Franz Reichelt vintage postcard
Franz 'the flying tailor' Reichelt invented this flashy parachute coat in 1912. The fearless and foolhardy Austrian couturier decided to flaunt his invention by jumping off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower. The fatal 60 meter fall lasted 5 seconds and made quite a crater at the bottom of the tower.... There's even a video .
Warning: Eeeeeeeeeeeek!
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Eiffel Tower Free Fall
Posted by Marie Reed at 6:12 AM
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32 cool cats commented:
I'am back Marie !
Poor crazy man !
You would think that after the legend of Icarus, humanity would have got the message that we were not meant to don wings and take to the skies, but alas that hasn't stopped people for continuing to try to fly! ;)
Hope your week is off to a wonderful start, my dear!
♥ Jessica
Horrible! Scary! I didn't know about that man! So scary! Thanks!
There are a few wild ones here and there, just to keep it interesting.
Love the story of your battle with your son. Can't wait to see if you learn any secret moves to finally...sink HIS ships.
Boom!
Candy
Poor idiot! I have fear of heights so even looking at this video made me dizzy( sort of). Well thanks for recalling that story!
I saw this vid when I was a kid (Daniel Costelle : "Histoire de l'Aviation" on TV...) and was terribly impressed by all these crazy pioneers of aviation...
Talking about early 1900s videos, I can only recommend that you pay a visit - if you don't know it already - to the Mitchell & Kenyon collection published by the British Film Institute
http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mk/
There are about 800 old movies - basically 1901-02 - that all together bring a wonderful insight of British society at the turn of the XXth century... and 70 of them are published on YouTube : lovely piece of memorabilia made available to all of us !
PS : if you have "Google Earth" installed on your PC, just try this link... amazing 3D visit...
http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mk/The%20Films%20of%20Mitchell%20&%20Kenyon.kmz
so sad. I've never understood this mentality... but I guess if some people didn't have it, nothing would have ever been invented.
YIKES! I don't remember ever hearing about this before! I continue to learn things from this blog :) Might bode well in a trivia game, lol !
Holy moley! Eeeeeeek indeed!
Scary!! I have a phobia for heights too and I couldn't bring myself to watch the video.
But thanks for sharing. I seem to be learning something new each time I stop by at your blog.
Gosh that was a crazy idea with fatal consequences. And here I thought I'd done some crazy things.
Good grief! The video certainly makes it more real! I wonder how many people have died trying a similar trick.
As kids we used to jump off rooftops into snowdrifts and I tried a cape on a couple of occasions, but they never worked.
Good thing he didnt land on a passerby ....
Spooky! What a crazy guy!!!!
Léia :)
It's a pity about this man, so crazy!
xx
It seems like he would have tried a doll or mannequin or something first. Then again, maybe he did. People are indeed crazy!
Interesting post, Marie, but I feel dizzy just reading this terrible story!!!
Good HEAVENS!!! Eeeeek! is right! Wow--that is an amazing video. Had not the crazy man ever heard of Icarus? The mythological man who flew too close to the sun?
Makes me wonder if he ever test flew it....
What an interesting blog! I have to admit I was thoroughly intrigued.
OMG He is certainly deserving of a Darwin award!!
Marie, thanks so much for the heads-up on the Ruby Tuesday link! I have fixed it. I always love seeing your site!
Hi there, following you from MBC. Have a great day.
http://www.atticgirl.blogspot.com
silly silly man :( but if it had worked he would have been a genius :)
Now, that's what I call having the courage of your convictions.
Whoa! I'm not sure what gets into people to try those kinds of things! I kept wondering when he was standing at the top if he waited to try to prepare himself and get his courage up. I think I'll stick to flying in my dreams! ~Lori
hey there want to give u the one lovely blog award, for more check out my blog backroom treasures...have a great day!
hi dear. came by yesterday but had trouble loading. sending you my hugs,
~Silver
oh yeah, love the battleship post. I can imagine your war games with jr..play fair, 'k ;)
I agree with Frederick...the crazy pioneers of aviation! Poor guy!
Is he success at that point of time ?
incredible !I'd never hear of this ...
That's horrible. First time I've heard about the story. Thanks for sharing.
Oh yikes! Good grief!
Now that didn't quite work did it. He should have checked the wind first.
I've got some great old postcards of a place in Paris called the Cabaret Neant. Chilling.
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