The Rocket Sled Trials of Colonel John Stapp

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  • Опубликовано: 4 авг 2024
  • In his extraordinary career, Colonel John Paul Stapp, MD, PhD, and epic daredevil, did downright crazy things with a simple purpose: To save lives. The rocket sled trials of Colonel John Stapp is history that deserves to be remembered.
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    This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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    Script by THG
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Комментарии • 847

  • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
    @TheHistoryGuyChannel  3 года назад +217

    As several viewers have noticed, the name of the base in California is Muroc, not Murdoc. I apologize for the error.

    • @mikewhitcomb6558
      @mikewhitcomb6558 3 года назад +16

      Another fun fact, "Muroc" is the name "Corum" spelled backwards. The Corum's were the early settlers and ranchers in the high desert before the Air Force took over

    • @craigwall9536
      @craigwall9536 3 года назад +1

      How could you not know that? I don't get it- you're "The History Guy" and you goon out on _the most well-known place in aviation history?_ Whatever you're taking, you need to start breaking them in half...

    • @quinnfoster4671
      @quinnfoster4671 3 года назад +14

      @@craigwall9536 I get it you have never misspoke, good for you!

    • @jerrymiller276
      @jerrymiller276 3 года назад +13

      @@craigwall9536 Ever heard of Murphy's Law and Stapp's Law?
      He's the History Guy, not necessarily the Aviation History Guy. Aviation history is a miniscule part of the vast panoply of history. Errors occur. Get used to it. He does admit to and correct his errors with humility, more than many people are capable of. He still deserves more respect than you just showed.
      By the way, are you claiming that Muroc dry lake is more well known than Kitty Hawk, North Carolina?
      Really?

    • @AtomicElectronCo
      @AtomicElectronCo 3 года назад +7

      It's not such a big deal. Thank you for posting a prompt correction.

  • @Nerd3Ddotcom
    @Nerd3Ddotcom 3 года назад +347

    Another interesting point about Stapp is the he was repeatedly ordered to stop using himself as a test dummy. He was even disciplined for disobeying and circumventing those orders. He refused to put anyone else in harms way when he could go in their place. With his advocacy for seat belts in cars and lobbying for the 1967 law requiring seat belts in new cars, he is probably actually responsible for saving millions of lives.
    Boys and girls, this is an actual hero.

    • @eskee1
      @eskee1 3 года назад +2

      For getting policy put in place telling us what to do? Sheeple award

    • @elcastorgrande
      @elcastorgrande 3 года назад +18

      @@eskee1 Has to do it because of the number of morons running around.

    • @jamesyanchek779
      @jamesyanchek779 3 года назад +2

      Maybe in the long run, the irony is that auto deaths went UP after seat belts were required; probably b/c people thought that allowed them to be more reckless. The early belts were only lap belts which, while keeping you from going through the window, also often caused spinal cord injuries.
      As a boy we only had lap belts in the early 70s, we were NOT required to use them but schools then (appropriately) propagandized us on the value of wearing safety belts. I was only a family visit to an uncle's home one summer & we were going to church one Sunday. I reached down to grab the safety belt to put it on but I couldn't find it. He tells me & everyone in the car w/ us that he had tied them up in knots, b/c they annoyed him. Some people cut them out, so I guess he wasn't the worst. I also remember standing on the seat next to my mom looking out over the dash board as we drove down the road. Mom ordered me to sit down b/c that was "safer."

    • @eskee1
      @eskee1 3 года назад

      @@elcastorgrande nah

    • @eskee1
      @eskee1 3 года назад

      @no yes I never said my opinion though I asked a question?

  • @skenzyme81
    @skenzyme81 3 года назад +165

    Stapp: “My name sounds like somebody yelling ‘AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!’ and ‘STOP!!’ at the same time.”
    Air Force: “We have the PERFECT job for you!”

    • @jamesengland7461
      @jamesengland7461 3 года назад +12

      Brilliant!

    • @BuildingCenter
      @BuildingCenter 3 года назад +10

      @helix This is an amazingly well-crafted joke. It’s hard to convey sincerity online. This is grand.

    • @skenzyme81
      @skenzyme81 3 года назад +1

      @@BuildingCenter Thank you 🙏. I felt like it might not land in text because most would initially read the "a" sound in "AAAAHHHHH" as /ˈɑːh/, like the a -sound in "top" instead of like /ˈæ:h/, like the a-sound in "tap." One of the many situations where English could some additional letters, LoL.

    • @BuildingCenter
      @BuildingCenter 3 года назад +1

      @@skenzyme81 Teach TEFL/TESOL?
      I came back to reread this now because it’s still deeply satisfying.

    • @skenzyme81
      @skenzyme81 3 года назад

      @@BuildingCenter No, I don't try to teach English to anyone other than my children. The variability in the language has long made me wish for a more complete and less duplicative alphabet. Oh well.

  • @v.e.7236
    @v.e.7236 3 года назад +60

    After enduring all of that "testing" trauma he lived to 89?! Some folk are just built of sturdier stuff than your average human.

  • @dannypgrizzle
    @dannypgrizzle 3 года назад +109

    Years ago, I took my family to the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico. We arrived late in the day after almost everyone had left. Alamogordo is off the beaten path, and we were the only ones there. After a quick walk through of the museum, my 5 kids were crawling all over the outdoor exhibits, including Stapp's rocket sled, the Sonic Wind No. 1. As the last lady locked the building, she stopped for a moment to say, "I wish you had been here a little earlier. Colonel Stapp was here a good while this afternoon, and he loves to tell stories to kids."

    • @SuperWooba
      @SuperWooba 3 года назад +9

      The International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo is truly a hidden gem.

    • @martinlepper4522
      @martinlepper4522 3 года назад +9

      I used to live in Alamogordo. There is/was a machine shop....Landers Machine Shop in Alamogordo.....they built the "track" or rail system for the Rocket Sled. I did some work for them when I lived there & was told about the grandfather & father that made it. The grandson was who I spoke with & had some work done for me, by him.

    • @HairyTheCandyMan
      @HairyTheCandyMan 2 года назад +3

      I feel like Stapp is going to be a legendary figure in history someday.

    • @stellviahohenheim
      @stellviahohenheim 2 года назад +1

      Lol epic fail

    • @brookeking8559
      @brookeking8559 6 месяцев назад +1

      You missed a treat. In the fall of 1978 I was a junior at Alamogordo Senior High School. Our physics teacher (calculus teacher when I was a senior) was a retired USAF colonel, Dick Matthews. One day we had an acceleration word problem in our textbook that was part of the homework for the next day, and it was a calculation of acceleration during one of Dr. Stapp’s rides on a rocket sled. The next day after we discussed the homework, Dr. Stapp came in as a guest speaker. He was brilliant and told great stories.
      I’m glad you and your family got to enjoy the museum and exhibits. One of my sons climbed on the Sonic Wind II sled there, too. It’s a piece of history.

  • @SCSuperheavy114
    @SCSuperheavy114 3 года назад +209

    Many aircrew owed their life to this mans research and sacrifice. Well done Dr. Stapp, and to you History Guy!

    • @johnlamb5644
      @johnlamb5644 3 года назад +4

      Suggested topic: how we learned about G effects on the body and the iron maiden currently at the Patuxent River naval aviation museum. How was the Johnsville centrifuge used in that study and in the mercury Gemini and Apollo missions

    • @SW-zu7ve
      @SW-zu7ve 3 года назад +3

      Many 1000's civilians saved by a seatbelt.......

    • @allangibson2408
      @allangibson2408 3 года назад +2

      @@SW-zu7ve Add quite a few zeros .... Any car crash at over 20mph is likely to be lethal if unrestrained.

    • @SW-zu7ve
      @SW-zu7ve 3 года назад

      @@allangibson2408 Thats where that word "Many" comes into play....

    • @allangibson2408
      @allangibson2408 3 года назад

      @@SW-zu7ve Rather than thousands - millions come to mind. Every year, and that is just in the US.

  • @rodsmith5754
    @rodsmith5754 3 года назад +25

    I met the Colonel once when he was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame as the fastest accelerating human of all time

    • @a-a-ronbrowser1486
      @a-a-ronbrowser1486 3 года назад +8

      That was pretty cool of them to do.

    • @Rocketman88002
      @Rocketman88002 Год назад +2

      It would be interesting to see the data of Colonel Stapp's sled ride at the quarter mile mark!

  • @corkycobon1481
    @corkycobon1481 3 года назад +128

    Dr Stapp is a Demi God to the fighter pilots of the US Military. He did so much to save lives and truly deserves to be memorialized. Thank you for showcasing this military and medical pioneer.

    • @billd.iniowa2263
      @billd.iniowa2263 3 года назад

      I wonder how many years were cut off his lifespan by those extreme forces?

    • @bobpowers9862
      @bobpowers9862 3 года назад +4

      @@billd.iniowa2263 He lived to 96... so not that many?

  • @wolfvale7863
    @wolfvale7863 3 года назад +12

    "going through a plywood wall like it was paper leaving his rubber face behind. He carried on, finally coming to a stop 750 feet down range."
    The imagery generated by those words made my day.

    • @llaughton69
      @llaughton69 3 года назад

      The imagery that hit my mind gave me a serious case of the giggles hahahaha

    • @quillmaurer6563
      @quillmaurer6563 3 года назад +2

      Mr. Stapp upon seeing that: "Well okay, my turn!"

    • @wolfvale7863
      @wolfvale7863 3 года назад

      @@quillmaurer6563 Oh yeah! That would be a moment to remember as well. I bet he couldnt wait

  • @dennisshoffner5201
    @dennisshoffner5201 3 года назад +57

    I was the Community Relations officer at Edwards AFB for 20-years before I retired from civil service almost four years ago. This episode centering on Co Stapp was outstanding! I’ve been to both test tracks on base. I ran the base’s tour program.
    One slight correction should be noted. The base used to be Muroc, not Murdock. The original settlers in the are were Ralph and Clifford Corum, who were brothers. They settled near a railroad water stop on the edge of Rodriguez Dry Lake. The sign simply said Rod. This was later changed to Rodgers.
    They opened a general store there. The big thing then was homesteading. They needed to have a post office in there store so that homesteaders could send and receive mail. They wanted to name their new town after themselves, but there was already a town in California with that name. True the spelling was a little different, Coram, but it was too close to Corum, so they had to pick another name. That’s why they spelled their name backwards to Muroc!
    //Dennis Shoffner

    • @mitch3064
      @mitch3064 3 года назад +6

      Thanks! Neat little bit of history added there.

  • @kurtthomsen2414
    @kurtthomsen2414 3 года назад +6

    I was a volunteer test subject at WPAFB in the early 80s for what they called "impact tests". Conducted indoors, they involved lower velocities (around 35 mph) and lower G levels (up to 12 g for the sled (your torso) and up to 30 g at your head). We all watched the JP Stapp videos and knew we were following in the footsteps of a REAL hero. We also got to watch a video made to test the upper limit of a harness. The strapped a large monkey into a sled and put him through an 80 g deceleration. The harness held, but the only thing left of the poor monkey was his torso - yuck. I am sure JPS knew about those tests and knew he was approaching that level, but he went through with it anyway. He may have saved more lives than anyone not named Jonas Salk.

  • @craigwall9536
    @craigwall9536 3 года назад +64

    I met him in the early 90's at an AIAA dinner. Very quiet and modest; it was an evening with people who revered him but didn't pester him with a lot of questions. My main impression was that this was a person who had no ego on display because he truly _had nothing to prove to anyone._

    • @HarryP457
      @HarryP457 3 года назад +11

      He strikes me as the kind of man who would point out everyone else as being hero's, while never believing himself to being one of the greatest of them all.

    • @glennbrymer4065
      @glennbrymer4065 11 месяцев назад

      Thank you for this note. It is the little things in history. 1st person accounts are golden.

  • @wrecktech
    @wrecktech 3 года назад +40

    I always used to say "Murphy is alive and well and out to get me." as a preventive measure for things going wrong in projects I was working on. To know the origin of that law is interesting.
    I also do so work investigating car crashes and knew of Stapp's contributions. To find that Stapp and Murphy are closely connected is doubly funny.

  • @anewman513
    @anewman513 3 года назад +40

    "Being assaulted in the rear by a fast freight train" does not sound fun at all

    • @katieandkevinsears7724
      @katieandkevinsears7724 3 года назад +2

      I'm a locomotive engineer. I've seen that happen. Colonel Stapp underestimated what that is really like.

    • @gaylonfuller3312
      @gaylonfuller3312 3 года назад +2

      Have you ever had 48g on you? I wouldn’t say he underestimated anything.

  • @raywrae
    @raywrae 3 года назад +9

    Dr. Stapp was the smartest man to do the stupidest of things in order to obtain more intelligence.
    that's a hero that deserves to be remembered.

  • @SoloPilot6
    @SoloPilot6 3 года назад +22

    Saving hundreds of thousands of lives -- AND CONTINUING to do so -- isn't a bad thing to be remembered for . . .

    • @jjphank
      @jjphank 3 года назад

      But actually it’s better to save hundreds of souls ! if you help an Old lady cross the street 1 million times & she Ends up going to hell for eternity, did you really do anything for her?
      It’s all about having a nice eternity Not a hot smoking one

  • @navret1707
    @navret1707 3 года назад +19

    Having been in naval aviation for over 20 years I was very happy to have access flight surgeons. They are a group apart from the rest.

  • @5roundsrapid263
    @5roundsrapid263 3 года назад +10

    Brings a whole new meaning to the old insult “Chair Force”! 😆

  • @charlesdavenport2543
    @charlesdavenport2543 3 года назад +73

    Rumor is that Stapp coined the phrase "hold my beer".

    • @dougjb7848
      @dougjb7848 3 года назад +8

      “Hold your beer? Why? What’re you going to OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?!”

    • @jerryfritz1338
      @jerryfritz1338 3 года назад +2

      Priceless!😂😂😂

    • @frankbarnwell____
      @frankbarnwell____ 3 года назад +8

      just until the 46g cupholder was rigged up.

    • @quillmaurer6563
      @quillmaurer6563 3 года назад +6

      I could envision him after a test, quite dazed but unharmed, when medics arrived to unstrap him and check him over, ask him how he feels, he responds "I need a beer." Would be the most well-deserved beer in history.

    • @josephkerkau2520
      @josephkerkau2520 3 года назад

      No, that was me!!!

  • @dirus3142
    @dirus3142 3 года назад +67

    When this things reaches 88.6 mph, your going to see some serious shit.

    • @josephkerkau2520
      @josephkerkau2520 3 года назад +3

      Ha ha

    • @richardmourdock2719
      @richardmourdock2719 3 года назад +7

      On behalf of the few of us who got the reference.. very well done. I needed a bit of humor today after shoveling snow this morning and getting a new battery for the vehicle........ and as the folks at JPL proved yesterday, "wheels? where we're going we don't need wheels."

    • @Arbiter099
      @Arbiter099 3 года назад +3

      Or, not, because of the blindness. Should only be temporary, probably

    • @davidcampbell4465
      @davidcampbell4465 3 года назад +7

      Only if they installed the flux capacitor...

    • @me3333
      @me3333 3 года назад +5

      Thank you, I was hoping that I wasn't the only one that thought of that

  • @TheQuickSilver101
    @TheQuickSilver101 3 года назад +14

    I've known about this fellow for years. I can't say that I've ever met anyone who was willing to subject himself to such physical punishment for the benefit of people he will never meet.

    • @1pcfred
      @1pcfred 3 года назад +3

      Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.

  • @Paladin1873
    @Paladin1873 3 года назад +18

    He was one of the great heroes of the Air Force research community.

    • @evensgrey
      @evensgrey 3 года назад +2

      And right up there with Werner Forssmann and Barry Marshall in terms of courageous medical research.

    • @Paladin1873
      @Paladin1873 3 года назад +5

      @@evensgrey Another noteworthy member of this fraternity is Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger II. Although a pilot, rather than research physician, he performed the very first extreme altitude experiments by riding balloons to altitudes eventually exceeding 100,000 ft and descending by free-fall at over 600 MPH before opening his parachute. This called for titanium cajones.

  • @LV_CRAZY
    @LV_CRAZY 3 года назад +27

    As I recall Volvo attended these first conferences and quickly adopted the 3 point safety belt. Wish every other manufacturer had adopted them back in the 1950's.

    • @1pcfred
      @1pcfred 3 года назад

      Auto fatalities keep the roads safer by taking the dangerous ones out of the game early.

  • @briangarrow448
    @briangarrow448 3 года назад +10

    One of the true heroes that are all too often forgotten by history! Thank you for sharing his story.

  • @chiefpontiac1800
    @chiefpontiac1800 3 года назад +10

    Colonel Stapp really "excelled" in his work. Another fine story HG!

    • @wrecktech
      @wrecktech 3 года назад +2

      That should be "accelerated"

    • @ObservingtheObvious
      @ObservingtheObvious 3 года назад

      @@wrecktech Is that accelerated studies?? 😄

    • @firstmkb
      @firstmkb 3 года назад

      He was a fast learner.

  • @SuperWooba
    @SuperWooba 3 года назад +35

    Stapp: "There are only two models, male and female, of the human body currently available, with no immediate prospects of a new design."
    21st Century: "Hold my beer."

    • @so-dan-bought-some-land
      @so-dan-bought-some-land 3 года назад +3

      LOL, ya as soon as I heard that I thought there going to cancel "the History Guy".

    • @samiam619
      @samiam619 3 года назад +7

      @@so-dan-bought-some-land First, HG didn’t say it. He only quoted Stapp. And second, Both are right. There are still only two versions, okay maybe 4 if you count young and old, male and female.

    • @sykessaul123
      @sykessaul123 2 года назад +1

      Technically 3 because of intersex peoples but I'd say they're less of a design and more of an... anomaly. Meaning absolutely no offense by that.

  • @pilgrimm23
    @pilgrimm23 3 года назад +9

    Thank you. I remember Col Stapp. My Dad was also at the Areo Med Lab at Wright Pat. As a kid I recall all sorts of people who came over to our house for diner. Later, Dad worked at Holloman AFB in New Mexico where they had the later rocket sled tracks after Edwards. I was amazed this data was available to researchers.. Well done

    • @justinblechinger6723
      @justinblechinger6723 3 года назад

      I could see the White Sands National Park. It’s pretty awesome that my grandpa did work with this man

    • @pilgrimm23
      @pilgrimm23 3 года назад

      @@justinblechinger6723 Sand Surfing was way COOL!

  • @PappaMike-vc1qv
    @PappaMike-vc1qv 3 года назад +55

    Interesting to ponder... Colonel Stapp and his engineers used pencil, paper, and slide rules to calculate all their data. A few moments of excitement followed by hours and hours of data crunching by geniuses with pencils.

    • @FYMASMD
      @FYMASMD 11 месяцев назад

      One of the funnest days of my fathers career was when the computers went down while his team was working up a business proposal. He thoroughly enjoyed showing the “young guys” how to work the numbers up using pencil and paper and a slide rule. Dad was through and through a numbers guy.😎

    • @dubbro
      @dubbro 10 месяцев назад

      That is indeed a military axiom: "long periods of boredom interrupted by short moments of pure terror."

  • @flagmichael
    @flagmichael 3 года назад +4

    In 1965 an English assignment was an account of Stapp's extreme deceleration rocket sled ride. It asserted that when Stapp regained his wits and realized he was blind he assumed his optic nerves had been overstressed and had snapped; he was greatly relieved when his vision started returning.

    • @firstmkb
      @firstmkb 3 года назад

      flagmichael I was guessing detached retinas. I can't imagine what that was like. Or more honestly, don't want to.

  • @utubejdaniel8888
    @utubejdaniel8888 3 года назад +10

    Wow! This is the best summary of Dr. Stapp yet. As an alum of the HHSTT, I can attest to the accomplishments of the good doctor. The paved roads on either side of the Holloman track are named East Stapp and West Stapp roads. Per Murphy's Law, Stapp was famous for his pithy sayings and poems. He wrote a small book of these entitled "For your moments of inertia" . Engineers will get the pun right away. Thanks.

    • @orangelion03
      @orangelion03 3 года назад +1

      Hi! When were you at HHSTT? Worked for McDonnell-Douglas Escape Systems between 1988 and 1993. Tested equipment on the track three times.

    • @utubejdaniel8888
      @utubejdaniel8888 3 года назад +1

      @@orangelion03 2002 thru 2015. Ah, ACES II seats, sturdy and reliable.

    • @johnp139
      @johnp139 3 года назад

      Hey Jim, it’s been a long time.

    • @greggravitas5849
      @greggravitas5849 3 года назад

      Were there any Stapp signs on those roads?

    • @utubejdaniel8888
      @utubejdaniel8888 3 года назад

      @@greggravitas5849 Oddly, no.

  • @stefanschleps8758
    @stefanschleps8758 3 года назад +1

    Stapp is a true unsung American hero. Thanks for shining a light on this extraordinary mans contributions History Guy.
    Peace.

  • @stevedietrich8936
    @stevedietrich8936 3 года назад +34

    THG rocks! Big props to all those who risked their lives pushing the envelope in an effort to make lives safer for others.

  • @LordFalconsword
    @LordFalconsword 3 года назад +14

    I use data Stapp developed on human G-tolerances in the military sci-fi that I write. I occasionally get called out that a pilot couldn't survive a hit inducing 20Gs to the vessel, and merely post links to Colonel Stapp's record as my answer. :)

    • @The_Stumbler
      @The_Stumbler 2 года назад

      "Uhhh it's a max of 9 Gs"
      It's a constant of 9 Gs with a for now known 45ish Gs.

  • @JimFikes
    @JimFikes 3 года назад +12

    Thanks for another great episode. I read Craig Ryan's biography of John Stapp, "Sonic Wind" (2015) a few years ago. Now, I think about him almost every day when I buckle my seatbelts. This is an amazing story -- and your episode today does a great job of telling us why Stapp is so important to us all.

    • @tomjustis7237
      @tomjustis7237 3 года назад +1

      Thanks for the tip. I'll be looking for that book!

    • @mattbnez
      @mattbnez 3 года назад +1

      He was on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life is where I 1st found out about him. Got to read his biography. Thank you for the tip.

  • @Aengus42
    @Aengus42 3 года назад +2

    Stapp's been one of my all time heroes since I read of the Sonic Wind tests as a kid.
    Thanks for getting his story out there. His bravery whilst saving lives instead of taking them really does deserve to be remembered!
    I know that all R.A.F. passenger seats face rearward after his experiments. It always amazes me that commercial aircraft, trains & buses have front facing seats. Think of the lives we could save by simply turning around the seats!
    We can take shock load G way better facing backwards.

  • @seatedliberty
    @seatedliberty 3 года назад +11

    A man whose most important work contributions came after he was fired.

  • @pamelamays4186
    @pamelamays4186 3 года назад +13

    Stapp unknowingly inspired many theme park thrill rides.🎢

    • @tenhirankei
      @tenhirankei 3 года назад +5

      Actually made them safer than they were.

    • @RCAvhstape
      @RCAvhstape 3 года назад +4

      His work is probably responsible for those brace things that come down over your shoulders to hold you in place on many roller coasters. The lap bar on old wooden coasters is far less effective.

    • @tenhirankei
      @tenhirankei 3 года назад

      @@RCAvhstape I hear ya!

  • @hackweezy
    @hackweezy 3 года назад +20

    Phenomenal episode, sir! The fact that a man was willing to die in the pursuit of knowledge and saving lives truly is remarkable.

  • @RoaroftheTiger
    @RoaroftheTiger 3 года назад +14

    I recall a TV series, starring George Nader, called, " The Man & the Challenge". The Opening Credits - showed a Rocket Sled, in action. Obviously, It made quite an impression !

    • @Doc_Tar
      @Doc_Tar 3 года назад

      I'm just glad it didn't make an impact.

    • @craigwall9536
      @craigwall9536 3 года назад +1

      You're not the only one. A week after seeing that opening, I had already built a working model sled track using rubber bands to stand in for the RATO bottles... I was thinking about how to build the water trough decell termination when we had to move and it got left behind...

    • @SoloPilot6
      @SoloPilot6 3 года назад +1

      I had forgotten that for 50 years, until just now.

    • @PlanetEarth3141
      @PlanetEarth3141 3 года назад

      A shot of the rocket sled and Stapp are also in the introduction of each episode of the show Star Trek: Enterprise. A lot of historical footage is included: Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager, Neil Armstrong, the Wright Brothers, etc.

    • @marymarysmarket3508
      @marymarysmarket3508 3 года назад

      I believe he was a contestant on the You Bet Your Life show in the 50's w Groucho Marx.

  • @williamglaser6577
    @williamglaser6577 3 года назад +36

    The full Murphy's law states " Anything that can go wrong , will, at the worst time and in the worst way possible."

    • @terryboyer1342
      @terryboyer1342 3 года назад +4

      william glaser Murphy was an optimist.

    • @shawnr771
      @shawnr771 3 года назад +2

      Murphy was a Grunt.

    • @williamglaser6577
      @williamglaser6577 3 года назад +1

      @Albert Clarke Do tell ? And what is the full version ?

    • @md_vandenberg
      @md_vandenberg 3 года назад

      @@williamglaser6577 Don't you just love people like Clarke? "Well actually..." they begin and then disappear.

    • @williamglaser6577
      @williamglaser6577 3 года назад

      @@md_vandenberg Yes, they are saying I have secret knowledge and am superior to you. Very frustrating wind bags.

  • @cdstoc
    @cdstoc 3 года назад +3

    I first read about Colonel Stapp when I was kid in the 1960's. He's been one of my heroes ever since. What an amazing, selfless man.

  • @cudwieser3952
    @cudwieser3952 3 года назад +69

    Stapp is wider known than you think. From adrenaline junkies, to physicists, to engineers and doctors he's a well known name for being the first Crash Test Dummie. We have him to thank for road safety testing as well as the science of health and safety in general for if he wasn't a willing participant we'd be years behind in what we know.

    • @billd.iniowa2263
      @billd.iniowa2263 3 года назад +3

      Do you suppose all the new driver-less cars of the future will have backwards facing seats?

    • @cudwieser3952
      @cudwieser3952 3 года назад +7

      @@billd.iniowa2263 Not necessarily given that if we all were in driverless cars the supposed safety measures would make passenger orientation inconsequencial, or so the initial plans go. That said a lot of autonomous vehicle designs show an open cabin with movable seatings so it's possible. The only problem with rear facing seating is travel sickness and disorientation. On larger vehicles where it's movement isn't alway apparent it wouldn't be an issue, but in smaller vehicles like cars it would be as we tend to want to see where we're going.

    • @billd.iniowa2263
      @billd.iniowa2263 3 года назад +4

      @@cudwieser3952 Well you know the insurance companies will push for it. And there HAS been at least one accident that I know of. Then there's always mechanical breakdown which may cause accidents. As for motion sickness, they could replace the windows with TV screens. Showing whats ahead. Or Sponge Bob, lol. I doubt I'll ever see an all automated automobile society. At least I hope I dont. -- Remember Muscle Cars? Sigh...

    • @cudwieser3952
      @cudwieser3952 3 года назад +3

      @@billd.iniowa2263 Insurance companies always look to keep your money. As for breakdowns the biggest bollox won't be during travel per se as anything out of 'parameter' will see the car pull off and refuse to start. maintence is the biggest issue and the fight that'll cause. at least with muscle cars you could 'coax' it until it kicked your ass.

    • @ajg617
      @ajg617 3 года назад +7

      If you flew on Southwest in the 1990s, a number of their early 737s had some rear facing seats. Tried them a couple of times. Not bad. Take-off was the worst part. No matter how tight the seat belt was, felt like I would slide off the leather seats. Their layout wasn't the best because you were facing the next row of people but plenty of leg room. Interesting rides.

  • @thanksfernuthin
    @thanksfernuthin 3 года назад +41

    We stand on the shoulders of giants. (Of course, so did he.)

  • @LymanPhillips
    @LymanPhillips 3 года назад +14

    As a child, I had an encyclopedia and science set that had Dr. stapp's famous photos in it. I would frequently look at the photos and wonder what was happening to him. I was too young to understand G forces. Amazing.

    • @flouisbailey
      @flouisbailey 3 года назад +5

      Me to, encyclopedias were very cool, A-Z and that’s not AmaZon

  • @davefost
    @davefost 3 года назад +1

    Terrific episode! One of the drivers for his desire to be his own guinea pig was his exposure to Luftwaffe papers from WWII which used human subjects in concentration camps for experiments even in cases where survival was essentially impossible. While the data from those papers doubtless saved lives, he was appalled by how it was obtained. We have him to thank for our safety measures in automobiles (like seat belts and air bags) and can appreciate his devotion to high ethical standards. Truly a giant.

  • @navret1707
    @navret1707 3 года назад +54

    Murphy’s Law expanded: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong at such a time as to cause the most amount of problems in the least possible time.”

    • @edwardsadler7515
      @edwardsadler7515 3 года назад +5

      Perhaps explained in mathematical terms as "Desirability is inversely proportional to probability"?

    • @rcknbob1
      @rcknbob1 3 года назад +10

      @@edwardsadler7515 Or in physics: "The perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum"? Otherwise known as the Second Law of Thermogoddamics.

    • @edwardsadler7515
      @edwardsadler7515 3 года назад +1

      @@rcknbob1 Indeed! Flanders & Swan agreed with you - ruclips.net/video/VnbiVw_1FNs/видео.html

    • @Wreckerboy
      @Wreckerboy 3 года назад +1

      And the little known corollary: “Murphy was a freaking optimist.”

    • @jamessimms415
      @jamessimms415 3 года назад

      Then there are Murphy’s Laws & Corollaries of Combat......

  • @aussiemal5295
    @aussiemal5295 3 года назад +3

    Remind me of Doddy Hay and his book "Man in the Hot Seat. Doddy Hay was a "test pilot" for Martin Baker ejection seats.

  • @michealoflaherty1265
    @michealoflaherty1265 3 года назад +30

    Dr Stapp ignored the Hippocratic oath
    "First do no harm" to yourself 😊

    • @tenhirankei
      @tenhirankei 3 года назад +2

      I think that applied to others - not the doctor or physician himself! Another doctor that did so - Dt. Jekyll.

    • @quillmaurer6563
      @quillmaurer6563 3 года назад +9

      I would interpret the Hippocratic Oath as being in regards to others, which is part of why he did these experiments himself - morally and ethically he wouldn't have been okay with subjecting others to these dangerous tests, thus did them himself.

  • @change_your_oil_regularly4287
    @change_your_oil_regularly4287 3 года назад +2

    I've said it a thousand times but I'll say it again.
    I really enjoy your work!
    Thank you 👍

  • @goldgeologist5320
    @goldgeologist5320 3 года назад +7

    Bless this man we owe him so much.

  • @JimGobetz
    @JimGobetz 3 года назад

    One of the great episodes. Thank you

  • @josephkerkau2520
    @josephkerkau2520 3 года назад

    I really appreciate your notes on history. Keep them coming I enjoy them greatly and find them to be very informative and Inspiring. Once again, thank you.

  • @orangelion03
    @orangelion03 3 года назад +4

    As to be expected from THG, excellent bio!
    Colonel Stapp is one of my personal heroes. As a child, I was fascinated by the stories, photos, and films of his experiments. This led to an interest in ejection seats and escape systems. I became an engineer (one of my professors had worked for Coleman Engineering in the 50s and worked on building sled tracks and test vehicles and had worked with Col Stapp, further inspiring me), and in the late 80s I realized my dream to work in this field. I was a test engineer with McDonnell-Douglas Escape Systems division in Long Beach Ca from 1988 to 1993, working at HHSTT as well as Hurricane Mesa and China Lake on various programs. A highlight was getting to sit on Sonic Wind, on display at the Alamorgordo Space Museum. A company reorganization required the escape group move to St Luis, and I transferred to the C-17 flight test program. Still consider that time the highlight, the most exciting anf fun part, of my career.

  • @JDnBeastlet
    @JDnBeastlet 3 года назад

    An excellent video on a subject I knew very little about. Again. And again, and again, and again. THG, you're awesome.

  • @scotto9591
    @scotto9591 3 года назад +1

    I never cease to be amazed about the stories you bring us History Guy
    Col. Dr. Stapp, thank you wherever you are.

  • @farmerbob728
    @farmerbob728 Год назад

    Just wanted to thank you for the many hours of listening. I work long nights driving a tractor trailer. Listening to your videos make my time go by much quicker. It gives me an appreciation of one person do with their life. Some people call it the ripple affect.

  • @david_1214
    @david_1214 3 года назад

    A great story of a great guy. Thanks for posting this.

  • @crazyivan779
    @crazyivan779 3 года назад

    Loved this! Thank you!

  • @bobp5356
    @bobp5356 9 месяцев назад

    Awesome episode. He is certainly a man worth remembering. Thank you for bringing this to us.

  • @davidreed3359
    @davidreed3359 3 года назад

    Fantastic episode as always.

  • @GrumpyPop
    @GrumpyPop 3 года назад

    I really enjoy your videos.
    Thanks for being one of the few RUclipsrs able to admit to making an error.
    You’re the BEST !!

  • @SSmith-fm9kg
    @SSmith-fm9kg 9 месяцев назад +1

    Always great to watch your videos.

  • @party4keeps28
    @party4keeps28 3 года назад

    As always, very well done. Thank you, History Guy :-)

  • @b_uppy
    @b_uppy 3 года назад +1

    Utterly amazing story. Thank you for your research, THG, Stapp. World is a better place for knowing.

  • @psjz
    @psjz 3 года назад +5

    Amazing! We owe so much to this man!

  • @frankgulla2335
    @frankgulla2335 3 года назад +1

    Thank you, History Guy. We need to know about these people.

  • @Tmrfe0962
    @Tmrfe0962 3 года назад +4

    Colonel Stapp. We salute you,Sir. Your sacrifice and commitment to a higher calling, has helped save countless lives. Our great nation is in debt to men and women of such stature. We are a better country from your like. Thank you History guy...as always for bringing to light the accomplishments of our unsung hero’s.

  • @prsearls
    @prsearls 3 года назад +2

    I remember those tests and magazine photos (probably in LIFE magazine). His heroic, scientific experiments made major contributions most of the public will never know or appreciate. Thanks for covering Col. Stapp. The 1950's were a very exciting time for aviation and the future space program.

  • @rnedlo9909
    @rnedlo9909 3 года назад +11

    It is so easy to take for granted what we have/know today. If it weren't for people like DR Stapp everyone of us would be 'test dummies'' all too often.

  • @timsd0nahue
    @timsd0nahue Год назад

    Outstanding content. Thank you.

  • @howardthompson9522
    @howardthompson9522 3 года назад

    Outstanding! Amazing to think of how all of our lives have been improved by the life's work of one man, most of us could not name.

  • @KillTheMagician
    @KillTheMagician 3 года назад

    Really good video! I love these videos reflecting on some of the lesser known figures of history

  • @nickgooday7142
    @nickgooday7142 3 года назад

    Thank you History Guy . . For making my day alot better off. To have known what has happened in the past will make our future all better for it. 👍from New Zealand.

  • @rh5971
    @rh5971 3 года назад

    I knew of him before but what an awesome excellent presentation. Thank you History Guy!

  • @chascain1
    @chascain1 3 года назад

    Great episode sir!

  • @ajstephen3977
    @ajstephen3977 3 года назад

    Bravo, that was truly amazing.

  • @drats1279
    @drats1279 2 года назад

    I have attended several Stapp Car Crash Conferences and plan to be in Denver Colorado for this year's conference. I had the pleasure of meeting the man several years ago and marveled at his knowledge and accomplishments. Your video was superb and very respectful of Doctor Stapp. thank you

  • @Scottocaster6668
    @Scottocaster6668 3 года назад +6

    Wow, some people just have it in them.
    My palms were sweaty just watching the ejection footage. Now, there's a hero for you, Mr.Stapp👍.

  • @datasailor8132
    @datasailor8132 3 года назад +25

    Corollary to Murphy’s Law: Murphy was an optimist.
    I heard that somewhere.

    • @TheHistoryGuyChannel
      @TheHistoryGuyChannel  3 года назад +13

      Murphy wouldn’t approve...

    • @tyroberts2261
      @tyroberts2261 3 года назад +3

      I heard he came up with the observation shortly after marrying Mrs. Murphy. ; ).

  • @terrystewart2034
    @terrystewart2034 3 года назад

    Excellently done!

  • @Lee-mx5li
    @Lee-mx5li 11 месяцев назад

    Wow! Wow!! What a true legend.. RIP (and Thank You for your contributions!!)

  • @AaronSpielman
    @AaronSpielman 3 года назад

    This one is the best one yet, I think. I really did enjoy it.

  • @richardgarowski.5161
    @richardgarowski.5161 3 года назад +3

    The History Guy never fails to amaze !

  • @Russia-bullies
    @Russia-bullies 3 года назад

    Thanks for the informative show.

  • @InfamousGUNN
    @InfamousGUNN 3 года назад +1

    Thank you very much this was very well done informative and entertaining now that’s a man!

  • @MicaRayan
    @MicaRayan 3 года назад

    Fascinating... good deeds go a long way... no matter what. Brilliant article there is

  • @isaacruddell7940
    @isaacruddell7940 Год назад

    Amazing! Thank you

  • @wendychavez5348
    @wendychavez5348 3 года назад

    Always happy to hear The History Guy talk about New Mexico! I attended my last 3 years of college just a few miles from Holloman AFB, at Eastern New Mexico University.

  • @johnneyhart6633
    @johnneyhart6633 3 года назад +2

    Just enjoyed your episode on the Rocket Sled which was tested on Muroc Dry Lake. That real estate was purchased from the Corum brothers, Ralph and Clifford, who had named Muroc Dry Lake as a reversal of their last name.

  • @davidwallace5738
    @davidwallace5738 3 года назад

    Wonderful history lesson. What a great man. Thank you sir.

  • @fire304
    @fire304 3 года назад

    Another one hit of the park! Keep up the good work THG

  • @tkin25
    @tkin25 3 года назад

    great explanation, I enjoy it alot! keep it up man

  • @YouAllKnowBob
    @YouAllKnowBob 3 года назад

    Excellent episode.

  • @sunzero1
    @sunzero1 3 года назад

    Hell of an ad read Mr.History Guy. Truly it was one of the best ad reads for NordVPN I've ever seen.

  • @wadefarris308
    @wadefarris308 3 года назад +1

    Another awesome video.
    Stapp was truly an amazing man.

  • @terryboehler5752
    @terryboehler5752 10 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you so much. His story needed to be told in this format. His book, Sonic Wind, is available.

  • @theccieguy
    @theccieguy 10 месяцев назад

    Medal of Honor material here. 👏 Risking his life so that others may live. Saving 100k+ people from death, that is awesome.

  • @franknicholson6108
    @franknicholson6108 3 года назад

    Interesting as usual. I liked the cross over from the Air Force to the seat belts in cars. A very colorful person. Thanks.

  • @thedungeondelver
    @thedungeondelver 3 года назад +1

    You are in absolutely amazing voice today sir!

  • @cpnscarlet
    @cpnscarlet 3 года назад

    When I saw the title of this video, I knew it was time to get a dish of ice cream, relax, and enjoy Lance's spin on this great man's life and work. What a guy!