Thread: Dangerous and Crazy Trend in Russia - filming yourself risking it all

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

In the US, certain northeast Native American tribes have a long history of working on skyscraper construction, going back to -- well, to the earliest days of steel skyscrapers. It has sometimes even been claimed that fear of heights is "genetically hardwired," and these Indians lack this "normal human instinct" because they carry some sort of recessive mutant gene not found in other ethnic groups! But, apparently, it's just testosterone and machismo:

"In 1907 96 men were killed when a span of the Quebec Bridge collapsed during construction; 35 of them were Indians from Kahnawake. The dead were buried in the Kahnawake cemetery under crosses made of steel beams. Your average construction worker might have decided it was time to go into a safer line of work, but not the Mohawks. From that day forward every young male on the reservation was convinced that risking your neck on high steel was the coolest calling this world could offer."

And what self-respecting young Russian man would want to admit that he has smaller balls than an Iroquois?

Interesting info, but hope it was not a case that they HAD to risk their lives to make a living. I mean, if somebody wants to have a really dangerous job, it should be by choice, and the employer should have done as much as they can to minimize the risk...
The mutant gene would have been more impressive if it had meant they had the skill to actually not fall or get injured... I mean just being more foolhearty can't be much of a benefit can it? It just means a bigger risk of dying in an accident.
Similar to some of those airconditioner installation guys. I get a strong feeling they are not taking as many safety precautions as they probably can.
However I have never lived in a country where airconditioning is common, so I don't know anything about how they should be installed or what the normal safety precautions are.

Here is a picture that I've seen on many postcards - workers building a skyscraper in New York. Hard to imagine this is for real!!