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Tailor Jumped for the First and Final Time from the Eiffel Tower Wearing Overcoat Parachute.

By Alex in Fashion on Feb 5, 2007 at 3:13 pm


From the Darwin Awards:

Monsieur Franz Reichelt with his early parachute – an outstanding example of the way in which early aviators were as spectacular in their failures as in their successes. Reichelt was an Austrian tailor who sought to combine his interests by creating a garment to serve as both an overcoat and a parachute. In 1911 he decided to test his invention. Having told the authorities that he wanted to make a "dummy" drop, at the last moment he strapped himself in, and with sublime confidence stepped from a platform of the Eiffel Tower, and fell to his death.

Link | There’s even a YouTube clip [warning: read the last sentence of the quote above] – via WFMU’s Beware of the Blog


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COMMENT
  1. Barjak
    Feb 5th, 2007 at 3:52 pm

    From the french Wikipedia (sorry for my poor translation !) :
    « The autopsy indicated that Reichelt died of a heart attack, before he touched the ground. »

    And further :

    « There was a total of 336 deads since the construction of the Eiffel tower : failed sport performances, accidents, suicides, etc. »

  2. Heather
    Feb 5th, 2007 at 5:43 pm

    What a idiot. I think he spent to much time by the sewing machine. I would have had died even before i got up the flippin towwweerrr!!!!!

  3. frecnh frog
    Feb 6th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

    love the imprint depth measuring part ;)

  4. custom tailor thailand
    Aug 16th, 2007 at 12:28 am

    is there any other link to see that you tube clip.

  5. custom tailor
    Aug 30th, 2007 at 4:32 am

    poor fellow .why he started from Eiffel Tower?if he jump from some where else may be he can survive

  6. regina phalange
    Dec 30th, 2008 at 3:10 pm

    you guys need to learn how to spell.... maybe take an english class....learn to make proper sentances...

  7. seo
    Jan 21st, 2009 at 1:05 am

    is there any other link to see that you tube clip.

  8. Larry
    Jan 30th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    Says the person who misspelled "sentences".

  9. iLoveFranz
    Jul 2nd, 2009 at 10:12 am

    What a crap death, why couldn't he have used an equal weight, before his heart attack, he must've felt so crap.

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