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Eric Barcia, 22, had always heard about “bungee jumping” and wanted to try it. Not having the specialized elastic cords experienced jumpers use, he collected a number of bungee tie-down cords, the kind with hooks on the ends, and connected them together with electrical tape at each joint to make sure the hooks wouldn’t come undone. He brought his home-made lifeline to a railroad trestle in Springfield, Va., tied it off, and jumped. Police were called to investigate when Barcia was killed after hitting the ground at full speed. “The length of the cord that he had assembled was greater than the distance between the trestle and the ground,” a police spokesman said. Barcia’s grandmother couldn’t understand why he screwed up so badly. “He was very smart in school,” she remembered. (RC/AP) ...If that’s how you want to interpret the teacher’s comment that he was “about as sharp as a bowling ball,” then fine.