph and continued at that speed, under full power, for an additional 20-25 seconds. The soon-to-be pilot experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners.

The Chevy remained on the straight highway for approximately 2.6 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied the brakes, completely melting them, blowing the tires, and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface. The vehicle then became airborne for an additional 1.3 miles, impacted the cliff face at a height of 125 feet, and left a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.

Most of the driver's remains were not recovered; however, small fragments of bone, teeth, and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.

Ironically a still-legible bumper sticker was found, reading
"How do you like my driving? Dial 1-800-EAT-SHIT."
>> # top # | Q: Darwin Awards.com
sponsored by Mika

Leider ist inzwischen bekannt, dass die Geschichte dieses Gewinners gefaked ist, aber nichtsdestotrotz weiss sie zu belustigen.