WATCH > Man Walks Tightrope Across Niagara Falls: Admirable or Insane?
SodaHead News
2012/06/18 13:00:00
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On Friday night, 33-year-old Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope in over 100 years, and he did it on live television. The event aired between 10 and 11 p.m. on ABC, and the ratings smashed other networks, with more than 10 million viewers watching for the entire hour. The actual crossing took less than 30 minutes.
The first successful attempt at crossing the Falls via tightrope was by Charles Blondin in 1859, but crossings were outlawing in 1896, and no one on record has accomplished it since. After the event, Wallenda announced that he'd secured a permit to walk across the Grand Canyon -- something that's never been done. He also wants to try the Eurasian continental divide, and Inca ruins at Macchu Picchu. Is this guy admirable, or just crazy?
The first successful attempt at crossing the Falls via tightrope was by Charles Blondin in 1859, but crossings were outlawing in 1896, and no one on record has accomplished it since. After the event, Wallenda announced that he'd secured a permit to walk across the Grand Canyon -- something that's never been done. He also wants to try the Eurasian continental divide, and Inca ruins at Macchu Picchu. Is this guy admirable, or just crazy?
Top Opinion
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lolitalovely 2012/06/18 14:40:02Admirable
+6He's wearing a safety harness. Even if he falls he won't get hurt aside from a possible wedgie. It is admirable that he has the skill to complete it without falling, though. It's also quite admirable that he can stand that many people watching his every move. I'd lose concentration and fall.
He certainly is carrying a brass pair.
He's clearly wearing a harness, so he would not plummet to his death if he lost his balance. If he wasn't wearing a harness, my answer might have been different.
Anyway, I was there and it was pretty awesome watching him.
So if I'm wearing a seat belt and I happen to get into a car accident I won't die right, because there's a 100% guarantee that it will save my life? However awesome it was to watch, it would have been pretty horrific and senseless if anything for any reason were to go wrong and he didn't make it across but instead fell to his death while it was televised for the world to see.
I don't disagree that it would've been horrifying to see him die this way and I probably wouldn't have watched if he hadn't been wearing a harness, because I'm not a big fan of seeing someone die before my very eyes.
I was just saying that I don't think it's insane for him to do it because I don't think he was in very much danger, both because of his skill and because of the safety precautions.