In 1999, skydiver Joan Murray’s parachute malfunctioned, causing her to fall 14,500 feet. Her backup parachute opened at 700 feet, but it quickly deflated and she continued to plummet towards the ground at 80 miles per hour. Miraculously, Murray survived the fall thanks to the fact that she landed directly onto a mound of fire ants. Doctors believe that the intense shock of being stung over 200 times by the ants released a surge of adrenaline which kept her heart beating. | thescaryfact

27K views · 46 reactions | Australian literary giant and poet Les Murray has died at the age of 80. We're paying tribute to the Bard of Bunyah with this 1997 interview from the ABC archive, where he discussed his award-winning collection Subhuman Redneck Poems. #RewindABC | ABC Arts | Facebook