476

This experiment spectacularly showed how relative speed works.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top new old
[-] D_C@sh.itjust.works 104 points 1 month ago

Mythbusters did a version of this with a watermelon, or a ball.

Their version was entertaining, but this is a lot more dramatic.

[-] fahfahfahfah@lemmy.billiam.net 64 points 1 month ago

Jamie wanted to do it this way, with himself being the projectile, but they wouldn’t let him

[-] SmackemWittadic@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago

Hynie man always was a mad scientist type of guy

[-] M137@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

You say that like Savage isn't, they were both chosen as hosts specifically because of that.

[-] SmackemWittadic@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Oh Savage Adam is also a mad scientist, but he's the type of mad scientist who ends up just being a goofball. Think doofenshmirtz

[-] Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 month ago

They wanted to launch Tory out the back, but it was deemed too dangerous. Clip of the soccer ball.

[-] Hasherm0n@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

The full video (linked in another comment) references the myth busters video in the first 20 seconds.

[-] JoshuaFalken@lemmy.world 50 points 1 month ago

In case anyone else has an attention span, here is the full video.

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago

I don't, but thanks anyway

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Im really annoyed that they didnt post the link to the original in the post and even slapped a false watermark on it. And even some people in the comments misattributed it.

[-] albbi@piefed.ca 32 points 1 month ago

What in the world would that feel like? Pretty fast acceleration, and then you're just standing still? Must be disorienting.

[-] Mac@mander.xyz 22 points 1 month ago

If you've ever jumped off a trailer, yes. Very weird.
Small note: when you're doing the jumping yourself its even weirder because you're used to landing with momentum. Your brain is expecting to have to land and arrest your momentum but then you're already stopped. It's such a weird feeling. lol

[-] mech@feddit.org 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Like sitting in a car backwards when it brakes hard, and then the bottom falls out.

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yeah, exactly, still feels the same as accelerating to some speed (and then stop accelerating further), but afterwards you see that the ground around you isn't moving.

About the same as seating backwards in a car/bus/train/plane/bicycle/horse/(space)ship/running backwards/etc - ppl say it's disorienting bcs you are "pushed back in the seat & then you aren't moving anymore".

[-] iamthetot@piefed.ca 4 points 1 month ago

I imagine it might feel similar to running fast on a treadmill and then coming to a complete stop.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The same as braking to a stop in the same distance. That’s pretty much what’s happening here.

[-] rimu@piefed.social 2 points 1 month ago

Very weird. It'd be hard to ignore the reflex to curl up and instead put your feet down.

[-] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

He's actually rapidly decelerating. It's like slamming on the brakes and coming to a stop, but backwards.

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 2 points 1 month ago

He is facing backwards so if you are differentiating between acceleration & deceleration then he was accelerated bcs he was facing the same way we the vector.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] nexguy@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

FINALLY. An alternate to slowing to a stop.

[-] MBech@feddit.dk 5 points 1 month ago

Now install this on busses everywhere, and we'll speed the whole process up significantly.

[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Huge improvement to the tuck and roll.

[-] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 16 points 1 month ago

I thought that would happen but I was puckering anyway that shit gave me anxiety. I was like "wait just bare road and a helmet? What if something goes wrong?"

[-] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

Bare road and a helmet, if something goes wrong you've got yourself a controlled environment similar to a motorcycle riding experience without the danger of the weight of a motorcycle landing on you I guess. No cars behind you to run you over. Safe, not exactly.. but definitely a thrill seeking experience

[-] rainwall@piefed.social 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Thats a good take on it. Its not explictly clear what gear he has on under the red jacket, but it looks like it might be a motercycle suit. These are full body and tend to be armored with kevlar and other material in order to blunt abrasion/collision damage.

With one of those suits, what looks like a good helmet and no bike to roll on top of you, you would likely survive a 30-60 mph "crash" off the end of the truck mostly unscathed.

[-] BagOfHeavyStones@piefed.social 15 points 1 month ago

I like the comment on the source: This means the end of bus stops!

Not sure I'd want to be launched off a bus or train.

[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

Hmmm... Now I'd like to see them do it the other way, launch him onto the truck!

[-] Sir_Premiumhengst@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

I want this on public transit.

[-] embed_me@programming.dev 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Train that stops at stations ❌

Train that stops passengers at stations ✅

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 3 points 1 month ago

I demand a more accurate system - I want to be yeeted directly through the window of my destination.

[-] Omgpwnies@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Public ~~transit~~ trebuchet

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The two nerdy cannonballs on that lad ...

... are prob of just average size bcs the boio understood the physics/risks.

Actually, the demonstration would have been even more radical (as the kids say) if they fired a cannonball at him too. If they matched the acceleration & the engineering accordingly, he wouldn't get hit.

[-] fubarx@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Where physics and math meet knees.

The guy laughing makes this way better

[-] redbrick@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Now can we try that while driving in a circle?

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Wildly different outcome ⚰️

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

What exactly would happen?

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

They'd just be flung out by the perceived centripetal force (actually the outward swing of the backend of the vehicle's flatbed there).

Although the more I think about it, maybe not? As long as the catapult sends the cargo/"human" at the same speed as the very tip of the end of the flatbed, maybe it would be fine?

Disclaimer: imagining this with a fever isn't helping.

[-] baltakatei@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

So long as the ejection velocity vector is equal and opposite the tangential velocity vector, the result is the same.

[-] Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 month ago

SO satisfying

[-] hperrin@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

There’s no practical difference between accelerating the other way and braking, so yeah, that’s what I would expect.

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

This has to be one of the coolest things any human has had the privilege of doing.

[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Is it really an "experiment", or just an engineered stunt? I mean, nothing was learned.

Seems like something you'd see in a movie.

It was fun to watch, but let's not dress it up as more than it was.

[-] Mesophar@pawb.social 8 points 1 month ago

Demonstration would probably have been a better term than experiment.

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 2 points 1 month ago

Yeah, "experiment" is just headline terminology by media standards.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
476 points (98.8% liked)

Crazy Fucking Videos

8635 readers
1 users here now

Dive into the World of Insane Videos!

Rules

  1. No hate speech of any kind.
  2. Content warnings are required in post titles where applicable. Example: [CW: Injury]
  3. Use your best judgement and mark NSFW posts as such.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS