Fact Check

Megawoosh Water Slide

A video clip seemingly shows a man shooting down a waterslide, flying off a ramp, and landing in a small wading pool far away.

Published Aug. 12, 2009

Claim:
A video clip shows a man shooting down a waterslide, flying off a ramp, and landing in a small wading pool far away.

Origin

A video clip of a man (engineer Bruno Kammerl) in a neoprene suit shooting down a waterslide, flying off a ramp, traveling an amazingly long distance, and landing smack in the middle of a tiny wading pool hit the Internet in August 2009:

This clip not a visual recording of a real event, but rather a viral advertisement for Microsoft Germany accomplished through a combination of video editing techniques as explained at NewTeeVee.com:

It's a case of creative compositing, meaning that the clip we get to see is based on multiple elements that were combined together to create a final video. A stuntman slides down the slide, secured by a rope. Then there's a body flying through the air, which is animated. And finally, the big splash. "He actually jumped from a wooden ramp into the pool," explained [Maik] Koenigs. Of course, you don’t get to see any of this in the final clip, thanks to careful editing that makes it look like a single take.

A clip from a portion of the shoot shows a stuntman going partway down the slide for the initial segment of the video:

Sources

Nichols, Chris.   "Microsoft's Marketing Stunt Goes Viral."     Yahoo Finance!.   13 August 2009.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

Article Tags