"She was a true Wonder Woman"
November 5, 2018 7:51 PM Subscribe
Kitty O’Neil, deaf daredevil who became ‘world’s fastest woman,’ dies at 72
Her small stature — 5-feet-2 and 97 pounds during her heyday — helped her withstand the strong G-forces of her record-setting drives, Michaelson said, including a 1977 outing in which she drove the quarter-mile in only 3.22 seconds, reaching 412 mph.
“If you’re pulling four g’s and you weigh 100 pounds, that’s 400 pounds of pressure . . . Your vision is up and down, shaking. It’s not easy to control,” he said in a phone interview. “She crashed one of my cars at over 300 mph and walked away. . . . The only bone she ever broke was in a hand one time when she was racing motorcycles.”
Killing it with stunts, and breaking the world record for fastest woman. She makes it - the car doesn't.
Her small stature — 5-feet-2 and 97 pounds during her heyday — helped her withstand the strong G-forces of her record-setting drives, Michaelson said, including a 1977 outing in which she drove the quarter-mile in only 3.22 seconds, reaching 412 mph.
“If you’re pulling four g’s and you weigh 100 pounds, that’s 400 pounds of pressure . . . Your vision is up and down, shaking. It’s not easy to control,” he said in a phone interview. “She crashed one of my cars at over 300 mph and walked away. . . . The only bone she ever broke was in a hand one time when she was racing motorcycles.”
Killing it with stunts, and breaking the world record for fastest woman. She makes it - the car doesn't.
> Johnny Wallflower:
"What a badass.
."
Seconded. With no hesitation and no qualifications.
posted by Samizdata at 11:27 PM on November 5, 2018
"What a badass.
."
Seconded. With no hesitation and no qualifications.
posted by Samizdata at 11:27 PM on November 5, 2018
.
posted by jim in austin at 4:14 AM on November 6, 2018
posted by jim in austin at 4:14 AM on November 6, 2018
.
Amazing woman. Surprised that, after all she went through in her life, she only lived to be 72. Incredible life.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2018
Amazing woman. Surprised that, after all she went through in her life, she only lived to be 72. Incredible life.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2018
. . . .posted by flabdablet at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2018
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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:18 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]