14 DAY TRIAL // I'm sure that every one of you asked themselves at one point or another what the best way to survive a free-falling elevator is. Well, perhaps not, but you're thinking it now, and the answer will definitely surprise you.
According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Biomedical Engineering research engineer Eliot H. Frank, the optimal solution to surviving such a scenario is to lie on your back on the elevator floor, as flat as humanly possible.
This will ensure that the entire force of the impact is evenly distributed across the surface of your body, so that no part has to bear the weight of any other. At high accelerations (Gs), your head may simply weigh too much for your neck to handle, which means a quick and decisive snap.
Jumping up – a commonly proposed alternative – will only work if you know the exact moment of impact, as well as the exact speed at which the elevator is falling, and manage to match the two with your jump. This is highly unlikely, unless you're an exquisitely trained ninja with a keen sixth sense.