There's a rise in thrill-seeking: extreme sports, extreme vacations, and extreme just-about-anything.
One extreme activity went way off-track, and the result was captured on video.
If you've never heard of "zorbing," it involves getting strapped into a giant inflatable ball -- like one of those hamster balls -- and getting pushed down a hill. Usually, it's done on grassy hills, but in the mountains of southern Russia, it's done on ski slopes.
Two men got inside a zorb ball, with a friend reportedly shooting the video.
Things get scary pretty quickly when the zorb goes off the side of the track and over a cliff. The video ends before you see it all, but one of the men inside -- a 27-year-old father -- was killed. His friend, a 33-year-old, was badly hurt but survived.
Thrill-seeking has become routine: zip-lining and parasailing are vacation standards. Even skydiving is mainstream.
There are a few theories about why people seek increasingly-extreme thrills. One is our brains. Researchers found people who thrill-seek often have low levels of dopamine -- a neurotransmitter that creates the feeling of an adrenaline rush. Less dopamine means you need a bigger thrill to get a satisfying rush.
Other theories focus on pop culture. Things like the ESPN "X-Games" and reality shows like "Survivor" and "Fear Factor" condition us to see thrill-seeking as good.
Another thought is that modern life is so safe and we're so obsessed with safety that some of just want a little danger in our lives.
Thursday, May 16 2013 9:49 PM EDT2013-05-17 01:49:53 GMT
Mayor Emanuel will celebrate two years in office by unveiling "Elevate Chicago" on Thursday, a series of construction projects to improve Navy Pier and McCormick Place.
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Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films.
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Controversial magazine covers have been happening a lot lately as publishers are struggling and controversy often sells. But, the June issue of Allure magazine is a different case.
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The New York Post reports wealthy Manhattan families on spring break found a slimy way to get on rides at Disney World with no wait: by hiring someone who is disabled.
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Beauty used to be in the eye of the beholder. Nowadays, a phone-app is making some of the judgments. More than 5 million people have bought the "Ugly-Meter" app. Here's how it works: You take a photo,
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There's debate about how a school in Georgia -- and the local police department -- handled a 6- year- old who apparently threw a violent temper tantrum.
