Don't believe anything unless a double blind study proves it works

Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Conclusions As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomised controlled trials. Advocates of evidence based medicine have criticised the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data. We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine organised and participated in a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute.

(Heads up from Medpundit)