World Jump Day

The folks at World Jump Day plan to shift the orbit of planet Earth in order to "stop global warming, extend daytime hours and create a more homogenous climate." They'll achieve this by having 600 million people jump up in the air at the same time on July 20, 2006. And they're looking for jumpers! This, of course, recalls the old idea that "If all Chinese jumped at once, cataclysm would result." This has been debunked by The Straight Dope, which points out that the force generated by one billion Chinese people jumping up in the air at the same time would only be equivalent to about 500 tons of TNT. In other words, not that much. However, I don't think the creators of World Jump Day intend for anyone to take their idea that seriously. The site is registered to a German artist, Torsten Lauschmann. According to his web bio Lauschmann: celebrates glitches, and out-takes, bits in between and images that might be easy to ignore. Lauschmann is currently on a Trans European busking tour under the guise of Slender Whiteman where he will launch his solar powered dub system. He lives and works in Glasgow. Lauschmann also appears to be a member of a German art group called Vene Hammerschlag, which has also hosted World Jump Day on its site. In other words, World Jump Day appears to be some kind of art project hoax.

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