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Watch Nik Wallenda Tightrope Across Niagara Falls!
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jun 16, 2012
Modified Jun 16, 2012
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jun 16, 2012
Modified Jun 16, 2012
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High-wire superstar Nik Wallenda put us all to shame last night by walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, becoming the first person to do so successfully in over a century. Wallenda, the scion of the famous circus-performing Flying Wallendas, spent about 26 minutes crossing the 1500 foot expanse on a two-inch wide wire strung a couple hundred feet above Horseshoe Falls, the largest of Niagara Falls' three rampaging waterfalls. An estimated tens of thousands of people gathered at both sides of the border to watch him, and the entire episode was televised nationally.
Wallenda, who earned the Guinness World Record for Longest Distance Crossed on a Tightrope by Bicycle in 2008, had been planning last night's feat for years. He considered the walk a tribute to his great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda, who fell to his death in 1978 while performing a high-wire stunt in San Juan, Puerto Rico. And getting approval to break a 128-year law prohibiting stunts at Niagara Falls wasn't easy. Wallenda had to obtain permission from both the Canadian and American governments prior to setting foot on the rope, appealing to Governor Cuomo and Canadian officials. Wallenda wasn't exempt from any of the usual bureaucracies, either. Upon setting foot in Canada, a customs agent approached him, looked at his passport, and asked him if he carrying anything into the country, because nothing balances out a tightroper better than a couple kilos of smuggled drugs. And when the agent asked Wallenda, "What is the purpose of your trip, sir?", he replied, "To inspire people around the world."
Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz last night with people praising Wallenda for completing the feat, though not everyone was blown away. "Nick Wallenda walks across wire over Niagara Falls! Squirrels everywhere are not impressed," one user Tweeted.
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feats of skill
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