The human cannonball act is a performance in which a person who acts as the "cannonball" is ejected from a specially designed cannon. The human cannonball lands on a horizontal net or inflated bag placed at the landing point, as predicted by physics. Outdoor performances may aim at a body of water.

History

The first "human" cannonball, launched in 1877 at the

Royal Aquarium The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden was a place of amusement in Westminster, London. It opened in 1876, and the building was demolished in 1903. The attraction was located northwest of Westminster Abbey on Tothill Street. The building was design ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, was a 17-year-old girl called "Zazel", whose real name was

Rossa Matilda Richter Rossa Matilda Richter (7 April 1860–8 December 1937), who used the stage name Zazel, was an English aerialist and actor who became known as the first human cannonball at the age of 17. She began performing at a very young age, practicing aeria ...

. She was launched by a spring-style cannon invented by the Canadian

William Leonard Hunt William Leonard Hunt (June 10, 1838 – January 17, 1929), also known by the stage name The Great Farini, was a well-known nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canadian funambulist, entertainment promoter and inventor, as well as the first kn ...

("The Great Farini"). She later toured with the P.T. Barnum Circus. Farini's cannon used rubber springs to launch a person from the cannon, limiting the distance they could be launched. Richter's career as a human cannonball ended when she broke her back during an unrelated

tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

act. In the 1920s, Ildebrando Zacchini invented a cannon that used compressed air to launch a human cannonball. Zacchini shot his son

Hugo Zacchini Hugo Zacchini (20 October 1898 – 20 October 1975), one of the Zacchini Brothers, was the first human cannonball to use a compressed-air cannon. His father Ildebrando Zacchini invented the compressed-air cannon used to propel humans in cir ...

out of the compressed air cannon. Members of the Zacchini family were later inducted into the

Ringling Brothers The Ringling brothers (originally Rüngling) were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers ...

Circus Hall of Fame.

World record

There is a claim that the current world record for the longest human cannonball flight is , established by David "The Bullet" Smith Jr. on the set of ''Lo Show dei Record'', in Milan, Italy, on March 10, 2011. The distance was measured from the mouth of the cannon to the farthest point reached on the net. Smith was launched by an 8 m (26' 3") long cannon. It was estimated that he traveled at a speed of 120 km/h (74.6 mph), reaching a maximum altitude of 23 m (75' 6"). There is, however, a contradictory claim that Smith's father, David "Cannonball" Smith Sr., set a record of , on August 31, 2002, at The Steele County Free Fair, in

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna () is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair i ...

. It is estimated that Smith Sr. traveled at over during the flight.

Recently

Circus performer

Bello Nock Bello Nock (born September 27, 1968), often known simply as Bello, is an American daredevil clown and circus performer. Nock has been listed in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' for his highwire walk over a cruise ship. He has performed s ...

performed a human cannonball stunt involving him flying over the main rotor of a helicopter during the ninth episode of the twelfth season of ''America’s Got Talent''.

Cannon

The impetus in the cannon is provided either by a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

or jet of

compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and o ...

. This makes the device work more like a

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

, where the cylinder propelling the human stops at the mouth of the cannon. Some cannons utilize

nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

, specifically the dinitrate

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...

, cellulose dinitrate (pyroxylin). In a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

performance, gunpowder may be used to provide visual and auditory effects unrelated to the launching mechanism. Fireworks and smoke may also be used to increase the visual effect. The largest retailer of these human cannons is located in

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...

. This supplier provides approximately 80% of all human cannon catapults.

Risk

More than 30 human cannonballs have died during the performance of this stunt. Among the latest was that which occurred in Kent, United Kingdom on April 25, 2011, where a human cannonball died as a result of the failure of the safety net. Landing is considered to be the most dangerous aspect of the act.

Special forces

The human cannonball principle is the subject of a patent application by the US

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...

, whereby a rail-guided chair driven by compressed air is brought to a sudden stop, propelling the special forces member, police officer or firefighter onto the roof of a tall building.

References

External links

The Human Cannonball in Action (video)

BBC News article on being a human cannonball

BBC News article on a female human cannonball

Human Cannonball (song by Loudon Wainwright III)
{{Circus skills Circus skills Shooting sports