The force of a 32 oz. bottle of sports drink falling 10 stories?
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Well, I almost found that out last night. I was riding a CaBi bike on Crystal Drive, in the southern end. (Some call it Potomac Yards-Arlington.) As I passed by the Concord apartment building, I heard a loud sound behind me. I turned and saw a sports drink bottle bouncing around on the road. Judging from how loud it hit the road, the fact that there were no walls nearby from which it could have fallen, and the fact that I was not carrying any bottles, I can only assume that someone threw it from one of the balconies of the Concord building in an attempt to hit me.
So I am wondering what the force calculation is of a 32 oz. bottle, about 80% full, falling from an estimated height of 10 stories, then smacking me on the head? Whatever the precise number, I assume that the potential for injury would be very high. The bottle landed about 10 feet behind me. I was on the slow CaBi bike, not racing anywhere. I was probably riding at about 8-10 mph.
After I figured out what probably happened, I looked up at the balconies. I couldn’t see any lights on or any parties going on. People wouldn’t be carrying around sports drink/Gatorade during a party anyway. Some coward was trying to play target practice from 10 (11, 12?) stories up. If it had hit my head, it’s safe to say that I could have suffered a concussion. Maybe even a sprained or broken neck.
I saw a security guard out in front of the government building across the street. I rode back to him and told him what had happened, just for information purposes. I looked up at the balconies again to see if the thug peeked out again. Not seeing anything and having no idea of which floor, I continued north on Crystal Drive. I passed by another cyclist who was heading south. I shouted out that someone had just tried to hit me with a bottle from one of the balconies. He asked which building. When I told him it was the Concord, he said he lived there. He was upset and went ahead to talk to someone in the building. I doubt they would be able to track the thug down, but at least they are on notice.
I wrote a message to the Concord through their website, explaining what had happened. I also reported the incident to the non-emergency unit of the Arlington police. I didn’t expect them to do much since I had no description of the thug or the floor. But I thought it would be good for the police to have a record of the incident because I think it’s likely that this person will strike again. It’s pretty brazen to do something like that. I don’t think it was an accident either, based on how far away the bottle landed from the building, and how close it came to hitting me as I was riding.
I’m posting here so that others are aware of a potential indirect attacker at the Concord building. Maybe the person is a resident. Maybe the person was a guest. I have no idea. I only know that the person tried to nail me in the head from 10 stories or more. People with this disregard for others tend not to limit themselves to just one incident.
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Now, Do I have to look up while riding my bike? I really need more than 2 eyes.
Life is tough sometimes.
@brendan 5214 wrote:
Gnats.
Brendan
I’m all in favor of pressuring government officials to start breeding and releasing copious amounts of bats in our area to eat all of the gnats. I understand bats eat mosquitoes too so we can get a 2-for-1 deal.
Of course the bat idea would have to be abandoned if they eat fireflies. You simply gotta love a bug that comes with its own blinky
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