Can an Umbrella Really Slow You Down When Falling From the Sky? This Guy Tried and Filmed It

Mary Poppins can do it, so why can't extreme sportsman Erik Roner?

Sponsored by GoPro -- the body-mounted camera that's given us so many point-of-view videos of skydives, seagull theft/flight and motorcycle accidents -- Roner jumps from a hot air balloon to see if the giant umbrella he's holding will slow him down enough when he's who knows how many feet above ground.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

At one point even though it appears to be an industrial strength umbrella, the cloth flops upward, confirming what we always knew: it didn't work when you jumped off your front porch steps and it didn't work now.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Roner hangs on for a few more minutes but eventually lets go of the metal and finishes the jump skydive style.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Aftermath (Image: YouTube screenshot)

Watch the footage, which was all taken with GoPro Heros:

(H/T: Gizmodo)