I wonder what surviving human held the record before balloons (excluding edge cases like jumping gaps on a mountain bridge). Probably it was someone falling from a cliff into snow or water, but maybe it involved something weird like a gunpowder explosion or volcano.
This comic shows the altitudes of the highest humans over time, using a logarithmic vertical scale to display both low-level altitudes and highest achievements. The graph tracks the single most altitudinous individual at any given time, measuring height above Earth's surface rather than sea level, meaning residents of Tibet or the high Peruvian Andes gain no particular advantage.
Prior to the first confirmed ascent in a balloon in 1783, the high points were due to "various falls" and "catapult accidents," such as being caught in a trebuchet when fired. Once balloon flights began, heights of up to 10km were attained, despite some dangers. The advent of airplanes in the 1900s led to even greater heights, particularly after World War 2 when regular high-altitude flight became common among bomber pilots.
The emergence of spaceflight in the late 1960s dramatically increased the upper spikes, with the Apollo Program (from Apollo 8 to Apollo 17) reaching approximately 400,000km during Moon missions. After the Moon landings, altitudes settled to orbital distances, with the "Space Station" era marking continuous human presence at about 400km since November 2000, occasionally higher for missions like servicing the Hubble Space Telescope at 515km.
Notable exclusions from the graph include early experiments with man-flying kites, cathedral workers, and visitors to structures like the Eiffel tower (276m), suggesting Randall excluded cases where people were standing on permanent structures. The graph also appears to ignore cases that are difficult to substantiate, such as those caused by violent winds, although it conveys an impression of omniscient certainty.
The title text speculates about pre-balloon altitude records (excluding cases like jumping gaps on mountain bridges), suggesting survival from falls into water or snow, or more extreme scenarios involving gunpowder explosions or volcanic eruptions. As of the comic's date, the record for surviving a cliff jump into water is 58.8 meters, set in 2015.
A different interpretation could track the highest altitude visited by any still living human, similar to 893: 65 Years but following different rules. This would maintain Moon-height records from the first Apollo 8 orbit until the last Apollo astronaut's death (missions 8-17), unless superseded by greater records or achievements from other space programs.