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The word for tightrope walking is “funambulism” from the Latin “ambulism” meaning “to walk” and “fun” meaning “in the worst possible place”.
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The trick to tightrope walking is to lower one’s center of gravity but not so low that it is below the level of the pavement below.
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Funabulists often carry a long heavy pole. The poles are used to lower the wire-walker’s center of gravity; and, if he falls, to try to hit the person who first talked him into tightrope walking on the way down.
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A lot of tightrope performers will work without a net because the only thing more exciting than a tightrope performance is a tightrope performance coupled with a small chance of seeing a dead body.
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Tightrope-walking began in Ancient Greece probably due to all the tightropes they already had up and the Greek propensity towards pacing a lot…
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In Thus Spake Zarathustra, a tightrope-walker is distracted by a jester while performing in a town and he falls to his death. Of course Nietzsche’s book isn’t REALLY about a tightrope-walker and a jester… those are metaphors. A metaphor is stuff that you aren’t talking about turning out to be that stuff anyway.
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Jorge Ojeda-Guzman lived on a tightrope for 206 days, still the world’s record for living on a tightrope. Ojeda-Guzman hadn’t intended to break the record but, after realizing that he was in Orlando, Florida, it took that long to convince him it was safe to come down. He was mugged fifteen minutes later.
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Charles Blondin and others have crossed over Niagara Falls on a tightrope because the only thing more exciting than a tightrope performance is a tightrope performance coupled with a pretty good chance of seeing a wet dead body.
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Con Colleano was the first tight rope walker to perform a somersault on a tightrope; he did it dressed as a matador. If you want to see what he looked like, you can find his picture in any dictionary next to the entry for “attention whore”…
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The Flying Wallendas were known for constructing human pyramids on the highwire. Where they got the humans for them is still unknown.
Potatoes and the Promise of More Potatoes 
Is any of this actually true Charles?
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The first portion of each is usually the true part, Deb. Those guys did exist and they did do what I said they did. I tack the lies on at the end of each…
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Lies at the end, sounds like a good life lesson 🙂
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Tightrope walking is like NASCAR. You know you’re watching for the fall/crash, but refuse to admit it.
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I thought about that and my son brought up NASCAR… but, I really needed a self-referential item…
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I watch neither. I see enough crashing and burning real time with my husband’s family….
😉
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Every member of my immediate family has been permanently crippled in some way in a car accident. [shudder]
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The lies were my favorite part. Early morning laughs to help with another Monday – and a reminder to stay out of Florida.
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It’s a rainy Monday here in Virginia… dank and cold and unforgiving…
I LOVE it!
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Don’t tell me this was inspired because you went tightrope-walking last night.
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Walking/falling… tomato/tomah-to…
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They threw tomatoes at you, too?!
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I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!
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“f you want to see what he looked like, you can find his picture in any dictionary next to the entry for “attention whore”…”
…or “omelette”
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You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few matadors…
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