Number 7 Flying Wallendas
The Flying Wallendas is a group of high wire performers known for daredevil stunts executed
without the use of a safety net. The family-based group was put together by patriarch Karl Wallenda,
in 1922. Their act debuted at Madison Square Garden, in 1928. They went ahead with the
performance, even though their safety net had been lost in transit, and eventually received a
standing ovation. The Wallendas rose in popularity as a circus act but, throughout their history,
have been plagued by a number of devastating accidents. One of their most impressive and
famous acts involved a seven-chair human pyramid. During a 1962 performance, in Detroit, Michigan,
tragedy struck the Wallendas. The front man on the wire faltered and the pyramid collapsed.
Karl Wallenda’s nephew and his son-in-law were both killed in the drop while his adopted son
was paralyzed from the waist down. Another performer bounced off a quickly-raised safety
net and severely injured her head. What Is It?
Also known as funambulism, tightrope walking involves traversing the length
of a wire or rope by walking across it. The practice dates back to Ancient Greece,
when it was associated with jesters and other entertainers. From a biomechanical point of view,
tightrope walking requires the acrobat to maintain their balance by positioning their center of mass
directly over the rope. To distribute their weight, they might use a long pole or keep their
arms outstretched. Since its inception, acrobats have enhanced the practice by including animals,
object manipulation, ladders and other objects in their acts.
The quest for greater challenges has also produced a number of fatal falls and brutal injuries.
Number 6 Karl Wallenda Following the devastating 1962 accident, Karl
Wallenda continued to perform. Some of his most notable stunts involved wire walking above the
Tallulah Gorge, in Georgia, and a record-breaking skywalk, across 1,800 feet, at Kings Island, Ohio.
During the Tallulah walk, Wallenda famously did two headstands while crossing the gap,
which measured roughly a quarter of a mile. Unfortunately, Wallenda’s life would ultimately
end in tragedy. In 1978, he tried to walk between two 10-story towers of a hotel in Puerto Rico,
when he fell to his death approximately 120 feet. The aerialist, who was 73 years old at the time,
is believed to have suffered an adrenaline-induced heart attack during his walk. Wallenda’s children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren carried on his legacy and their act has survived to this day.
Where Is It Located?
While mostly known as a circus act, tightrope walking can be performed anywhere on the globe.
In South Korea, for example, a traditional tightrope walk, called jultagi, is included
on the country’s list of important intangible cultural properties. The Uyghur ethnic group
calls their high-wire walking tradition dawaz. Throughout history, there have been a number
of notable walks. Nik Wallenda, Karl Wallenda’s great-grandson, walked directly over Niagara Falls
and over Nicaragua’s Masaya Volcano, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Swiss aerialist
Freddy Nock tightrope walked between mountain peaks in the Alps, performing the highest
ground-supported tightrope walk on record, at over 11,580 feet. French aerialist Philippe Petit
performed what was referred to as the “artistic crime of the century”. On August the 7th of 1974,
for roughly 45 minutes, he walked a wire between the Twin Towers, in New York City. The daring
stunt, which Petit and his team had illegally set up, made headlines all-over the world.
Number 5 Tancrede Melet In 2016, French daredevil Tancrede Melet fell
to his death while preparing a stunt that involved tightrope walking between two hot air balloons. An
engineer by education, Melet quit his job to pursue his love of extreme sports full time.
He joined a team of like-minded thrill-seekers called “The Flying Frenchies”. Melet practiced
wingsuit flying, BASE jumping and tightrope walking at dizzying heights. His team had made
videos before as they crossed a slackline, which is a tight nylon cord, between two air balloons.
At the time they were wearing parachutes which they would deploy after losing their balance
on the line. The stunt, in January of 2016, was supposed to follow a similar structure.
Melet was making the final preparations on a hot air balloon that was meant to be anchored
to the ground in Drome, France. However, the aircraft started rising rapidly and Melet kept
holding on to the basket. He eventually lost his grip and fell to his death, more than 100 feet.
Number 4 Richard Guzman In 1972, Richard Guzman, also of Wallenda fame,
died during a performance in West Virginia. The man, who was Karl Wallenda’s son-in-law,
accidentally touched a live electric wire as he was holding part of a metal rigging. The
shock caused Guzman to fall from a tower, towards which Karl Wallenda was walking at the time. The
combination of electrocution and the devastating injuries that Guzman sustained in the fall proved
fatal, adding yet another victim to the Wallendas’ tragic toll.
How Will It Kill You?
There are several factors that may lead to tightrope accidents but severe injuries or death
is almost exclusively the result of falling from height. It can occur from safety net failures,
insufficient tension in the tightrope or, depending on the height, wind currents. To
add an element of danger and excitement to their stunts, aerialists will often forgo the use of a
safety harness. Some might do it blindfolded or add other daring variations to their walk.
A high wire act is performed at over 20 feet above ground while skywalks typically
stretch across great distances, over gorges, waterfalls or between tall man-made structures.
A skywalk may thus occur at hundreds of feet above ground. The margin for error is virtually
non existent at such heights, as a fall will most likely be fatal or, at the very least,
yield life-altering injuries. Number 3 Charles Blondin
19th century tightrope walker Charles Blondin rose to prominence after crossing the 1,100-foot
Niagara Gorge. He performed this walk for the first time in 1859 and on several other occasions,
with various theatrical modifications. Blondin did it while carrying his manager, blindfolded,
while trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, on his back and while sitting down midway to cook and
eat an omelet. However, one of his performances, which took place in 1860, would end in disaster.
At the time, he walked a tightrope, at Dublin’s Portobello Gardens,
suspended about 50 feet above street level. The rope snapped, which lead to a collapse of the
scaffolding it was connected to. Blondin wasn’t hurt but two workers, who were on the structure,
fell to their deaths. A judge would initially find no blame towards the acrobat or his manager,
instead claiming that the rope manufacturer was at fault. A bench warrant was later released for
the arrest of Blondin and his manager but, in the meantime, the men had returned to the US.
Today's topic was inspired by Instagram follower resident_evil_boy_2001. If you have any other
topics you'd like to learn about, subscribe & let us know in the comments section below, or follow
us on Instagram and reach out to us there. Number 2 Aisikaier
Chinese daredevil Aisikaier had a brush with death in July of 2012, after falling more than 650 feet.
Aisikaier, a Uighur Muslim, was a sixth-generation performer of the high wire tradition.
He established a Guinness World Record, in 2009, for the fastest tightrope walk across 328 feet,
which he performed in just slightly over 44 seconds. For the 2012 stunt, which took place
in south China's Hunan province, the man upped the ante. He walked blindfolded and without the use of
a safety harness. Had he completed it, the acrobat would’ve secured another world record. However,
as he was nearing the end of the 2,297-foot-long wire crossing, Aisikaier lost his balance and fell
towards the raging ravine below. The aerialist was incredibly fortunate, as he struck several
branches and bushes which softened his drop. From a fall that would’ve killed most performers,
Aisikaier emerged only with minor injuries. He would subsequently blame the wind for his fall,
claiming that he felt dizzy towards the end of the walk.
How to Survive?
With a lack of any safety equipment, the aerialist’s survival depends primarily on
their level of training and focus. The ability to be able to confidently walk a high wire or
perform a skywalk is gradually built up by rigorous training at manageable heights.
The location of a skywalk should be thoroughly examined and the rigging should be properly
checked. The tightrope itself serves as the main resource of survival if problems should arise. The
acrobat may opt to get down on the rope and regain their balance, before resuming their walk. They
may also let go of their pole or other balancing instruments and simply hang on to the rope until
help arrives. It’s where physical fitness also plays a major role. As argued by Nik Wallenda,
a tightrope walker should be able to support their body weight, for at least
30 minutes, on the rope. Number 1 Ljana Wallenda
The most recent incident to involve the Flying Wallendas happened in February of 2017. At the
time, the troupe was rehearsing a high wire number for Circus Sarasota. Their eight-person
pyramid act was meant to break a Guinness World Record for height. Nik Wallenda and his sister,
Ljana, were taking part in the performance. Unfortunately, the pyramid collapsed and five
acrobats fell to the ground while three, including Nik, managed to catch the wire. Ljana was among
those who’d plummeted. It was considered a miracle that no one was killed. All of the
acrobats suffered severe injuries, but it was Ljana who sustained arguably the worst damage.
The woman broke nearly every bone in her face. Additionally, she sustained a broken arm, ankle,
ribs and pelvis. Ljana had 72 fixation pins in her face and some were placed in one of her legs,
making it permanently shorter than the other. Her recovery was long but she eventually made a
remarkable return to tightrope walking. In June of 2019, she and Nik became the first people to cross
New York City’s Times Square on a tightrope. They walked the wire from opposite ends,
covering 1,300 feet, while suspended 25 stories above street level.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather walk a tightrope for 10 feet
(15 feet above ground) and without a safety net,
or climb into the ring for one round with Mike Tyson? Let us know in the comments section below!