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Felix Baumgartner

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Daredevil

The Resume

    (April 20, 1969- )
    Born in Salzburg, Austria
    Skydiver and BASE jumper
    Set a record for highest parachute jump from a building: 1479 feet from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia (1999)
    Set a record for shortest BASE jump: 95 feet from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2009)
    Parachuted from a helium balloon in the stratosphere (October 14, 2012) setting records for highest jump (128,100 feet; equal to 24 miles) and fastest free-fall speed (834 miles per hour; 1.24 times the speed of sound)
    Live coverage of the jump viewed by over 8 million people on YouTube

Why he might be annoying:

    He sports a 'Born to Fly' tattoo.
    He suffered such severe claustrophobia in the pressure suit and helmet required for the stratosphere jump that at one point he fled the US rather than go through an endurance test in it.
    He was so bleeping excited to be on Jimmy Fallon's show that his very first sentence had to be censored. ('Holy bleep! I can't believe to be on your show.')
    If you are at all inclined to vertigo, the footage of his jump is going to make you have to lie down for a while. (Heck, I get a little woozy from the still photos.)

Why he might not be annoying:

    He had to pull himself out of a potentially fatal spin early in the jump.
    He became the first human to break the sound barrier without being in a vehicle.
    Data from his jump might prove useful in designing systems for high altitude bailouts from spacecraft.
    After the big jump, he announced he would retire from skydiving and follow the comparatively sedate occupation of rescue helicopter pilot.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 57 Votes: 64.91% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 202 Votes: 50.0% Annoying