I recognise the name. I wonder if he's from the old Flying Wallendas clan.

They were fun to watch, especially when they did the Falling Wallendas routine.

Dude's doing it wrong. THREATEN to do it unless people give him money. If I were there, I'd give him $5 not to do it. Or better, have two funds: one for people who want to see it, and one for those who don't. Whichever gives him the most money, he listens to. Sort of like congress.

/Circuses have become a lot less fun for me since adulthood and empathy set in.

Niagara pleas?

GungFu: I recognise the name. I wonder if he's from the old Flying Wallendas clan.

They were fun to watch, especially when they did the Falling Wallendas routine.

Yes

Link (new window)

I have sensed a disturbance in the falls, as though a million voices cried out in disapointment and were silenced.

Damn it. What the hell happened to going over the falls in barrels!? Is that not "cool" anymore?

I might go. My girlfriend lives in Niagara Falls.

eyehate I would have chosen a different career after Karl Wallenda dropped like a rock.

Guy went to Detroit & finished the gag that wiped out 7 of 'em in '62. Now THAT'S hardcore

Link (new window)

Ed Finnerty: Damn it. What the hell happened to going over the falls in barrels!? Is that not "cool" anymore?

Not sure it was ever quite that cool. The first person to go over the Falls deliberately in a barrel was a 63 yo old lady school teacher from Michegan. Pretty sure nobody ever made an action figure out of her

Last person to go over the Falls in a barrel ended up dying at the Astrodome in 1985 trying to replicate the stunt which is lame beyond words.

On July 2, 1984, Canadian Karel Soucek from Hamilton, Ontario successfully plunged over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel with only minor injuries. Soucek was fined $500 for performing the stunt without a license. In 1985, he was fatally injured while attempting to re-create the Niagara drop at the Houston Astrodome. His aim was to climb into a barrel hoisted to the rafters of the Astrodome and to drop 180 feet (55 m) into a water tank on the floor. After his barrel released prematurely, it hit the side of the tank and he died the next day from his injuries.

It's really one of the odder forms of blood sport this world has yet devised.

Ed Grubermann: Mitch Mitchell: I might go. My girlfriend lives in Niagara Falls.

Your Canadian girlfriend?

Not sure if members of the Canadian Ballet can be considered your "girlfriend" unless you are actually boinking her.
And nobody else is.

Ed Finnerty: Damn it. What the hell happened to going over the falls in barrels!? Is that not "cool" anymore?

Jet Skis are more extreme.

Someone had to do it...

"Good sir, I was rope-walking over waterfalls before it was cool."

FTA: "Until Wednesday, the Niagara Parks Commission in Canada stood in his way. Commissioners denied Wallenda's request to walk, saying they wanted to preserve the beauty of the falls view from the casinoes."

thespindrifter: FTA: "Until Wednesday, the Niagara Parks Commission in Canada stood in his way. Commissioners denied Wallenda's request to walk, saying they wanted to preserve the beauty of the falls view from the casinoes."

Seriously.

The American side is rot and urban decay.

The Canadian side is casinos and cheesy tourist-trap kitsch.

Not sure either side is terribly concerned with "preserving the falls view."

I've seen Tino Wallenda perform live, in prison, with the Bill Glass team. Not bad for a one-man act, but the officials would never let him do anything more than 20' high for various lawsuit-y reasons. If I remember correctly, he never used a harness or a net, and that was rather attention getting.

It's not slipping off the wire while walking that he needs to be worried about - it's muscle fatigue setting in while Customs makes him wait 100' feet from the US side for three hours...

Loaf's Tray: It's not slipping off the wire while walking that he needs to be worried about - it's muscle fatigue setting in while Customs makes him wait 100' feet from the US side for three hours...

I would say changing wind currents and gusts would also be a major problem

Hope he brings his passport. The US border guards are dicks.

Hot Rod Zoidberg: [upload.wikimedia.org image 140x242]

"Good sir, I was rope-walking over waterfalls before it was cool."

Ah, the great Blondin. I knew he had done a walk with his manager on his back, but I had never seen a photo of it, so that's pretty cool. I liked the walk he did where he brought a little stove with him, stopped halfway to cook a couple of omlettes, then dropped them down to people on the Maid of the Mist.

Niagara Falls is a complete fiasco from a lot of perspectives, but the daredevil history (voluntary and involuntary) it has is pretty damn neat.

I've seen the Walends 7 person pyramid. Very impressive.