Cannonball Run
Our research into human cannonballs led us to this story about a veteran human cannonball …
When 41 year old Elvin Bale climbed into a cannon on 8th January, 1987, at a theme park in Hong Kong, he never thought he’d be waking up in a body cast.
Bale, a veteran circus performer, was ejected out of the cannon but missed the air bag target by a short distance. He landed feet first onto a concrete floor.
Despite popular belief, the cannon is not a gun, it is actually a hydraulic piston pushing the performer out, with an explosion for effect. In trial shots of Bale’s cannon, canvas and sand dummies weighing the same as the human cannonball, were used to calculate the distance and force required. Unfortunately, the dummy used in Bale’s trials in Hong Kong had been left on rain-soaked ground causing it to gain weight and the cannon was adjusted to shoot him too far.
The impact onto the concrete floor shattered Bale’s ankles, knee and leg and his spine. He was paralysed from the waist down.
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Source: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WIwfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E9MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4519%2C6459271, www.washingtonpost.com
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