r/theydidthemath • u/Fizzerolli • 3d ago

[request] Assuming fresh powdery snow, how deep would it have to be for the paratrooper to survive, if possible?

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My son sent me this. My immediate thought based on nothing is that it’s unsurvivable regardless of the depth.

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u/prototypist 3d ago

Though the text in the screenshot looks like it is from Wikipedia, I can't find that in a current article. It's been included with this image for over 5 years
People asked roughly the same question on the AskHistorians subreddit in 2016 and a forum in 2003 so the legend has been around for a long time. I think you would find more legit sources by now if it could be supported.

To answer the math of the question, I'd look at how high and fast people can survive a jump into water. The plane would need to be flying low and slow to get the drop under 170 feet and speed of impact below 60mph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_diving .