I found so many references to this subject I couldn't decided which was the most recent so I started a new thread.
I was surfing through the TV channels the other day when I hit on a show called "Mythbusters" on The Discovery Channel. These two guys apply modern engineering to try to prove/disprove many Urban Legends and Myths (such as the "sick note" and "dying by peeing on the third rail of an electric rail line").
This show, they were trying to recreate the circumstances described in "The Sick Note" with a wooden barrel, a skid load of bricks, a 30' high scaffolding, a pulley wheel, a rope and (as the unfortunate bricklayer) a used "Crash-test" dummy. To ensure safety, remote release mechanisms were used to "untie " the rope to start with and "let go" the rope at the end.
After several uncuccessful attempts (the barrel was very strong and didn't break the first time to release the bricks & the combined weight of the dummy, barrel and bricks bent the support pole), they were able to achieve all three barrel movements, hit the dummy going up and coming down and finally beat up the dummy quite badly by dropping the remains of the empty barrel on it.
They declared the myth "Proved". They seemed to be having a good time in the process. It looked to me like the ultimate "Guy" job!