# What cities would be good for web-swinging? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [September 9, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836 "2023-09-09T11:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/1 "2023-09-09T11:32:52Z")
Obviously New York , but do most major cities have enough tall buildings to let a Friendly Neighborhood hero get around? ---
**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:** [September 9, 2023, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/2 "2023-09-09T12:22:10Z")
Every city that has any tall buildings has enough for the web-swinger to get around the part with the tall buildings. And every such city has a far larger low-rise or no-rise outer urban, then suburban, periphery where web-swingers are walking, not swinging. Your question is a tautology. I was also disappointed in this thread (heh!) contents. I thought it’d be about which cities were good for people to use Tinder, _et al_, to meet strangers for one-nighters. That sort of web-swinging is the game everyone can play, not just superheroes with silly taste in clothing. Although NYC might be a good choice for that kind of swinging too. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/3 "2023-09-09T12:24:56Z")
This post begs for this (Spiderman in Kansas): https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=224&width=400&href=https://www.facebook.com/realkansasmemes/videos/spiderman-on-the-farm/429879701263149/ To the OP he could certainly get around downtown Chicago. Probably most major cities (City of London, Hong Kong, Singapore, downtown Tokyo to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/4 "2023-09-09T12:36:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I thought it’d be about which cities were good for people to use Tinder, _et al_, to meet strangers for one-nighters. Is that really called web-swinging? Huh. I just assumed that New York was more smooshed together than other cities due to lack of space, thus making it better for Spidey. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2023, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/5 "2023-09-09T12:46:08Z")
I have no idea; that’s not my bag. But it sounded like a logical name and before I opened the thread I thought you were informing us and soon we’d all learn from each other about internet app-mediated hookup culture. I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/6 "2023-09-09T12:47:12Z")
If I didn’t think I’d get sued into oblivion by Marvel I’d trademark the name right now! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/7 "2023-09-09T13:24:30Z")
Apparently, he has trouble hailing a cab in NY. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ko9NQw1iB_A/maxresdefault.jpg "Can A Guy Dressed As Spider-man Hail A Cab? | Letterman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko9NQw1iB_A) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/8 "2023-09-09T13:28:17Z")
On a related tangent, how would web swinging in a city work, exactly? You couldn’t really attach to the side of a building, could you? It seems like gravity and physics would dictate that you’d just smack into the side of the building. Seems like you’d always have to hook your web to something horizontal with nothing underneath- like the ubiquitous flagpoles in old movies or cartoons that characters would grab onto when they fell out of a tall building. ETA: I actually put some brainwork into this, and I think I got it— if the buildings are close enough together, you shoot your web at a building ahead and on the other side of the street or whatever. You swing forward and toward that building, and before you smack into it you shoot a web at a building ahead and on the other side. So you advance in a bit of a forward zig-zag. Mistime it though, and you get smushed like a bug 😣 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/9 "2023-09-09T13:50:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I thought it’d be about which cities were good for people to use Tinder, _et al_, to meet strangers for one-nighters. That’s what i expected, too. > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Is that really called web-swinging? Not that i know of, i figured it was just a cute way to describe it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/10 "2023-09-09T13:54:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Not that i know of, i figured it was just a cute way to describe it, though. I’m going to take that as a compliment even though it wasn’t at all what I meant! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/11 "2023-09-09T14:01:27Z")
> [@solost](#): > > ETA: I actually put some brainwork into this, and I think I got it— if the buildings are close enough together, you shoot your web at a building ahead and on the other side of the street or whatever. You swing forward and toward that building, and before you smack into it you shoot a web at a building ahead and on the other side. So you advance in a bit of a forward zig-zag. Mistime it though, and you get smushed like a bug 😣 There’s still some zigzagging, but it’s not as bad as that. Each swing doesn’t need to be planar. Think of Spiderman as playing a game of tetherball: Even though the pole is vertical, the ball doesn’t usually slam into it; it swings around it. So you web to a building ahead and to your right, and swing around until you’re past it, and then switch to one ahead and to your left, and swing around past that one, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/12 "2023-09-09T14:05:57Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > This post begs for this (Spiderman in Kansas): That was the best thing I’ve seen for days! Now I’m imaging a rural Spiderman who makes parachute webs and catches the wind, like the actual spiders do. There aren’t many cities where you could reasonably swing from skyscraper to skyscraper and get very far, especially in the West. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/13 "2023-09-09T14:12:55Z")
I think you need to contact Greek spiderman to teach him the correct technique. > **[Giant spiderweb cloaks land in Aitoliko, Greece](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45572331)** > > A large area of land by a lagoon in western Greece is covered by a giant spiderweb. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/14 "2023-09-09T14:29:52Z")
Spidey has incredible strength. He can kick off a building at high speed, or run along the side or top of a building at high speed to pick up momentum. He can also lengthen his web at any time. He has much more ability than Tarzan who was limited to existing vines even when in the jungle. When he was in New York City the lack of local vines left Tarzan with no choice but to run along window ledges and eventually jump off one of the Brooklyn Bridge towers into the East River. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/15 "2023-09-09T15:06:01Z")
I would assume in any city or suburb where there are NOT enough high-rises or skyscrapers Siider-Man would be jumping from roof to roof with someone more akin to parkour. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/16 "2023-09-09T15:11:15Z")
I just hope he has some good parkour luck to get around safely. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/17 "2023-09-09T15:12:28Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Now I’m imaging a rural Spiderman who makes parachute webs and catches the wind, like the actual spiders do. And, apparently, buffalo, too (well, most of them). > **[The Far Side comic for the ecology nerds out there - Comic & Webtoon](https://9gag.com/gag/a2m4BpO)** > > 31 points • 2 comments ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/18 "2023-09-09T15:13:33Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > more akin to parkour. Kin to Peter Parkour? ---
**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:** [September 9, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/19 "2023-09-09T15:42:59Z")
You! Go to your room! Bad @gnoitall, bad, BAD! 😁 Seriously that is really clever. Got a big grin outta that one. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > I thought it’d be about which cities were good for people to use Tinder, _et al_, to meet strangers for one-nighters. > > That’s what i expected, too. It’s amazing how often you and I have parallel thoughts when some topic or comment can be mis-construed salaciously. I wonder if our spouses would object to an IRL meeting? And which city would be best? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836/20 "2023-09-09T15:55:48Z")
I’d like to know how the gossamer thin web strand manages to hit whatever he’s aiming at, what with all the swirling air currents. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-cities-would-be-good-for-web-swinging/989836.md?page=2)