>>>>>My favorite cartoon trick: being on some sort of platform that falls from a great height, then simply stepping off right before it hits the ground. Cracks me up every time.
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>>>>I remember when I was a kid being convinced that if i were in an elevator and the cable were cut and we went into free-fall the trick would be to jump just before it hit bottom.
>>>
>>>That would take away a bit of your kinetic energy, just as the railroad men jump backwards when jumping off a car. Depending on how well oiled your elevator shaft is, it may mean you end as a pancake a millimeter thicker than you would otherwise, or may actually save you a few fractures. Don't elevators have brakes for specially this sort of thing, so if it starts falling it should just block and dig in where it is?
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>>Yes, they do. And even if they did not have these safety brakes, the closed elevator shaft would work like an air cushion or a shoch absorber. Not unlike when you block a bicycle pump.
>
>These 9 folks might disagree with you:
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/25/nyregion/9-hurt-in-elevator-crash-at-welfare-office-site.html
>
>Of course, it was back in 1994, but how many elevators have been upgraded?

I didn't mean to say that you won't get hurt or die in an elevator if the cable breaks, but the "air cushion" effect will reduce the impact drastically.