What do adrenaline junkies like base jumpers, rock climbers and tightrope walkers all have in common? The inexplicable desire to put their lives at risk, maybe so we don't do have to. They also like climbing unbelievably tall skyscrapers. Particularly in a country known for these structures – South Korea.
In the latest such instance, LG hired professional rock climber Sierra Blair-Coyle to test the suctioning power of their latest vacuum-cleaner. Despite some initial hesitation, she agreed and completed the climb in a little under 30 minutes. The idea was that the suction cups would stick to the wall of the building, allowing the climber to use them the same way as she might have used pitons when climbing a mountain.
Mind you, her gear was not the one people are going to be using at home, so don't expect to scale huge buildings in your home town with the device. The normal vacuum nozzles were replaced with suction cup attachments for a better grip on the walls, and were probably operating at a much higher capacity than the regular device would.
What does the world look like from up there? Last year, a parkour enthusiast uploaded this video showing him leaping ledges atop a skyscraper. Viewer discretion is advised.
People wanting to learn to climb similar buildings (and who wouldn't?) can watch this video, where a group of young daredevils decide to climb the 650-metre-tall Shanghai Tower to take a selfie. They have a YouTube channel which shows they have made a career out of scaling the tops of very tall buildings and taking selfies.
And the original daredevil. The man who began this fascination to pull stunts on top of and around skyscrapers was Philipe Petit, who wire-walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. His attempt has been the subject of a documentary, Man on Wire (2008) and a feature film The Walk (2015).
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