When I was a little kid, I wanted to see if I could fly or float gently down with an umbrella, like Mary Poppins. I had just enough fear, obedience (I knew this was A Bad Idea), and common sense to not do it, but it was always tempting. Gradually, I grew up (a bit, anyway), and the urge to try it subsided.
And then Roger Moore’s stuntman jumped off a wall with a patio umbrella in For Your Eyes Only, and I wanted to try it all over again. Part of me still does! :rolleyes:
Does some… jackass try this in any of the “Jackass” productions, so I can seek it out and get this thing out of my system?
My mother went to her grave believing I was trying to be Superman and jumped from a tree trying to fly. My memory is that I was just trying to climb the tree and fell.
Like RealityChuck I remember that George Reeves actually warned kids not to try to fly.
Now that you mention it, I too have always wanted to try the umbrella thing. I actually did something like it once, only to find out common umbrellas are way too cheap and bendy for this kind of thing.
As for the superman thing, wow. I guess It does happen, and a lot apparently. When I get kids, I’ll be sure to remember they can’t tell fiction from reality apart and can’t be trusted alone with a jumping spot.
I don’t know if that’s an urban legend, but I am reminded of the old story about the guy in the office tower who wants to prove that the window can withstand any blow, so he runs up against it with his shoulder - and it pops out and he plunges, screaming, to his death.
I know a fellow who as a kid jumped off the roof wearing a cape, and was pretty badly hurt. As an adult his face was badly scarred and crooked, and he walked with a very severe limp and did not stand straight. Not sure exactly which hero he was emulating.
I remember The Amazing Captain 20 flying without an airplane in a public service announcement to kids not to try stunts they see on TV. This would have been in the early 80s. That spot was supposedly inspired by the actor’s hearing the story of kids watching Superman cartoons and then trying to fly.
Both my sister and I jumped from a variety of heights (e.g., 2nd floor of a house under construction, roof of the neighbors’ garage) for the sheer indescribable pleasure of leaping–no capes, parachutes, umbrellas, or emulation of superheros. My sister broke her arm, if I recall correctly. Nobody and nothing to blame for that except me encouraging her.
When I was 6 (1952), I wanted to be Supergirl. (This was before there was a Supergirl) So, I tied on a dishtowel, and jumped off the garage roof. I figured I would land hard, because I didn’t have any experience, so I put a pillow about 10 feet from the side of the garage. I was shocked to find myself a foot from the garage wall. I just Knew I could fly. I still think a bigger dishtowel…
If there were any “Don’t try this at home, kids” warnings on the Superman! show, I didn’t listen.
IIRC, this device also was used to open an episode of Hill Street Blues, except that the guy who fell was a politician demonstrating the state of ghetto housing, rather than a corporate office worker.
