I Fought The Laws Of Physics . . . And Kicked Its Ass!

In case you ever find yourself free falling 47 stories on window-washer scaffolding, know that there are steps you can take to survive:

By all accounts, Alcides Moreno should have died instantly, as did his brother and fellow window washer, Edgar.

Though neither dismisses the merciful hand of God, a physics expert and the critical-care physician who treated Moreno agree he was saved by a fortunate chain of events.

Brian Schwartz, professor of physics at the Graduate Center of City University of New York, theorizes that the scaffolding beneath Moreno created enough wind resistance to slow his free-fall speed from 100 mph to 50 mph.

That would be enough to make it seem more like an eight-story fall, which is still enough to kill most people.

Schwartz also speculates Moreno was lying flat on the scaffold platform and it probably hit the ground with a corner first, which would further reduce the impact.