Worst Case Scenario with Abi Clarke and Julia Stenton - Day 7 - Erin Langworthy

Episode Date: July 5, 2023

When bungee jumping the last thing you want to hear is the cord snapping and perhaps the last place you want to be falling towards is a crocodile infested river, but that is exactly what happened to Erin Langworthy!Abi and Julia bring you the story of Erin's survival, a debate about what surface they would like to bungee over, and they wrap up on perhaps the best worst case scenario that has been emailed into the show yet.Please do follow and review Worst Case Scenario, join us on Instagram @wcspod and email in your own tales of survival to [e-mail] tune by the brilliant Crizard who can be found on Instagram @crizards Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get attacked by an angry shark Stuck up a mountain in the dark Pushed off the top of a big landmark Hit by lightning in your local park Caught in a downpour of acid rain Struck by meteorora train A proton beam passing through your brain Attack by that angry shark again

Hear how they survive Trappled by a herd of buffalo chased with an axe by your new friend Joe Buried alive in a pile of snow It's not the worst case scenario. Hi. Are we doing at the same time? I think we should harmonise.

Oh, do it. It's doing again. It's terrible. Hello. Oh, we're doing that harmony, Julia. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Ha.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Hi. Welcome to worst case scenario. Oh.

whatever fine you know i was trying to add a bit of show business trying to add a little more flare but fine yeah hi hello fucking hell welcome to worst case scenario the podcaster we tell each other stories of people who survive the worst case scenario and slaughter harmonies and dreams yeah that's the side project main project we're here to give hope that no matter how bad it gets survival can actually be possible happy endings all round that is not another be for yourself no that's why I signed up to this podcast

oh my gosh okay right have you survived this week I mean clearly physically mentally oh you're right hanging on by a thread but you know other than that what about you I'm in fear oh why actually I don't know if I should advertise it no it's fine this will be later I'm alone in my house for the fact like for an elongated

And you can find Abby's address at our Instagram. I'm alone. Housemates have gone to Glastonbury. Oh, I'm jealous. Because they're far more fun than me. Though my housemate actually had worst case scenario. Gonna share more of there. Yeah, go on.

She came on day of. No. Yeah. No. Yeah. That's my worst nightmare. Awful. At a festival.

At a festival. No shower. Port-a-loose. so she's coming home and day one first day as well so that is the heavy flow i hope she is i hope she's got a lot of alcohol and she's able to take her might she's enjoying the festival to its fullest i mean can you though no absolutely not that's impossible it's over from day one have you got any worst-case scenario festival stories i so i went to a festival in about 2007 oh yeah it's probably the last festival I went to um the festival oh this was in your first ever

stand-up set my first ever stand-up set i talked about so um this is the only thing Julia has ever done me is the only thing I've been to like day festivals I just this is the only time I've camped at like a four-year-old woman yeah exactly like a woman with children I like a bed what can I say yeah um um so me and my my friend Rosa we went to the festival very exciting. Kanye was there. Big deal. I wouldn't...

Okay. Brack about him. Oh, this is 2007 Kanye. This is peak Kanye. Okay. Like, it was hot stuff. Anyway. So, and my dad,

it loves a gadget. So he equipped us with a one person pop-up tent. But we pitched it on quite a steep hill. So then whoever was sleeping downhill was very much had, like was wearing the other person like a backpack it wasn't great oh my god like those spinny rides

where like the heavier person has to sit also that's real harsh in a friendship it was tough like fat else you sit there and then you like squish against them it also torrentially rained throughout the festival and i don't know if you've been you stayed in a pop-up tent they're thin they're very thick they're not made for there's only one layer there's no like protection from the outdoors they're more just like for on a beach bit of shade exactly that's exactly what they're for And so we spent the first day trawling through all of the like, um, uh, shops. Can you call them shops? You know, the little pop-up stalls, stalls, stalls, yeah.

Stalls. Uh, looking for like a big, because I was like, if we get a big tarpaulin, we can just put it over the top and we've made it a little bit more waterproof. Couldn't find one. It was pointless. So we were like, they more just sell like t-shirts and chips. Yes, exactly, exactly. Um, so we- Could have just covered it with tie-dye crop tops? Yes.

I don't know how that would have gone... Would it look tonight? With the waterproof... Oh, you were going for more of an aesthetic. I wasn't that fuss about the look of the tent, I'll be honest. When I was absolutely freezing my ass off. We did not sleep at all. The next day, Rose's mum came and picked us up.

And that is how you survived. That's how I survive. The festival. The worst case scenario. Yeah. Oh my goodness. I've been to one festival ever and I went with Ellie who you've met, who's actually like a really outdoorsy person.

I don't really know how we're friends. I don't know how you're friends. She's so nice too. I think that's how she's so nice. Yeah. I just take advantage of a very nice move on. But yeah, obviously I went with her and then our other friend Sophie who I'd say is in the middle. Like does like a camping holiday but isn't like wild camping like Ellie.

And it was literally like we were in a tiny tent. Yeah. Very claustrophobic. I was certain people were going to fall on me. Oh God. Because they were like walking past. We were in the busiest bit because we were too lazy to walk very far. And then it was like Goldilocks

where Ellie was on literally the thinnest mat possible Sophie was on like a slight like a yoga mat and then I was on a blow-up air mattress. Of course. Taking up all the space. So that was also quite close to the moment because I was just so close

to the top of the tent because I was so high up. Oh god. Yeah. But comfy though. So I didn't regret it. No. And then also I did move to the middle

of the tent and then I had a lovely time to be honest. You just got people either side of you. Protection. full height protection either side comfy mattress yeah god you've got nice friends i've got such nice friends how how um there's got to be one bitch in the group yeah so you did you did you were okay with staying with camping i was okay because it was only like two nights it didn't really rain we had good weather i think that makes such a difference yeah and i i i was with really camping um

yeah like just like camping experts and like you know Ellie Ellie's got it all she's got a like sofa you just release into the wind and it just blows up I didn't actually buy her that and she says it's like one of the best birthday presents she ever got so we were like pretty set up yeah I feel like if you go with people who know what they're doing

is okay like my housemate yesterday she took battery fairy lights I was like why are you interior designing your tent yeah and she was like no it's so at night we have lights they like put them around and inside their 10. So then at night, instead of like just falling around in the dark or using your phone torch, they just turn the ferry lights on. Oh, and ambience, lights can see everything. I was like, so I think if you go with people who know what they're doing, it can be okay. Yeah. Yeah. At 17, Rosa and I had no clue what we were doing. I think I would put in my survival kit, Ellie. Yeah.

Genuinely. We can't put people in the kids. No, I think she'd be really good. Maybe she could write you like a guide and we put the guide in the kit i have sometimes asked her being like i kind of want you to take me on like my worst possible holiday ever just for the like content i'm like if i ever if i ever get like imagine being the person that someone goes to just be like you could take me on my worst holiday ever we're just so often how do you have such nice friends so often she tells a story and i'm like how are we friends yeah she literally will just like go wild camp in a puddle and be like it was the best weekend of my life. Oh God.

And I'm like, it just can't be. I don't see how. I don't see how. She loves like going swimming in wild bodies of water as well. I actually don't. I think that's fun. I think that's nice.

Yeah. I don't mind that. Yeah, but it depends where you go. No. No. You know there's swimming pools exist. Yeah. Chlorine.

Leisure centers. Yeah. Actually, they're probably gross as well. Exactly. So much. They've got to be 90% piss. 100%. Yeah.

But there's chlorine. I think the sea is also 90% piss. Yeah, but it's different when it's fish, isn't it? It's different. I didn't say it was fish. Oh, hang on, hang on. Big swig. Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. So, my story, I'd say it's a bit of, have a short one this week but I've also done some around the topic research as well okay um basically I wanted to do it because I remember seeing it online really live like no like viral video okay I really remember it and as soon as we got this podcast I was like I want to find out that full story so here we go um it's January 2012 okay the year of Angelina Jolie's thigh

Adele is setting fire to the rain. Cheon. And teenage Abby Clark is on the family home computer. She sees a video on Facebook. Title. Bungy cord snaps above crocodile infested waters. Oh. Bam, bum, bum.

God. So would you like some bungee jumping statistics, Julia? I'd love them. I'd love them. I'd love a little like statistics jingle. I don't know. do do do do you know that'll go well with our wild west theme

suddenly we're a game show we're going into like daytime TV now oh okay let's find out or like you know when bake off was on BBC and they were like let's go back to the history yeah okay bungee jumping death statistics oh lovely we're starting cheery then keep it like cheery music okay so bungee jumping death statistics report a one in 500,000 chance of fatality. That's actually higher than I thought. Oh really?

Yeah. Just got kicked in the head by Barbie. Steady on. What, the statistics of that happening. Sorry. We have a Park Ranger Barbie as part of our set. And she does not like Abby. I think that that is too much chance.

do you well if we is that because you think of yourself as one in a million always um but i think just thinking back to the lightning episode the fact that yeah you're less likely to get hit by lightning i thought you'd be more likely to hit by lightning than die on a bungee jump yeah in the uk i guess it depends on location as well because you said in the in the in the um lightning one it was like one in 15,000 or something in America. Yeah, that's true. So I imagine in New Zealand also the one in 500,000 is probably only for the people

bungee jumping, which is a smaller group of people. Yes. Anyway, from 1986 to 2002 there were 18 recorded deaths and from 2015 to 2018 so in just four years there were five which is too many. Yeah. The article I read couldn't find anything between 2002 and 2015, but noted that these are only recorded deaths, so there could be ones that went unreported.

But if you take those fatalities and the years they spread across, that equates to 23 deaths in 20 years, meaning there's around 1.15 bungee jumping deaths per year on average. I did get those stats from a website called Outdorosaurus, though. So really, who knows? I think we can trust Outdorosaurus. We can trust anyone. A trusted scientist in their field.

This podcast is not for cold hard facts. Okay. But every week you try. Every week, I give it a go. It is a podcast, though, to make you feel less anxious, which I feel like I haven't achieved there. So, let's compare those odds to other sports. Okay.

It's real fact heavy up top. this one. Can you tell I needed some filler? Okay. Give me a sport, Julia, and I'll tell you if it's on my list. Badminton. Don't be silly. Curling. Let's cut all the ones she gets wrong out. Let's pretend she gets it first time. Tennis? No.

Football. I can give you American football. Go for it. Okay. American football, one in 50,000. Sorry, I've lost track. What is it? Oh, people. dying playing this yeah so you're like we count in bungee jumping as a sport well it's an extreme sport I think oh okay technically it's an outdoorsy activity I'm just thinking can you get better at it surely it's like you just you can get heavier okay yeah maybe more of a bounce you can go deeper you can always go deeper so yeah um okay so playing American football is one in one in 50,000

bungee jumping one in 500 thousand so you're more likely to die playing American football Thank you. You're also, boxing, one in 2,200. Really likely to die during boxing. Yeah, this is not surprising to me. You're literally having the shit beaten out of you. Oh, do you want to know hang gliding?

Please. One in 560. Oh, actually, yeah. No, that's terrifying. Yeah, that is, do you plan on going hang gliding? See, I think, would you rather go hang gliding or bungee jumping? not... Oh, hand gliding. Oh yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. I think I would have chosen hand gliding. But now, um... Sign us up to the bungee jump. Yeah. Swimming, one in a million.

Good. That's my kind of sport. Yeah, same. That's my sport of choice. Nice. I wonder about breaststroke without getting your hair wet. I think you're fine. That's my one of choice. Yeah. Okay. I don't think anybody has died doing that. So do you feel less anxious? Good. Let's move on with the tail. Yes. Okay, so let's talk about the woman in that notorious Facebook video. Yes. Erin Langworthy. Okay. Erin Langworthy was from Australia. She was 22 years old, just finished uni and looking to travel. She wanted to go to Europe, but remembered it's pretty cold here. So decided to travel somewhere warmer. Good choice. She started with two weeks in Egypt and then headed down to Zambia from Malawi. Yeah. Thanks.

Uh, where she planned to start a safari, safari, oh my God. I love that you got Malawi right, but safari wrong. I hate this. I hate everything. Why did I choose to do audio first, something? Okay. From Malawi, where she planned to start a safari. Um, she was traveling alone, but as part of a tour. group and as part of that tour group they were offered extra activities at each location they stopped off at. The activities offered when they reached the Zambezi River at Victoria

Falls were white water rafting in the morning and in the afternoon bungee jumping. Erin had never been bungee jumping but it sounded incredible. Jumping from a bridge 111 meters over a gorge with the thundering falls behind you. not everyone was game enough to jump but 14 did it successfully from her group and then Erin was last and in total the 105th person to jump that day okay so loads of people that means 104 people had gone down and come back up before her thank you just that time thanks for making that clear she was the 105th so it means 104 people had gone before her so how bunchy jumping works do you hear is they go down yeah yeah and then they bounce back up right and land on

feed and finish. Okay. And 104 people, exactly. 104 of them. So she was 105. She was the 105. She was the 105, yes. Okay, I see. It's tricky. Thank you. Thanks. I thought I'd clarify. Um, she was nervous, but not worried, right? The company did this every day. What's the worst it could happen? Like, she stood on the platform, looked at her ankles, which had been strapped together and worried aloud that her feet would slip out. Loll, banter. someone reassured that that would be the last thing to happen and she prepared to jump.

The view was astonishing. Wait, sorry, I'm still thinking about the feet. Yeah. Were they, because they had done it loosely, too loose for her liking, she has very small feet. The bungee cord is attached to like a strap that goes round her feet,

binds her feet together. Yeah. So like... She's worried that the, she'll get, the cord will pull up and her feet will slip out. Yeah. I'd worry about that too. But they said to her like,

that's the last. doesn't happen. No, that doesn't happen. You want to worry about the crocodiles underneath? Yeah, basically. Can I ask a quick question? Tell me if this ruins it. But the crocodiles, have the 104 people, have they always been there?

Is this like a... Yeah, but like, obviously you're not really meant to end up in the water. Right, okay. So it shouldn't matter. I think it still matters. I don't think they're actually like coming close to the water. Do you know what I mean? Right.

Like they're just bungee jumping over a waterfall. That happens to have. crocodiles in it. Yeah, well, they're in a place where crocodiles are in a lot of bodies of water. Right. Yeah, so it was just like, what's another? What's, yeah. A couple of crocodiles.

I think that would put me off. Even if I was like, oh, I don't want a bungee jump anyway. But if I was going to... Okay, where's your choice of bungee jumping. No, I don't want... Oh, somewhere, like, where the ground is not going to then eat me. You'd bungee jump over the ground? Uh, well, obviously like...

Oh, Julia, you have so much to like... A ball pit, maybe. A ball pit, maybe. Yeah, or like, you know, those, you know, those trampoline places and you can like trampoline into like big foam. You want to go into a foam? Like a, what's it called? There's one in Bristol. Pipp.

Foam pit. Yeah, that's what I want to bungee jump over. Okay. Yeah, swimming pool. Something, just, just, I just, I would like no crocodiles. Yeah, that's fair enough. I think you're allowed to request that. Back to Aaron, who is stood on a bridge.

111 meters above water with beautiful waterfall the view astonishing but she did think what am I doing throwing myself off a perfectly good bridge I'm with you Erin that's a stenton thought oh yeah a hundred percent straight from the Julia's engine book of thoughts yeah then the cameraman so like you know they film bungee jumping quite often it's like part of the experience they'll film it get a little video yeah like a roller coaster that's nice um like the cameraman comes up to her and said any last words and she thought hang on what if something does go wrong yeah but to be fair that caraman has said that a hundred and five times that day yeah yeah it's like when you go on like the

saw ride and you're like if you want to play a game you know no one's expecting anyone to actually get hurt um she shook the thought though spread her arms and it wasn't my words shoved forwards by an employee I'd have to be shoved in that in that instance yeah I'd be on that platform for days otherwise if I wasn't getting shoved yeah um but it's all fine she jumped bounce back up and uploaded the video for four friends to like of course not the next few moments we all saw on Facebook from the point of view of her friend filming on her phone um caught up in the moment like I said, Erin spreads her arms and is pushed and swaned eyes to the river below.

She says everything rushed by her in a blur of blue and green and it was amazing. But after just a few seconds, she felt a jolt across her chest. And it seemed as if she'd slowed down for a second. Then she sped up. Instinctively, she brought her arms up above her head, locking her hands together, and then she felt herself hit the water. That's when she realized something had gone wrong. Now, what she did was correct.

Obviously, I have Googled how to survive a bungee jump. Just in case. Good to know. You know, I might, never know. Yeah. And so jumping over water is your best chance. Oh, really? If something goes wrong, survival, your best chance is bungee jumping over water.

I still think ball pit. I'm still going ball pit. I really disagree. Okay. I feel like at speed from a height, those balls would become quite solid. Yeah. Okay, well. You're definitely going to break your neck in a ball pit, Julia.

A deep one, I'm thinking, like a really deep one. Yeah, but you're still going to just hit them and it's going to your neck. That's one heck of a quick. I mean, until the experiments have been done. Sorry, go on. Tell me your hard research. From Outtores of so much. Tell me your hard research.

And I'll dodge your spit. Okay. So jemmy gave you water is your best chance. If you have jumped and the rope snaps at the point of where, like, it's most under pressure at that bouncy bit, you'll have to act quickly as you only have around two seconds

to prepare yourself for impact with the water. But also if the bungee cord is still attached and breaks at that rebound point, which sounds like what happened to Erin, it will have slowed you to like almost a stop and make it a relatively safe entry. Okay. If the cord is not attached or comes loose

during your fall, the impact will be much more severe. Yeah. So really the chord snapping is better than like you falling out of it or not being attached at all. I did see a story where someone just wasn't attached at all. Oh, don't. So they just on the floor.

It's not a survival, so I don't know if I'm allowed to tell it. But I don't want to hear it. But basically they gave the OK signal to her boyfriend. She, in a moment of just like, you know, when you just don't fully think, just saw the OK signal and jump, and they hadn't strapped her in. Why was the OK signal given? Because her boyfriend was strapped in.

He was ahead of her. So they were like, yep, and then she jumped. Horrifying. bad so filming from above everyone in the bridge realizes something has gone wrong sooner than erin because they watch the cord snap yeah in the video you see the cord bounced back up without her um she fell for four seconds after the rope snapped a distance of up to 40 meters and if it had been overland she'd have been dead I think also probably a bullpen I disagree I still let's do the experiment let's see do it try sure put yourself up

build me a ball pit beginner let's do it live show julia dies into a ballpark fine yeah i'll do it edinburgh fringe yeah i'm gonna die every day at edinburgh fringe anyway might as well do it in a ballpit what a what an end to it we'll save it till the last day just in case okay um so yeah though everyone on the bridge obviously has no idea that she's not dead yet okay they've just seen her plummet into the water. Yeah. Luckily, it had rained and the river below was full and flowing. Good.

Unfortunately, like I said, it was also full of crocodiles. Okay. Back to Erin. Yeah. Erin opens her eyes underwater. All she can see is murky brown bubbles. She said it was like being in a washing machine, not knowing where you were, but she saw the bubbles were going upwards, so with ankles still tied together.

she followed the bubbles upwards. She had some crocodiles. She's like, don't mermaid. Yeah. Have you watched the mermaid documentary on Netflix? Oh my God. Oh my God. How funny is it when she's like the landlocked one

and she's like driving to the kids party and then her tail breaks. And she's like, the kids can't see me. The kids can't see you at my tail. The kid looks through the window and she's like, she looks pretty stressed. I loved it. I really thought I wasn't going to, and then I got so into it.

Oh, so did I. And now my whole for you page or like algorithm is just showing me mermaid videos. I had no idea it was a thing. No. I mean, I don't think it is here. No, no. I think it's quite an American thing. Yeah.

Yeah, big business, apparently. Anyway, big recommendation, a mermaid documentary on that place. Okay. So, she's mermaiding. Yeah. She had seen crocodiles in the water in the morning. when she went white water rafting. But she's rafting with the crocodiles too.

I think the crocodile, they're just... Right, Abby, why are you downplaying this crocodile thing so much? You're acting like you swim with crocodiles. No, it's just, because I don't want to spoil it. Oh, okay, sorry. But they do leave Abby. Oh, okay. Amazingly.

Wow, that's so lucky. But I'm mentioning them because obviously in the moment for her... Yeah. It's like any moment. I'm shitting my pants for her. Could, could. But that's why I'm being a bit chill because I'm like, they don't actually.

Oh, okay, okay, okay. They don't actually bugger. Okay. But they are in those waters. Yeah. So in your head, you're going to be freaking out. But she was like, I can't think about that right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

At the moment, I've just got to focus on get into the surface of the water. As I said, you see in the video, the bungee cord snapped. You see in the video that it snaps near the top. So she still has about 30 meters of cord attached to her and trailing behind. I bet that's heavy

too. She gets about a metre below the surface when she stops she can't move any further the cord's gotten stuck. So as she runs out of oxygen her lungs are on fire and she and her vision starts to blacken

around the edges. She could see the surface but just couldn't get there. That's horrible. Horvifying. So that's when she has to make the decision that she needs to turn herself around and swim back down. So she does. She swims to the end of the 30 metre cord, still attached to her and yanks on it until it comes free. She reaches the surface, but it's still a struggle to stay above water because her legs are heavy and she's in a lot of pain. She feels like she's been smacked all over and her lungs in particular are in pain

and she's struggling to breathe. Then she hears a roar and realizes she is approaching rapids. Oh my God, throw a rapid in. Okay. That's just your saying. This is ridiculous. You're like, throw it in.

Luckily, like I said, she had been white water rafting that morning, so she remembered some safety tips. She was pulled down river though and underwater into whirlpools um until eventually she managed to wedge her arm between two slimy rocks near the side of the river and all she thought about was clinging on how is she so the so the the rope yeah she's just holding on to that issue to keep it just trailing behind it's just trailing behind her feet tied the whole time you'd be like this is going to get caught

again yeah and crocodiles oh yeah and crocodiles but she wedges her arm between two rocks. Yeah. She's in the water for 40 minutes. Oh my God. Before any help comes. The first person to reach her is a guy from the bungee company. He grabs her harness and gets her out of the water, giving her his shirt, because now she's shivering. Oh, what a guy. Say shivering. Oh my God, you're like that? What a gentleman. Stop it. Um, now lacking in trust for these people. she gets herself into the recovery position. Love it. Love that. She was like, take your shirt and shove it.

Yeah. I'm getting in the recovery position. She starts throwing up water from her lungs. Her body is purple with bruises from the impact. And then she starts coughing up blood. So internal injuries are a worry. She's exhausted and struggles to process what's just happened. The paramedics then, Get lost.

Surely there should be like, okay, we're doing extreme sports in this place. There should be like a quick route for any paramedics. They should know this place. I think the whole point is like it's in the middle of nowhere you're in nature and the water. Don't do it in the middle of nowhere then.

Do it, do it some, do it near a city. Do it where there's paramedics nearby? Or have one there. Do you know what I would have done actually is I would have had somebody just standing at the bottom just in case? Well, in the crocodile invested water. No, like on the bank.

Does I volunteer his tribute? No. Oh, someone down there. Somebody, give them a little hut, make them a little safety. I mean, to be fair, it's never happened before. Yeah. This is the first time. Okay.

So I guess they're not expecting that to happen. Yeah. But yeah, the paramedics get lost. To make matters worse, it gets worse. She's ended up on the other side. of the river to where they started which is the Zimbabwean side without her passport so she's now essentially an illegal immigrant just to top it off what there's a there's a what they called border force control person yeah they're like get back in the fucking water um so she jumped at 5 30 p.m

she didn't get to hospital in victoria falls until 11 p.m oh my god that's five and a half hours later and Something at blood, sure. Yeah, a bit of blood, struggling to breathe. Illegal immigrant. Oh my God. The ewech. What an ordeal. She's put on a ventilator, x-rayed, given an ultrasound, and sees a lung specialist.

She's then given a large dose of antibiotics because the doctors are worried of how much dirty water she's ingested. Yeah. Amazingly, the x-rays showed no broken bones. That's outrageous. but her lungs had partially collapsed that was kind of her only injury other than like really bruised few scars So why is she coughing up blood? Is that to do with her lungs?

I guess so Oh okay Or I don't know Maybe she'd just had a nosebleed that morning And she's coughing up? I cough up blood when I've had a nosebleed Do you? Yeah I was really attention to thinking about it at school I was like oh my god

Guys I have the plague But actually I'd just swallowed a nosebleed bleed. Oh, good. I'm really prone to them. Are you? Just another little cool quirk about me. So sexy. I had a nosebleed once in a biology exam at A level and it was on a question about blood. So really, it was just extra credit. I was like, here's a sample. Can you have them at will? No, no, I was just stressed. Oh, okay. It was a big exam. Yeah. Um, yeah. So amazingly, no broken bones, but lungs were partially collapsed. The people from the bungee company visited her in hospital, very apologetic and astounded she'd survived.

Yeah, me too. Yeah, I bet they were like, thank, fuck. Imagine. That's their insurance going up. Yeah. Then, because facilities at this hospital are basic, basic, they were just like all like, O-LAR-A's.

Everyone says two-prime. Clean guys, static, Molly Mays, you know? Yeah, yeah. Basque. Sure. She's flown to South Africa where there are just like a lot more hip, kind of edgy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Into alt music.

Yeah. With friends she'd met traveling, bringing her belongings and finally her passport so she could travel. She called her mom and she brought a plane ticket. Tricket. She called her mom and she bought a plane ticket straight away. Erin had sent a postcard the day before saying, I'm doing a bungee jump tomorrow. So I'll say goodbye. Dot, dot, dot, dot. Only joking. Which she now keeps on the fridge. Yeah. I feel like that's what I'd say to my parents. Yeah. I always like... You wouldn't because there's

no way you're doing a bungee jump. No. But I would. I love to make her, I might die joke. Yeah. And then I'm always worried I've jinxed it. Um, after only a week, she's out of hospital. Oh, she's got no broken bones. Yeah. They just puff up those lungs, she's good to go. Basically, they just had to fix up the lungs one week in hospital and then she's appearing on Good Morning America with her friend.

Do that circuit. I would be all over it. She was on the press tour all over it. Imagine of TikTok it existed. She'd be made. Yeah, she's on Good Morning America with her friend who filmed the video seemingly quite entertained by her ordeal.

That'd be me. She was literally just like, yeah, she's kind of crazy. like what the hell she's got a sweet deal with a friend doesn't she no danger her life is not in peril oh no no erin was like quite like oh erin was yeah oh okay i think she was kind of like and her friends emotionally scarred yeah the one who watched it was just like silently sat next her like just a quivering wreck but erin's like i'm fine yeah want to see the postcard i sent my mom Law banda. Yeah, she then is able to go home after only two weeks.

So, you know, hospital one week, press tour the next. Yeah. Back home with mum. Yeah, on this morning couch. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She also does a video campaign for her travel insurance supplier. Get the dollar. Make the bank.

Do you know what? That is very savvy marketing, isn't it? I'm so savvy. Yeah. that travel insurance whatever she had but at the time like she went fully viral like it wasn't the time where you had like TikTok and Instagram as much yeah but like Facebook YouTube BBC news page she was big top of the page old school viral yeah yeah old school viral but everyone had seen this video I remember it so clearly I can't believe I haven't

see it we can watch it later can we because it's really not that scarring because she's fine yeah um i whenever i see a video like that first of all i have to check they don't die i can't watch it if someone dies yeah um then i have to watch it on mute to just check how horrifying it is because i don't want to hear the like gasps or shouts or anything and then if the video is quite basic i then watch it with full volume right just think of the just talking to you're missing out on no i think i'm good okay and then but then but then you just get people like producer neal to explain to you in depth the videos that you're too cowardly to watch that's my ideal situation actually so i can't watch horror films i just read their synopsises on i'm db yeah

i think you tell me that yeah because i do like to know what happens i have that like morbid curiosity but i don't want to have to experience it or see it or hear it right that's too much but i do you still want someone to just tell me yeah weird that you can be bothered that should be a service maybe that's the next podcast You just already describing scary films. Because like the sound is what makes it so scary. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the music and the tension and, you know, them not... Whereas like, just reading it is okay.

But I'd argue don't watch scary films. Like, maybe scary films aren't for you. I don't watch. I just read them. Yeah. Do you know what you need? A scary book. Have you heard of a book? Yeah, I don't like them. They're too long.

Yeah, Aaron's mum is Adam. and Erin will never do another bungee jump, but Erin, not so sure. Don't write it off. Cannot tell you how flippant she was about this whole thing. What are the chances of it happening twice? Well, let's ask Roy Sullivan. Yeah, true. Yeah, but also I think if you've been through it and all you came away with was partially

collapsed lung, no broken bones, you probably are a bit more chill about it. May I suggest, Erin? You've been through the worst case scenario and you were fine. Yeah, maybe next time you do it. Consider, instead of doing it over a large body of water with crocodiles, a ball pit. Okay. Erin said... That's my next business.

I'm starting it. I'm doing it. It's so horrifyingly dangerous. Ballpits are so germy as well. Ballpits are gross. Absolutely not. Oh my God. Erin said, she's a positive person and so was never angry about what happened.

I feel like easier to not be angry when you didn't get that hurt. um what was the settlement what we're talking how much not actually mentioned anywhere i don't think she sued what that is mad isn't it errin come on i mean she did the thing for the insurance company maybe yeah maybe yeah but still no yeah i get the what you doing i've been calling those lawyers as soon as the that's so true that's off my legs yeah well she says she's a positive person she was never angry about what happened she said around 50,000 people jumped from that spot every year so it was pure chance that the rope snapped on me just wear and tear i don't feel like we should accept just wear and tear no no no as a reason i want a fresh if i was ever going to do this i want

everything new i want new i want new rope no i wouldn't want new i would want like i'm the fifth person okay yeah you know i be yeah do a do a few testers said you down first i'll be next absolutely not going fast and then it was a kneel down first then you, then me Loudrop first, like space Oh, no Look at him He doesn't even know

That was so off-brand for me I know I'll protect you, Laudra He's teething, I've gone off him Um Such a fair weather supporter of Laudra up, aren't you? Look, just since his haircut

he gets away with less in my books I won't hear it I won't hear it there was a really good comment on our Instagram saying that he looked like the before and after an Australian outback survivor and I was just like this is actually just another picture

of Ricky McKee. It's so accurate okay moving on yeah she also sorry so she said yeah just wearing her pure chance and they've now introduced measures to ensure it doesn't happen again What a lovely person.

Very lovely. She was really chill about it. Yeah, I have nothing in common with this woman. Like, I wouldn't do the jump. And if I did and that happened, I'd be livid. I'd be calling everybody. I'd be doing the press store. I'd be completely slagging them off.

I'd be ringing the lawyers. You'd use it to launch your bullpick company. Oh, big time. Big time. I think it's like, I think she saw it as a life experience. She went viral. She's got on the telly. Good for her.

She probably got a few nice days out of it, a bit of catering, maybe a taxi to and from, the interview. Yeah, I bet she's very well looked after. And then maybe once she realized, oh, I could have got money, it was just a bit too late.

Maybe she's got distracted. Where is she not? No, I think people like that, they just, they do well in life, don't they? Because they're so nuts. Like, if you're a nice... If you're a nice person,

I feel like you get rewarded for being nice. Maybe. I bet she's got a lovely, career, nice family, like... Yeah, I couldn't actually find much on her since. Yeah, see, she's underground. She was a flash in the pan.

Oh, but she's loving life. It hasn't happened since. At that. At all? No, at that site. Oh, okay. However, it did happen. Again, this year, 2023.

No. In January, in Thailand. And the footage of the terrifying ordeal, once again, went viral. Because we're all sadistic freaks. I'd watch that video. Well, you can. You can watch them all. Yeah, went viral as 39-year-old tourist Mike from Hong Kong

went public with his story. He took a swan dive off of a 10-story high podium in front of his friends who were there with him at an adventure park. Do you know the name of that adventure park? Is there... I just want to know which one to avoid. Yeah, of course.

Of course you do. Look, there was no pronunciation. anywhere on the internet, and I'm not going to attempt it. Give it a go. Is it not pronunciation? Neil, if you're going to cut in with sass like that, get yourself a fucking mic, all right? For those of it, if you couldn't hear that,

producer Neil just corrected the way that Abby said, pronunciation. And the fact that she can't say pronunciation bodes incredibly well for how she's going to attempt to say. I'm not attempting it. I can take the first word Chang Thai Okay fine

So Mike He's at this Safari and Adventure Park In Thailand He originally had just gone to the park To try out the firing range Oh But plucked up the courage

To do the bungee jump After his friends Dared him Oh god Stop daring as an adult Grow up 39 is too old to be doing dares He's like

Oh he'd need a bungee jump And then after let's do a prank call Yeah Okay so the bungee jump sorry no the bungee cord snapped milliseconds before Mike neared neared the bottom of his jump but like we've learned that's a good time for it to happen yeah slamming him into the water below he didn't manage to enter the water hands first as he landed on his left side and so his injuries were most serious there much like Erin Mike told CNN it was so he did the press tour as well you've got to you've got to do the press tour I mean if it happens you've got to take a bunch of it It was this someone just beat me up real bad, recounting how he was left covered in bruises. Should have fallen into a ball pit, Mike. That's where you weren't wrong. Scared by the height, he had closed his eyes, planning to open them when he bounced back up,

but he realised the cord had snapped when he opened his eyes and he was surrounded by water. Luckily for Mike, staff got him out much quicker than Aaron, and they refunded him the cost of the jump. They're not nice of them They're like, don't worry, Masona! That makes me want to sue you more And they paid for the x-ray and ultrasound scans The very least they can do In Thailand

I think I said ultrassand Ultrasound I'll just call myself out on it Before someone else does I then wanted to find out If I could find out if I could find any more Bunchy Jump Survivors just while I'm on the topic

Why not? And I actually found one where they hadn't Been jumping over water Great, okay So I feel like this is going to tell you, well, actually, okay, so it wasn't a ball pit. It was more of a like bouncy castle. Okay. Like big blow-up pillow.

This is fine. I'd be, I'd be in for this. Well, wait, because this is actually the worst one, I'd say. Once again, there's a video. I haven't watched this one because it sounds nastier. But pictures do show him mid-air. The incident happened in a park in Poland where a 39-year-old local man was hoisted 100 meters into the air on a platform via a crane.

Once he reaches the required height, he sikes himself up before launching himself off the platform. But when the cord begins to pull tight, the rope snaps off the straps attached to his ankles. So what cord doesn't snap, it's like detaches. Yeah. And he free falls at full speed. Fortunately, there was a large air cushion underneath where he was jumping,

which he initially landed on, but then bounced off. so that's why that is not bounced off onto the grass onto ground on arrival at hospital he was diagnosed as having snapped a vertebra and other injuries including multiple internal organs

but although the spine itself broke the spinal cord was not damaged and so he was not paralysed and he recovered oh god so I guess the moral of the story or the three stories is don't sign a waiver

and if you're going to bungee jump jump over water or a ball pit until proven otherwise and that is mainly the story of erin langworthy with a couple of others just thrown in um what are you picking from that story that's quite tricky there wasn't any like particular objects no a new rope brand new rope if i'm bungee jumping i want a brand new brand new rope what else can I take from the I think her decision to turn around and free herself

yeah scissors she could have cut, no it's quite a thick cord yeah I think what like I don't know it's a bit conceptual street smarts lanking that

just deciding to get because I definitely would have just continued to swim like on a tether. Would you? I don't think I would have like tried to get it unstuck. Stuck. Especially if you can see the decision to turn around away from the surface is mad.

But that reminded me the like Jennifer Morey decision of whether to go out from the bathroom. Yeah, exactly. It's like you just have to make their decisions in those situations. So I guess, I don't know. Whatever it was, whatever compelled her to do that, to think logically

maybe staying cool under pressure a ball pit we're not doing a ball pit you have no grounds a little crocodile I think a new rope it's a tricky one this week

I'm going to give that to you I'm going to new rope then new rope new rope new rope new rope for listener stories. I'm so ready. Can I just say I'm in a perfect position right now? I'm putting a loud drop's head. Oh, dreaming. He's just leant up against me and I'm about to hear some listen stories and I'm just, I'm living the dream. You are, you really are. Thank you everyone

for making this happen. Okay, this is a great one. Okay. So strap him. Okay. Hi guys. Hi. Love the podcast. It's so good. That's nice, isn't it? That's very nice. Anyways, I have the worst case scenario story for you. Oh my God, exciting. I was on holiday in British Columbia, Canada. It's an absolutely beautiful area of the world with stunning mountains and gorgeous coastlines. I agree. My brother lives in Vancouver.

Oh. Your brother lives in Vancouver? Yeah. How did I not know that? I don't know. You've actually travelled quite a lot. You lived in Australia. I did, yeah.

No bungee jumps for me though. I stayed very much indoors. Did you ever see a spider? Oh, I got bitten by one. Fuck off! Yeah! Do I not tell you this? How do I not know this?

It wasn't like a bad, It wasn't bad. Yeah, but how do you know on Australia? So I was actually being quite adventurous for me. We were staying at, they called it like a shack, but actually it's like a lovely house on the river. But like Australians like to make everything sound a bit shit.

Right. So we were saying this like family friend shack and we were on a boat and they had like this big biscuit. It's like a blow up disc. And then you hang on and then the person driving the boat just drives. Oh yeah.

Yeah, they look fun. So fun. If you're not scared of water. Yeah. So we and I had a, um, uh, life jacket. We all had a live jackets on like little live jackets. Oh, I'm so stressed. Is it in your life jacket?

I took, I took, and then at the end of the day, we had a great time. I was like, oh, there you go. No, no, no, no. I knee boarded for the first time. That's quite good. That's, what the fuck is knee boarding? I think it's called knee boarding. Where you like, it's like, it's like you get a board.

You kneel on it. You kneel on it. Yeah. I think that's surfing. You did it wrong. No. it was so much fun I had such a good time

anyway so then at the end of the day I take my live jacket off and I was like having a shower getting chased and then I noticed

that like under my on my rib I have like two puncture marks and I said to Pete I was like what is this and he was like oh and it's like

you've been bitten by a spider and I was like are you fucking seen him what? Are you sure he's not fucking with you? No it was sure you didn't have a buckle that just dug in over the day

and he's like oh spider bite Well, no, because it went really dry and gross and was really itchy. How big was it? It wasn't like, it wasn't like a vampire, but it was, it was like, um, like tiny, like two tiny little puncture holes. But if you, obviously, then, if it doesn't fall off, they're like, it was fine. No. Yeah.

to be fair i'm so much of a panicker that actually i it was good that that everybody around me wasn't panicking because then it may not because otherwise well i'm glad that you weren't there then oh my god yeah i would have absolutely panicked but like if that happens to me and you know i'm safe don't tell me it was a spider only tell me it was a spider if there's something to worry about otherwise be like oh it's nothing probably just bumped into something something made a dent yeah well i mean it's fine that i mean it was it was all fine i'm not fine julia i'm horrified okay well thanks i guess wow yeah i totally forgot about that until just i can't even bitten by spider yeah i also don't know what it what what spider it was or anything

but it all it did was get dry and a bit scaly and like itchy but that was it if you know what spider that was. Right in and let me know. People are like, that's actually the deadliest man in Australia. It just takes 40 years to happen. And then it's the most painful death possible. Yeah. You're a ticking time bomb.

You've got a couple of years left. Maybe you're Spider-Man. Oh my God, imagine. I'd be so boring if I was Spider-Wan. I would just use it to like get the remote. You know, the like spider web that shoots out. I would just make my life slightly less annoying in that way. bit more convenient anyway you're so much fun thanks um right so we're in british

columbia we're on holiday uh i was staying up in a mountainous area with plenty of forests perfect for hiking no a big pastime of yours perfect hiking not you're gonna love the same sentence you're gonna love the next one uh i knew it was an area with bears I love a bear. And was regularly reminded of this by notice boards, warning signs, etc. Oh my God, I saw a video online recently that someone had put a pond in their garden and then a bear just started coming and bathing in it.

It was like, he barely fit in the pond, his feet were like out and he was just like relaxing like a hot tub. That's funny. I love a bear on CCTV. Oh my God, me too. Yeah, big fan. In fact, when I took part in a park run one morning, there wasn't you've lost me at park run i'll be honest no i'm sorry she was hiking now she's on a park run

yeah yeah well she wasn't hiking yet it's perfect for hiking she's all she's done is arrived she's seen some bears chilling on the way um okay in fact when i took part in a park run one morning there was an entire section of the pre-run briefing which warned us about what to do if we encountered bears en route wouldn't it be so funny to do that park run in like a bear mascot costume yeah really fuck with people you know like you will dress up for fun runs like everyone just like running like there's a bear and it's just one of the runners yeah that would be really funny or if a bear did genuinely just join in on the run just saw lots of people running just a collection of birds no they're just joining in the park run yeah what i love

about dogs is they can never resist a race like no matter what breeder a dog if you start running and they're like okay yeah no i seen bears were like yeah what are we running for yeah just a personal best yeah we're running for you yeah running for yourself a black bears the bad ones or a brown bears the bad ones i think they're both quite bad in fact when i took part in a park run one morning there was an entire section of the pre-run briefing which warned us about what to do if we encountered bears on the route basically saying that as long as they knew we were there they'd run away so the best thing to do was make plenty of noise and they'd just steer clear the same couldn't necessarily be said for grizzly bears that's brown bears what grizzly bears so i've just

googled it so brown bears i've got a little picture black bear no hump pointed ears straight face short claws grizzly bear humped round ears dished face long claws and that's brown

and it says brown bears are more aggressive than black ones so that explains why the black bears were a bit more chill yeah

okay but thankfully we were reassured that the majority of bears in this area were much more docile black bears there you go

I'd actually love to see a bear yeah me too from a distance behind like a very from a safe space I would love to behind some perspex.

One morning I decided it was perfect weather for an early morning run again, you've lost me. The sun was just beginning to peak the clouds. It was pleasantly warm

with a light breeze. But it's also pleasantly warm for the bears. Exactly. They're out too. Yeah. Yeah. The world doesn't revolve around you.

Bears are out for their early morning run too. Thank you for writing in. We do appreciate it. So I laced... But she knows she's in a bear area. Why is she going on a run on her own? Get a peloton!

I laced up my... That is the most... I don't have one. It's just indoorsy, isn't it? Get a peloton. So I laid that... Get that on a t-shirt. I don't want it.

I'm like, get a peloton. Can I just say... I passionately hate spin and anything to do with it. I just thought... I just want to be fun, right? junior so i laced up my trainers and set off from my hotel along the trail that led up into the forest all was going great the shade from the trees was lovely and i had the tail oh sorry i had the

trail pretty much to myself that's when i heard that's dangerous that's when i heard some twig snapping in the forest behind me but when i turned i couldn't see anything there oh no the trail was still clear as far as I could see through the trees. No one around but me. I had the thought that maybe it could be a bear. So I stopped and waved my arms and shouted, hey, a few times loudly as they, as I'd been told to. Have you seen those videos of people going, hey bear, hey bear. And there's like a bear following. I've seen one of, there's like a family who are hiking. You're supposed to go, hey bear really loudly. But it does sound like that. It sounds like a It sounds like it's like, come on, bear, get up top with us.

Come on, yeah. We won't start the picnic without you. What are we doing? Yeah. But apparently that's how you put them off. I thought it was different depending on the type of bear. Yeah, I imagine it is. But they were told it's mainly the casual ones, isn't it?

Long time, no, see. Were you at to? I paused a few moments longer, didn't hear anything, and assumed I was just being paranoid, so continued on with my run. A few minutes later, I heard twigsnapping again behind me, and then a load of rustling through the undergrowth to my right. This area was really overgrown.

The second you got off the path, I couldn't see what was making the noise, but it was getting closer. Oh my God. I continued to run and shouted a few more times as the rustling got closer and closer, and then I spotted a glimpse. And then I spotted glimpses of black fur through the bushes.

Okay, it's a black one, that's good. Keeping pace with me as I ran and taking no notice of my shouts. I started to come to the realization that I was in a bad situation. I had no defense against a bear if it decided to attack me. I'd be stir-fired strips within minutes. Very good. Wow, the bear needs how to stir fry. Yeah.

It's a culinary bear. Yeah. So there were, so there was that sinking feeling of realization that this could be where I died. Alone up on a mountain trail in a foreign country. No. How long would it take for someone to realize I was missing? Would they ever find my body? You know, just fun questions running through your mind as you're going for a run in the outdoors.

And just as I was pushing into the fastest sprint I'd ever done in my soon-to-be very, short life a big black furry shape burst out onto the path in front of me and dropped a tennis ball at my feet whilst wagging its tail and that's the story of how i thought i was going to be more to death by an overly friendly black Labrador oh my god that story was perfect it's owners weren't far behind it and i think they were somewhat confused why i was almost crying as i gave it belly rubs, safe to say there were no more solo trail runs for me that holiday. Honestly, though

yeah, why don't go on your own? Why are you going on your own? Surely not. I hope that entertained you at least a little bit. Looking forward to more episodes, thanks, Rachel. Oh my God, Rachel, that was the perfect story. So good. Another one? Right.

This one's from Brit. Hi, Julia and Abby. When I first moved to the USA My housemate invited me to his parents' cabin at the lake. They had quad by, was tickling you about cabin at the lake. It's just all of these very outdoorsy holidays. Yeah.

It's hard to relate, isn't it? When you'd rather just lie by a pool. I just don't go on holiday. I just go living room cafe, living room cafe, a couple of gigs here and there. Podcast record. Podcasts record I feel like Loudrop is the most danger

Zero cabins in the wood in my life Yeah Well these people thank God for the people listening Who are more adventurous than we are We can exploit your stories I don't know I think I have an anecdote for every episode Actually I manage Okay

Right back to Brit or you still on you Okay give me another few minutes All right Go on Brit So So move to America my house might invite me to his parents' cabin at the lake. They had quad bikes.

Right, they had quad bikes. As you can imagine, I was very excited to ride around on. His dad told me very specifically, I was welcome to have a go on the back, but under no circumstances was I allowed to drive because the quad bike was manual, not automatic. He also mentioned something about the back brakes not working. Who needs back brakes?

Yeah, exactly. as soon as we got away from the house I insisted I drive because I can drive a manual car Yeah actually This is actually I relate to this So do I I think I would have exactly the same response I'm 100% going to die trying to prove someone wrong

Yeah take me around the corner and then I'm fucking driving Yeah My housemate swapped places with me And then I promptly crashed head on Into a big truck Both of us flew right over the handlebars My head dented the truck Tell me she's wearing a helmet.

I hope, I mean... She must have been. It doesn't say, but... That's a big head then. Strong, sturdy. Yeah. She must have had a haircut like loud drop. Yeah, yeah.

I was covered in cuts, scratches and bruises. Even my boob was bleeding. His parents... Not, come on. They're so handy. His parents had to pay... I don't even know how much money to the truck driver to repair their vehicle

because the quad bike wasn't insured due to the broken brakes. Oh, God. My housemate went to A&E because he had a cut to his elbow the size of a 20 P-P's and they did nothing. I mean, it's not that big.

Meanwhile, I had concussion and I still have a nasty looking scar. Sick. On the boob? It doesn't say, but... That'd be a cool place to have a scar. Cool story. What would you say?

Just shoved job. Shoved job. Boob job. Boom job. Dream big. Gabby. One day. My housemate and I are now married

and his dad brings up this story any chance he gets. So I technically survived the crash. Did she have to marry him just to pay him back? That was part of the deal. Are you okay? Do you need... What are you co-husband today?

This is illegal. So I technically survived the crash but I'm still in hell every time we visit. Lovely. Thanks, Brit. Thanks. Thank you, Britt and Rachel. And whoever that dog was. What a, what a guy. Great stories.

If you also have a story of a time, you found yourself in the worst case scenario and survived, that is important. Please. None from beyond the grave. Please send them to us via our email, help at wcspod.com. And we'll read them out. and interrupt them incessantly. Is that a word? Yep. Did I use it correctly?

You did. Good job. Bring it home, Julia. Bring it home. What do I do? Please, thanks for listening. Hope you survive another week. Bye.

Bye! Get attacked by an angry shock. Stuck up a mountain in the dark. Pushed up the top of a big landmark. Hit by lightning in your local park. Cord and a downpour of acid rain. Struck by meteor or a tray. A proton.

being passed through your brain attacked by that angry shark again Hear how they survive Trappled by a herd of buffalo chased with an axe by your new friend Joe Buried alive in a pile of snow The worst case scenario