Nowadays in the UK this is called "tombstoning" and several people a year die trying it. 5 last year, according to this (pro) article. Probably the kids you saw knew what they were doing, though.

I used to pick on a supervisor I had a few years ago when he broke his first bone at the age of 32. I felt like a person couldn't have had all that much fun as a kid if they didn't experience at least one broken bone. I myself have had six confirmed by a doctor. LOL

I told my wife once in a conversation (I was 30 at the time)that I never broke a bone in my life.



About a week later


BANG, CRASH !!!

Motorcycle accident. Lots of broke bones (and skin removed by abrasion by a stone road.) A guy pulled out in front of me while I was on my way to work at a nuke plant.

I broke both knees, right wrist, left foot, left ankle, and shattered my left shoulder socket in 3 spots. And a concussion.

Plus it totaled a good motorcycle and the hospital people cut up a very nice leather jacket.



I don’t say things like “I never had (fill in the blank) happen to me. I learned my lesson to not get the guy upstairs upset with me and then decide to teach me a lesson. It’s been almost 20-years since the accident and I’m reminded of it every d

I was around 40 when I broke my first bone (skiing).

One thing that strikes me about my childhood is that although I avoided injury myself, I hung out with out kids who did get injured and did the same kind of stuff. For example, I played with home-made fireworks, and with steam-engines fuelled with meths. My friend gave himself serious burns playing with meths. I like to think I am smarter than him, but I don't know if I was just lucky. (I wasn't present and didn't contribute to his accident. It was apparently made worse by his panic reaction.)

I have only broken two bones in my life. Actually only one, but broke it twice. Left little toe. I suspect that I have super strong bones or something. A couple of years ago I was dragging a RR tie by one end, walking backwards. I tripped, fell backwards, the end of the tie came down on my right shin, ripped all flesh from the leg, down to the bone, a strip about 1.5" wide and 15" long. I would have expected a compound fracture. Neat scar tho...

I'll chime in here, with a bit of a cranky old(ish) guy perspective on that. Each generation claims that the "kids today" are lazy, shiftless, dishonest, don't work as hard...blah blah.

All I can say is that my experience with the Junior Firefightrers is, at best, disheartening. They can't finish anything they start. At all.