Are You A Daredevil? Great, But Would You Jump Off A 50-Foot Cliff?
I must admit, I did some stupid things in my younger days. Like the day we high school seniors skipped afternoon classes to jump off a local bridge into the river below. Sure, it was lots of fun. We all got a big adrenaline rush from it. Looking back, we weren’t too bright. Thankfully, no one was injured, and we all lived to talk about it. Unfortunately, that is not the case for one Ohio man who went cliff diving at Lake Powell last week.
36-Year-Old Ohio Man Goes Cliff Diving Off 50-Foot Ledge
I saw this story on KTNV.com. 36-year-old Cory Ryan Ehrnschwender of Ohio is the man who went cliff diving at Lake Powell last week and never resurfaced. According Jarah Wright’s article, witnesses saw him jump off a cliff about 50-feet high. Basically, that’s equivalent to jumping off a 5-story building. Even if you’re jumping into water, that’s still very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.
As has been noted, Ehrnschwender never resurfaced. In any event, his body was not found until the following day. Per Wright’s article, the Utah Department of Public Safety Dive Team began a search. The cliff diving victim was located Friday, July 21st, in about 30 feet of water.
Do You Have The “Daredevil Gene”?
This sad story got me to thinking about the crazy stuff we do as kids and young adults. Some of us continue to be daredevils into middle age. Evidently, these types of folks are thrill-seekers. Apparently, they love the adrenaline rush. I would assume it makes them feel more alive. I think I lost that “daredevil gene” back in my late 20’s if I ever had it at all.
With this in mind, a web search for the “daredevil gene” produced a bunch of articles from about ten years ago. Not only are there research studies into the genetics of being a daredevil, but also into behaviors such as gambling and drug addiction.
A NYTimes.com archived article describes a study done in Canada. Gretchen Reynolds’ article points to a study done by Cynthia Thomson at the University of British Columbia. Her findings point to a variant in the DRD4 gene. To sum up, the daredevil gene has much to do with dopamine receptors in our brains.
With this purpose in mind, there will be more research conducted regarding this type of behavior. In the meantime, I’ll stick to floating around in a pool instead of jumping off a roof into five or six feet of water.
