# Bad, bad, bad..what is it with old men and ladders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2026, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854 "2026-06-12T19:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/21 "2026-06-13T19:18:40Z")
Heck, I do good not falling off a rug, nowadays. Ladders are not in my life. You couldn’t pay me… ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/22 "2026-06-14T04:15:46Z")
> **[Safety Prints](https://topatoco.com/products/sgr-safety-prints?variant=8645773885551)** > > Also not recommended: Car Surfing, Air Guitar, Planking, Chainsaw Juggling. More Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery merch from John Allison at TopatoCo! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/23 "2026-06-14T04:44:04Z")
Air Guitar? That seems pretty bullet-proof. I dunno. I do Air Bass. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/24 "2026-06-14T04:52:46Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Heck, I do good not falling off a rug, nowadays. Remember that time you broke your arm falling off the.. Oh, nevermind. I’m sure you do. Because I won’t ever let you forget! 😆 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/25 "2026-06-14T06:49:53Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I live in a older house that has windows that require swapping out screens for “storm” windows twice a year. Two of the windows are at second story level. I did that for about twenty years even realizing that eventually one of three things was going to happen. Either I’d fall from the ladder, drop the window or both. I’d climb the extension ladder with the heavy storm window in one hand, hoik it up into position and quick flip the turnbuckles to secure it into place. I get dizzy just reading that! I’ll no longer get up on a ladder for anything, and the thought of getting up on one at my age carrying a heavy window totally freaks me out! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/26 "2026-06-14T09:32:34Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > What I was taught is that anybody using an extension ladder should be assisted by another person **holding the foot of the ladder**. Hell yes!!! Also make sure it’s situated firmly so that the top end isn’t going to slide to one side or the other. (And don’t even _think_ about leaning it against something that might give.) And I gave up climbing up on my roof when I was still in my 40s. Too easy to fall, and too likely for the landing to do permanent damage to my body. It was worth paying a few thousand bucks for those gutters that screen the leaves out, so I haven’t had to clean gutters in a couple of decades. And DIY on one’s roof is downright stupid, even if one can safely get on and off it. If you do it wrong, you’re gonna have water getting loose into the house when it rains, and that’s a really bad thing. That’s one thing to absolutely hand over to a reliable contractor. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/27 "2026-06-14T17:29:02Z")
Just for that Mister Fish face you’ll not see the cherry print capris. Harrumph.🤨 You know how I like Cherry print. It’s nearly my favorite. Recently. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/28 "2026-06-14T22:15:41Z")
My best friend, who is exactly one year older then I am, put up a 6’ stepladder to clean his first floor windows a few years back. When he stepped from the very bottom step to the ground, he broke a bone in his ankle. Now, years later after a couple surgeries and some steel pins, it still bothers him from time to time. I am permitted to use a tall stepladder to put up the Christmas lights on our porch, but that’s it. I’m not permitted to even lean a ladder against the eaves of our one-story house, much less set foot on the roof. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/29 "2026-06-15T11:30:48Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > When do men finally realize they can’t do that? What age? For me, late 60s. No accident but I finally decided my abilities, vision, balance, and ancient skeleton should stay on the ground. These are also the reasons I stopped flying. I frequently have to clean the front part of our 5th-wheel camper. At 13 ft., the top area is unreachable. Instead of ladders, I put my pickup bed alongside, clamber into the bed, and use a long brush to reach up from there. I have a level and “fenced” area to move around in, brushes, hose, bucket are all right beside me, and if I can’t reach a spot I just move the truck. Instead of me climbing up, I just “raise the ground”. It’s a lot safer. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/30 "2026-06-15T13:30:45Z")
My wife’s uncle was a house painter, fell off a ladder, never really recovered and died young. I’m more or less forbidden from ladders, which suits me just fine. Occasionally I need to pull a shutter off the house for painting or repairing, but prefer to get it from inside the house if I can. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/31 "2026-06-15T16:05:08Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > For me, late 60s. No accident but I finally decided my abilities, vision, balance, and ancient skeleton should stay on the ground. These are also the reasons I stopped flying. Wise decision. Especially if the flying is directly related to having just been on a ladder! ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/32 "2026-06-15T16:46:37Z")
I have no fear of ladders or heights, and my balance is actually very good, but, at 72, my family won’t let me use more’n a stepladder to put up and take down Christmas decorations. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/33 "2026-06-15T16:47:25Z")
“That wasn’t flying, it was falling with style!” ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/34 "2026-06-15T16:52:00Z")
It was a nasty fall – perhaps from a ladder – that killed WallyM7 from this message board back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/35 "2026-06-15T18:56:09Z")
Not sure of the accuracy but Google says after age 60 falls are the leading cause of injury. Surprisingly, it said if you fall once your chance of falling again is doubled. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/36 "2026-06-15T20:59:26Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Wise decision. Especially if the flying is directly related to having just been on a ladder! Throwing oneself at the ground and missing is harder than it looks. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/37 "2026-06-15T23:02:34Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Not sure of the accuracy but Google says after age 60 falls are the leading cause of injury. A couple months ago I read an article in _Scientific American_ about research showing that if someone over 60 falls the chances of their dying in the next couple years goes _way_ up. They weren’t talking about head-first plunges off a ladder per se but your common missed a step and broke a femur variety. It was not only secondary effects from any injury, like blood clots, but also people getting really cautious and cutting back on their mobility with all the attendant problems that causes. It brought insight as to why both my heart doc and arthritis doc ask, “Have you had any falls since we last saw you?” ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/38 "2026-06-15T23:17:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Not sure of the accuracy but Google says after age 60 falls are the leading cause of injury. I teach a falls and fall prevention class for seniors through the local junior college. The class roster fills within minutes of registration opening. I was initially surprised at how widespread the fear of falling is among senior citizens, but after spending some time with them I can understand why. None of them actively worked on their balance before taking my class, and mostly led sedentary lifestyles. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/39 "2026-06-16T11:14:27Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Surprisingly, it said if you fall once your chance of falling again is doubled. There’s a bit of chicken and egg mis-phrasing in that common statement. IMO sloppy writing and editing is mostly to blame. IOW, not your fault for accurately restating what you’ve read. Some people are highly fall prone. Others are not (yet). Most falls happen to the fall-prone. And how is someone found to be fall prone? They fell. Said another way, the first fall (usually) doesn’t trigger any increased propensity. It merely exposes the latent propensity that had already developed unnoticed. Now that propensity is established, their next fall is imminent too. On an as-yet unknown timescale. All that modulo the reality that each normally able-bodied person is slowly gaining fall propensity unless they’re actively fighting against it. And even then, ref @ricepad just above, practicing balance is a great way to slow the inexorable advance. Maybe even reverse it for awhile. But it’s coming for all of us. Unless something else gets us first. ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2026, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854/40 "2026-06-16T11:23:50Z")
Oh Running coach that was cold. Being 70+ I hate that part of being an old man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-what-is-it-with-old-men-and-ladders/1030854.md?page=3)