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He's at it again

He's at it again

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by: thegoodwife Active Indicator LED Icon 10 OP 
~ 9 years ago   Nov 2, '14 1:01pm  
CHICAGO –  The tightrope is waiting for Nik Wallenda in Chicago.
 
The 35-year-old high-wire artist -- great-grandson of Karl Wallenda
of the famous Flying Wallendas circus family -- plans to perform two
nail-biting walks that will be televised Sunday to millions of viewers
around the world.
 
The Discovery Channel will use a 10-second delay for the broadcast,
allowing producers to cut away if Wallenda falls. He plans to perform
the walks without a net or harness.
 
The daredevil's challenge starts just after sunset when the
skyscrapers up and down the Chicago River will be lit up and sparkling.
First, he will walk uphill at a 15-degree angle from the Marina City
west tower to the top of a skyscraper on the other side of the river.
Next, he'll walk blindfolded between the two Marina City towers --
Chicago landmarks with Hollywood credits.
 
Months of preparations have meant helicopters lifting cable to the
rooftops, road closures and clearances from the Federal Aviation
Administration and U.S. Coast Guard. Residents of Marina City have been
asked not to use laser pointers, camera flashes or drones that could
interfere. Even grilling has been prohibited.
 
Meanwhile, Wallenda has practiced the walk in Florida. Two of his
previous televised tightrope walks -- over the brink of Niagara Falls in
2012 and across the Little Colorado River Gorge in 2013 -- drew about
13 million viewers each.
 
The Discovery Channel hopes to capture an elusive real-time audience
in the DVR era. The network plans to keep the almost-live telecast of
Wallenda's progress on viewers' TV screens even during the commercials,
using a "double box" that will show advertisements and Wallenda
simultaneously.
 
The Marina City towers have been on screens -- Steve McQueen chased a
fugitive around the west tower's corkscrew parking ramp in "The Hunter"
-- and graced the album cover of Wilco's 2002 "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."
 
Steven Dahlman lives in the east Marina City tower and edits a news
site called Marina City Online. His neighbors are a little worried, he
said, but excited to be "in the middle of a world event." Dahlman, who's
also an architectural photographer, has himself sought out lofty views
from skyscraper rooftops.
 
"I have nightmares about falling from great heights. Whenever I was
in that situation, I'd want to stay away from the edge," Dahlman said.
"Here's a guy who has that same respect for heights, but he's going the
other way."
 
Journalists covering Sunday's event signed waivers relinquishing
their right to claim emotional distress if they witness a catastrophe.
 
A year before Wallenda was born, his great-grandfather fell to his death during a tightrope stunt in Puerto Rico. He was 73.
 
"Life is on the wire," Karl Wallenda once said. "Everything else is just waiting."If I was his wife I would divorce him after I slapped him upside the head.  I don't even know him and I won't be able to watch. Part of it he is doing blindfolded without a harness or net?? He must be mentally ill.......... 4951
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ctl74 Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 9 years ago   Nov 2, '14 1:20pm  
I can't imagine that guy could even get a life insurance policy, in the event that something bad were to happen. Yikes! It's definitely scary - we'll watch, though, as my son watched the Grand Canyon walk last year and is really into it! 4951
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taramay Active Indicator LED Icon 14
~ 9 years ago   Nov 2, '14 1:21pm  
I have absolutely zero interest in watching that. 4951
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thegoodwife Active Indicator LED Icon 10 OP 
~ 9 years ago   Nov 2, '14 8:20pm  
I can't imagine that guy could even get a life insurance policy, in the event that something bad were to happen. Yikes! It's definitely scary - we'll watch, though, as my son watched the Grand Canyon walk last year and is really into it!
 
@ctl74: I was talking with a friend earlier & that subject did come up. I'm still wondering. If he can get ins. he's paying a hefty price for it.
4951
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Stealth83 Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Nov 2, '14 8:26pm  
Removed By Request 4951
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WskyTngoFxtrt Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 9 years ago   Nov 2, '14 8:28pm  
He just accomplished both. 4951
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mm4731 Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 7:03am  
[ Removed By Request. ] 4951
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taramay Active Indicator LED Icon 14
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 7:14am  
Is it wrong that i'd be more entertained if he fell? 4951
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BooBear Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 7:18am  
Is it wrong that i'd be more entertained if he fell?
 
@taramay:
 
Just a little. I think thats why 14 million people will be watching for, though. 4951
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Stealth83 Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 7:49am  
Removed By Request 4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 9:17am  
With the amount of science he uses he is giving the false impression it is hazardous when in fact it is pretty safe for him.
 
@Stealth83: Exactly this.  He did it using a long flexible pole that drooped at the ends.  The physical principles on this are well understood.  All he'd have to do is add a bit of weight to each end to relocate his center of gravity to actually be lower than the wire.  He could then stumble and fumble and wobble all the way across...and put no more effort into keeping his balance than if he were hanging from the bottom of the wire. It's an illusion created to entertain.It's all in the physics and if you argue with physics, you will lose.   4951
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BooBear Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 9:21am  

- - - - - - - -
>> With the amount of science he uses he is giving the false impression it is hazardous when in fact it is pretty safe for him.
 
@Stealth83: Exactly this.  He did it using a long flexible pole that drooped at the ends.  The physical principles on this are well understood.  All he'd have to do is add a bit of weight to each end to relocate his center of gravity to actually be lower than the wire.  He could then stumble and fumble and wobble all the way across...and put no more effort into keeping his balance than if he were hanging from the bottom of the wire. It's an illusion created to entertain.It's all in the physics and if you argue with physics, you will lose.  
 
@shodan66: isnt gravity a part of physics as well?
 
4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 9:48am  
@shodan66: isnt gravity a part of physics as well?
 
@BooBear: Absolutely.  In general terms, what makes us tip over and fall, even from standing, is that the center of our mass is above our feet.  Our head and everything between it and our feet are constantly trying to return to the earth due to gravitational pull.  We all understand this.
Remember that we're talking about balance here and once on the wire we have space between it and the ground.  Doesn't matter if it's 5 feet or 500 feet...the mass of our body will want to return to the earth.  We cannot negate this but as long as we can stay balanced on the wire, it prevents the fall.So now instead of fighting gravity...let's use it.  Think about a zip line.  No one on a zip line ever has any issue with tipping over and falling.  Why?  It's because their center of gravity is below the point of attachment to the wire.  Again...it doesn't matter if it's 5 feet or 500 feet...gravity is impacting them with relation to the wire.  Is it easier to make a Christmas decoration stand on top of a branch or hang from beneath?  Gravity is our friend when the center of our gravity is beneath our contact point.So what happens here is that the pole is long...it spreads the center of gravity out wide.  And the pole is flexible...so gravity pulls it down on the ends.  But the contact point remains centrally located at his feet.  There's a triangulation equation that I'd have to go look up...and I'm too lazy to do that...where the center of gravity is calculated along the axis and determined to be somewhere beneath the walker's feet.The end result is that what looks to be a "gravity defying" stunt is in reality an act that is totally dependent on gravity and how it interacts with mass. 4951
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kingwooddiscgolf Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 10:17am  
Yeah...anybody could do it. 4951
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fcabanski Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Nov 3, '14 11:12am  
When I first read a story about this, I should have known it was a Walenda. 4951
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