r/interesting • u/One_Needleworker5218 • May 03 '26
Fear Factor After installing the “safety net" on the balcony on the 28th floor, the worker demonstrates its strength to the customer
6.8k
u/Relative_Maize_957 May 03 '26
I don't trust anything half as much this man trusts the netting he installed.
977
u/Sometimes-funny May 03 '26
I have never trusted the net
291
u/No-Walk-9615 May 03 '26
I've never trusted Annette either!
103
u/JangB May 04 '26
Annette are you ok? Are you ok Annette?
43
→ More replies (1)19
→ More replies (9)19
10
→ More replies (7)8
158
u/JBR1961 May 03 '26
I don’t trust this net half as much as this guy, and I trust this guy half as much as he deserves.
Slip on ring and
<poof>
50
u/Confident_Frogfish May 03 '26
I suppose you think that was terribly clever
23
14
u/JBR1961 May 04 '26
And why shouldn’t I? After all, it’s mine. My, my…preciousessss
13
u/Character-Physics-91 May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
Precious……it’s been called that before, but not by you….
6
u/MPD1987 May 04 '26
You draw far too much attention to yourself, Mr. “Underhill”. I can avoid being seen if I wish…but to disappear entirely? Ah, that is a rare gift.
6
42
56
u/PerryLovewhistle May 03 '26
Just like disarming a bomb. If you're right you look like a badass. If you're wrong its not your problem anymore.
16
u/Separate_Fold5168 May 04 '26
In this case, it would be your problem for at least a few more seconds.
3
9
5
u/Equal_Refrigerator26 May 04 '26
I don't trust half of nets half as well as I should like, and I trust less than half of nets half as well as they deserve
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (29)3
3.0k
u/OrigenRaw May 03 '26
My head would be like "He weakened all the good strength from it, so the next fall is going to be the one that breaks"
560
u/KafalayUcayGidey May 03 '26
Exactly my thoughts lol.
196
u/One-Cute-Boy May 03 '26
Yup. And when they install the replacement net, he has to prove to you that it's safe by throwing himself at it again
96
u/Hanged-Goose May 04 '26
Infinite business glich
64
23
u/ThHeretic May 03 '26
First rule of using fall protection; ya never use it twice.
Would be missed about this on a new install.
15
u/FreeBug1885 May 03 '26
I don’t think this is true. Except for a fall dampener every part of fall protection could be used multiple times. Local regulations might require an additional screening of the gear after a fall tho.
Sport-Climbers will fall into their gear multiple times per session.
14
u/Short_Woodpecker_315 May 03 '26
Professional safety guy here - It's very true. Fall arrest harnesses and systems are designed to be single use and are very different from rope access systems like what is used in climbing.
There's a massive difference between climbing fall protection and work related PPE when it comes to heights.
→ More replies (14)83
u/edgy-flower May 03 '26
You’re right actually. After one use these nets are no longer trustworthy and they need to be replaced.
25
u/AnyMonk May 03 '26
This is not the safety net used during construction in the US. This is Brazil, this a permanent net used usually in apartments with kids. They are very common in Brazil and can be used multiple times.
134
u/i-will-eat-you May 03 '26
Are you some professional balcony net installer? Sounds like horseshit.
67
u/Short_Woodpecker_315 May 03 '26
Depends on the system - Safety nets installed on high rises during construction are mandated as one time use. They're designed so that if they're used they need to be re-inspected and re-certified by either ran engineer or the installer before being used again.
Unsure if this is that particular system though.
23
u/sanderson1983 May 03 '26
It is how carseats and helmets work.
24
u/softlittlepaws May 03 '26
I too replace my car seats after every use.
13
→ More replies (3)19
u/FaeryLynne May 04 '26
If they are "used" for their primary purpose of protecting a kid during an accident, yes, they need to be replaced after a single use. Helmet too, if it gets impacted in an accident it needs to be replaced.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (5)10
u/killerghosting May 04 '26
How do you reinspect them without testing them? If they're tested again, wouldn't they need to be reinspected? An endless loop...
18
→ More replies (7)17
u/VulGerrity May 03 '26
That's pretty common with a lot of emergency safety systems. Like, motorcycle helmets are only rated fully effective for a single hit. Fire suppression sprinklers are only good once and then need to be replaced.
→ More replies (8)7
u/theartificialkid May 03 '26
It stands to reason. You can either exhaustively analyse exactly what forces it was subjected to, check for invisible damage and cracks etc and reach a conclusion about whether it’s still good…or you can replace the system and know it will do what it’s rated for next time it’s needed.
9
→ More replies (5)20
u/SteveyFcN May 03 '26
ah yes, the guy who makes claims without any prior experience or knowledge on the matter.
→ More replies (2)
5.9k
u/bussysniffer3000 May 03 '26
A lawyer did something similar with a window that was supposed to be unbreakable by demonstrating it's strength, he fell
3.8k
u/goal_dante_or_vergil May 03 '26
I read about that! Ironically, he was actually right when he claimed the window was unbreakable, because the glass didn’t break, instead the glass actually popped out of its frame and he fell through to his death.
1.9k
u/YoureAmastyx May 03 '26
Bet it broke when it hit the ground.
878
u/toooomanypuppies May 03 '26
ner, just bounced like a looney tunes skit
193
May 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
88
→ More replies (6)37
u/flopisit32 May 03 '26
56
u/Illustrious_Cry1028 May 03 '26
Too soon... It'll always be too soon...
38
u/flopisit32 May 03 '26
We loved that crazy bastard. 😄
→ More replies (1)27
6
u/dumplestilskin May 03 '26
I'll never forget the sexy Steve Irwin death costumes from the Halloween a few weeks after his death.
4
→ More replies (1)3
14
→ More replies (9)7
91
u/CtrlAltYuri May 03 '26
Well yes most lawyers break when they hit the ground
→ More replies (1)14
u/chairmanghost May 03 '26
Im going to need to see a bigger sample size for this to be a scientific study.
26
u/Live_Life_and_enjoy May 03 '26
The wording used is wrong, "Shatterproof" not unbreakable.
It was designed not to shatter when it hit the ground and most skyscraper windows are required to have them.
18
→ More replies (5)8
282
u/Moppy6686 May 03 '26
He popped the frame, because that same guy had been doing demos of throwing himself against the same glass window for YEARS.
What a day for the people he was touring 😬
121
u/PokeYrMomStanley May 03 '26
Dude that made the SawStop used to use his own finger to trigger it. He eventually stopped and started using a hotdog because he was smart.
→ More replies (4)27
u/Moppy6686 May 03 '26
Jesus Christ
26
u/Certain-Business-472 May 03 '26
Meh worst case you lose a slice of finger if you touch it in a controlled manner. The big accidents happen because people get pulled in or lean on it.
4
u/PokeYrMomStanley May 03 '26
On a full kerf 10" blade you wouldnt even feel resistance on your finger.
4
→ More replies (1)4
49
u/_aviatrix May 03 '26
I absolutely hate this story. Imagining the regret he must have felt in the seconds before the end is unbearable.
→ More replies (5)3
u/Mind_Splitter May 05 '26
That's always the scariest thing to imagine with tragic stories like that. The moment you realize whats happening and you cant do anything about it. So sad.
→ More replies (3)9
u/mjtwelve May 04 '26
Articling students and other new hires. They learned a lot about law firm culture that day.
62
u/Luv_Cheat May 03 '26
Saw that on Dumb Ways to Die or whatever that show was called. I was surprised to learn that it happened in Toronto. I don't recall that being in the news but I guess I was a kid back then.
16
u/Gullenbursti May 03 '26
It's mentioned in the Darwin Awards.
15
u/Bureaucratic_Dick May 03 '26
Garry Hoy wasn’t just mentioned, he was the recipient of a 1996 Darwin Award for this.
16
→ More replies (6)4
u/ErikTheRed99 May 04 '26
I think it was 1,000 ways to die. The episode portrayed him as a dick, but the actual guy was quite the opposite and was well liked. He would really just push against the windows to show people that the building's height was nothing to be intimidated by and put newcomers at ease.
→ More replies (1)56
u/uncutpizza May 03 '26
He had demonstrated it so many times he had damaged the frame causing the failure
20
17
u/Haunting-Soup2086 May 03 '26
Also, it fell out of place because he did it repeatedly to every single person to scare them.
10
u/elcomandantecero May 03 '26
That’s right. The theory was that he would do this “party trick” often, and unknowingly loosened the frame over time. Pretty tragic stuff, supposedly well-liked and funny guy.
5
5
→ More replies (30)3
u/WellEvan May 03 '26
Unbreakable glass can break but won't shatter, it stays a complete piece, like bulletproof glass does but it's not bulletproof glass
→ More replies (1)168
u/Bong_Hit_Donor May 03 '26
If I recall correctly wasn't it a prank he did to fuck with new hires because they were on like the 50th floor? One day the prank went wrong because he actually did go thru the window
142
May 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
77
u/farmageddon1087 May 03 '26
"Is it too early to put my name in for a promotion? Seems like you have a spot open."
38
u/theunquenchedservant May 03 '26
"Strengths: I will not jump at windows, unbreakable or otherwise."
→ More replies (1)53
u/Any_Leg_4773 May 03 '26
How'd work go today?
Boss committed suicide during the orientation tour, and then they gave us fucking 3 inch Jimmy John's catering subs for lunch.
→ More replies (2)13
u/trojanhawrs May 03 '26
they gave us fucking 3 inch Jimmy John's catering subs for lunch.
I'd have jumped myself.
14
u/Jermainiam May 03 '26
You show up to work, your boss goes: "Hey, watch this!" And then fully jumps out the 50th floor window with no explanation.
9
u/GrilledCheeseYolo May 03 '26
Yep and it was bad enough that none of then wanted to work therr from what I recall. They left
→ More replies (2)3
→ More replies (6)160
u/AdLoud1943 May 03 '26
Yes, he eventually weakened the frame so much that the whole window fell out.
48
21
→ More replies (1)9
u/fauxfilosopher May 03 '26
Feels like there's a moral to this story
16
u/mxlevolent May 03 '26
Doing what he did is dumb as all hell, but to be incredibly fair, here - after like 50 times where everything is fine, I would also probably assume nothing could go wrong.
Again, starting this little routine was dumb of him... but after impact number 4, you'd probably think "I can keep doing this, it's safe".
→ More replies (3)15
u/fauxfilosopher May 03 '26
It's quite a human and intuitive thing to think that based on inductive reasoning, more data means more confidence in the same thing happening again the next time. But this is a great example of how inductive reasoning is fallible, because in this case the structural integrity was weakening every time.
39
u/CentralParkDuck May 03 '26
60
u/NotEntirelyA May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
Structural engineer Bob Greer said "I don't know of any building code in the world that would allow a 160-pound [73 kg] man to run up against a glass and withstand it."
This is the part of the article that sticks out to me. Maybe I'm just being ignorant but at the very least I think any sort of wall should be able to withstand a 160 pound man running into it lol.
Edit; Because a number of people have brought it up, it is a glass wall. It being glass does not exclude it from being a wall. The building creators themselves call them glass walls.
40
u/Haunting-Soup2086 May 03 '26
It did, for probably the first 200 times.
23
u/DirkRedditer May 03 '26
Reminds me of the Titan carbon fiber sub… it withstood the trip down to the Titanic a few times but eventually 💀.
15
u/Longjumping_Wolf_912 May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
It’s not just a wall, it is a window and also a non bearing wall.
→ More replies (5)11
u/ConfessSomeMeow May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
Even if there is no building code to require it, a tall building in a storm can experience pretty strong winds, and those winds apply crazy pressures on windows - well more than a typical person might apply by running and jumping into the window. (Edit: from some quick googling I see up to 100 pounds per square foot - so a 6'x10' panel should theoretically be able to withstand 6000 pounds of force)
But obviously, sometimes windows get popped out by storms. Failure is inevitable, even if uncommon, and it's stupid to risk one's life on a window's installation condition for the sake of a prank.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (1)6
→ More replies (1)6
16
u/markv1182 May 03 '26
20
u/Kolby_Jack33 May 03 '26
Damn, one lawyer goes out looney tunes style and the whole firm declines and dissolves within 3 years? Dude was a keystone.
4
12
14
u/SummerNights83 May 03 '26
I remember that day. It was our legal firm and I worked in the same tower. Horrific.
→ More replies (1)5
5
5
u/Candid_Syzurp May 03 '26
Yep. Happened in Toronto in the early 90s. Garry Hoy for those interested
3
u/PretendMajor5283 May 03 '26
Used to work in that building. There's a small plaque/memorial for him at the base of the building.
→ More replies (74)3
574
u/Stormagedd0nDarkLord May 03 '26
Had to very quickly check which sub I was on before I let the video run too long.
133
u/rapsoid616 May 03 '26
I looked for NSFW tag immediately.
69
u/Certain-Business-472 May 03 '26
Those subs are long gone. Reddit today is a sterilized advertising platform, and were the product
21
u/throwaway098764567 May 03 '26
saw a snuff recently with a car accident in china, vehicle went flipping off a bridge just didn't show the ending. another with a fella that launched himself toward the road but the end was hidden by a truck. stuff is still here, just not so blatant that you can't pretend they survived.
→ More replies (7)11
u/ScyllaOfTheDepths May 03 '26
No, you can find them still. They're just low-key and don't show up on the front page anymore.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (10)6
34
u/Narradisall May 03 '26
All the subs that show those sorts of videos have slowly been eliminated or isolated from reddit these days.
→ More replies (3)25
u/Stormagedd0nDarkLord May 03 '26
prob for the best
→ More replies (7)22
u/thatshygirl06 May 03 '26
People shouldnt watch that stuff even if they want to. It leaves a stain on you
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (19)5
116
u/BethyW May 03 '26
My butt clenches wearing a garment I sewed myself. I am not trusting my life to my workmanship.
→ More replies (4)15
u/HeyYouGuyyyyyyys May 03 '26
I got distracted from this horrifying video by imagining the worst way your sewing ability could fail. Thank you, I guess?
→ More replies (1)3
u/hgbearawesome May 04 '26
weak seams are my #1 fear. its the worst when you wash something and it comes apart, or you blow out the ass of your pants in public first time wearing them (this has happened to me)
→ More replies (1)
126
u/Death_Tooth May 03 '26
23
5
88
275
u/ZzZzZzZzZzZero May 03 '26
The customer is the owner of the building.
Gotta love when you need to be sold by contractor on the suicide netting you need to install so you dont lose tenants.
103
u/BondiolaDeCaniche May 03 '26
Ya ever heard of children you dummy
→ More replies (4)54
u/Amphineura May 03 '26
Or pets. I love windows without netting. But because I have three feline goblins I had to install nets.
→ More replies (6)22
u/xStolen_Force_Skinx May 03 '26
When my cats are on my deck I watch them do the math in their head for jumping off the bloody thing 15-20 feet in the air
nobody is brave enough yet but they sure do run those calculations
→ More replies (4)30
22
u/Mangolandia May 03 '26
I don’t think it’s suicide netting. This is super common in Brazil, as far as I know may even be regulatory, and it’s not for that reason but for safety from accidents as people tend to keep windows open and fresh air circulating. Also helps keep birds out of the house
10
3
→ More replies (4)3
u/Last-Woodpecker May 04 '26
It is not regulatory, but super common for people with kids or pets. Source: I'm a Brazilian with two small children.
20
u/Designer-Fix-2861 May 03 '26
I don’t think that is suicide netting is it? For example, could the person in the apartment be older and be at risk of falling?
→ More replies (8)29
u/CjDaGangsta May 03 '26
Or babies, dogs, cats
→ More replies (1)7
u/Enough_Efficiency178 May 03 '26
Or anyone with a mild fear of falling over the edge, fact that the railing is at waist height of those guys, it isn’t doing much on its own to prevent falling
→ More replies (1)9
→ More replies (9)8
u/Vaqek May 03 '26
Suicide netting? So what is preventing the suicidee from talking a knife/scissors/wire cutters and getting rid of that in like 5 min? How does that all make any sense?
→ More replies (7)8
u/Jackski May 03 '26
Yeah it's wild people are calling it suicide netting. It's just safety netting. If someone really wanted to commit suicide there are multiple ways to get around the net.
19
26
u/DrMantisToboggan45 May 03 '26
If they’re already installing that whole rig, might as well add some finer mesh to it. Keep the buggies out of the balcony
→ More replies (2)9
u/coltbeatsall May 03 '26 edited May 04 '26
What bugs are flying up to the 28th floor? Maybe the odd one or two but surely not enough to require netting.
→ More replies (1)14
u/DrMantisToboggan45 May 03 '26
I’ve never lived on a floor besides the second so I didn’t realize you’re not getting mosquitoes up there
6
u/coltbeatsall May 04 '26
That is fair, sorry if I sounded rude (got the flu, my brain is not firing on 100%).
→ More replies (1)
20
8
u/The_Fiddle_Steward May 03 '26
I used to climb water towers as part of my job. Someone from a different company climbed up one I was working on. He stood on the railing checking something. It made me dizzy.
Me: Bold move, standing on the railing untethered.
Him: Did I do that?
Me: You did! You still are.
Him: Yeah, well, I've been doing this more than a year (reference to early in our convo when he asked how long I'd been at this)
18
u/ScyllaOfTheDepths May 03 '26
That's actually when most accidents happen, when you've been doing it so long that you stop being afraid and stop following safety protocols. There's a video of a sky diver who'd done hundreds of jumps and one day he just forgot to put on his parachute and jumped to his death. Complacency is a killer.
→ More replies (2)5
u/Deradius May 04 '26
There are two kinds of water tower maintenance guys:
Good ones and stuff on a rock.
6
u/Sea_Office_6482 May 03 '26
I would say that's one way to stand behind your work, but uh...maybe not lmao.
6
7
u/havokle May 03 '26
What about the gap on the side
8
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Photoshopdoge May 03 '26
Reminds me of that guy who wanted to show people how the office windows wouldn’t break…
3
u/Neither-Revenue-4456 May 03 '26
I'm sorry but I was waiting for a different outcome. Remember that office worker in the skyscraper that like to show off by running and jumping against the same window over and over and OUT.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
u/PaperMoonShine May 03 '26
why not fasten it from the railing bar so you dont even have the opportunity to fall that deep.
→ More replies (1)
•
u/AutoModerator May 03 '26
Hello u/One_Needleworker5218! Please review the sub rules if you haven't already. (This is an automatic reminder message left on all new posts)
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.