“An egotistical know-it-all little bastard who was one of the engineers at NASA when they burned Gus Grissom to death on the launch pad.”

thanks to E Whitney @ FB

From an interview Jim Rome did with Evel Knievel in the late 90s:

Jim Rome: So what did you think your chances [of jumping the Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered bike] were?

Evel Knievel: Fifty-fifty.

Jim Rome: Fifty-fifty?

Evel Knievel: Fifty-fifty. The rocket had been designed by Bob Truax Jr., an egotistical know-it-all little bastard who was one of the engineers at NASA who was there when they burned Gus Grissom to death on the launch pad. He built the parachute so that it absolutely would fail under the G-load. But the way I see it: If I had made it, no one would’ve cared. If I’d died, they would’ve said, “Well that’s what’s supposed to happen to daredevils.” Here it is thirty years later and I don’t see no bunch of Daredevils lining up to take a shot at it.

Jim Rome: So if you had a fifty-fifty chance, a coin-flip’s chance to survive, why did you do it?

[five second pause]

Evel Knievel: Do you know who the hell I am?

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