Bob Engelhardt wrote:
cavelamb wrote:
This guy used a small inflatable swimming pool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa49hli94Vs

Aaamazing! At first I thought "No way!", but there's another video
showing more prep-equipment, so I believe.

Thanks for the link (the YouTube signal/noise is way too low for me to
browse it).

Bob

You were right the first time, Bob.

Turns out the official recipe for fun and the way to create an Internet
sensation are the same: Start with a megacorporation, add in a group of Germans
on a hillside, liberally take advantage of slick editing software and let the
power of the Web do its thing.

If you spend any time online, have a TV or know anyone who does, you've probably
heard about the latest craze blasting its way through cyberspace. In case you
haven't, a recap: A guy in a neoprene suit goes barreling down a waterslide,
flies off the end and through the air, traveling a great distance, and splashes
down in a tiny pool. It's the MegaWoosh. See?

MEGAWOOSH @ Yahoo! Video

Please understand. This is a hoax. It didn't happen. Ultimately, it's an ad for
Microsoft Germany. Still, it is awfully clever. Heck, some commentators out
there on the Net are suggesting it could be one of the greatest fakes in the
history of the World Wide Web.

One big question is whether this will help to reposition Microsoft as a force to
be reckoned with in the collective mind of the world's tech-obsessed masses. For
the better part of this decade to date, that's been pretty much dominated by
Apple. You know, the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, etc. What, you think those "I'm
a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials just happened one day by accident?

How this excellent production came together can be boiled down to something like
this -- a stuntman starts down the slide, but a rope keeps him from going too
far, the thing that's airborne isn't a person, but is instead animation, and the
principal character ended up in the pool by dropping off a small ramp. Piece it
seamlessly together, and there you go.

According to NewTeeVee, a marketing firm that deals with viral ads was signed up
to get the video on to a few dozen Web sites. The agency claimed it was planning
for the spot to stay in Germany, but c'mon, this is the Internet we're talking
about here. With social networking having effectively taken over the known
universe and serving as our sole means of communication with other humans, there
was no chance this thing was seriously going to remain confined to one nation in
Western Europe. (Did they really want it to? Really?)

This story is only a few days old, and it's captivated millions of viewers. News
outlets are spreading the word. Type the word "megawoosh" into Yahoo's search
engine and you will get about 270,000 hits. Believers in the stunt are crying
foul at those who would insist it's as phony as the moon landing. Wait, bad
example. You know what I mean, though.

Now stop wasting time, and go watch the trick again.