Danger Designed for Niagara Falls

Friday, June 15 will be just another day in the life of Nik Wallenda.  He will wake up, put on a weather resistant track suit and slip on suede and elk skin moccasins made specially for gripping the wire by his mother, Delilah, also a wire walker.  All this after weeks of training and carefully executed wire rigging on either side of Niagara Falls. 

In an internationally televised prime time event, Nik Wallenda will attempt the impossible.  He will walk on a tightrope wire 20 stories high over the mighty rushing waters of Niagara Falls, from Terrapin Point on the U.S. side, crossing over to Table Rock in Canada.

Although many have lost their lives throughout history attempting stunts at the famous waterfall, there’s no need to fear the same could happen to Wallenda.  For Friday’s stunt he will be hooked in with a safety tether just in case anything goes awry.

However in our Science original series, Danger by Design, Nik performs all stunts with no net and no safety harness.  In the series premiere episode on Monday night at 9, Nik gives us insight into what goes through his mind before he attempts one of his death defying feats, "I stare death in the eyes every time that I do a walk, every time that I do a stunt.  I have to mentally prepare for the fact that it could be my last day."

Nik cites his walk featured in Episode 4 of Danger by Design in Puerto Rico as the greatest stunt he has accomplished so far.  We’ll see if he can top it on Friday.  If he successfully crosses Niagara Falls, he’s got his sights set on the Grand Canyon as his next crowd-stunning act.  

 

Close Calls at Panama Canal Prompt Expansion

The Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal may have been big enough for the ships that passed through its waterways when it opened in 1914, but these days freighters can barely squeeze through its narrow passages.  

While I was editing episode 5 (about the Pamana Canal) of our new show Nerve Center, my editor and I cringed as we watched a large cargo ship try to clear the locks unscathed with mere inches on either side (whether or not it was successful, you'll have to watch the show to find out).

So after doing a little research I was glad to see that construction is underway on a third channel that will make this complex super system even bigger.  Interestingly, the expansion of the Panama Canal is one of the largest construction projects in the world and will be a game changer for global shipping when the new channel opens in 2014.  

Check out this NPR article for more details about this massive undertaking.

A Meeting of the Cosmos

When producing a compelling show you always hope that somehow your editorial mission may have a positive impact on someone's life. In this case that someone is two noteworthy individuals: Frank Drake and his godson, Nick Sagan.

Until we arranged for them to meet during one of our shoots for Alien Encounters, they hadn't seen each other since Nick was a young boy.

It was a historical meeting of two people who years ago were connected by the visionary work of Nick's late father, Carl Sagan, who inspired Drake and others to pursue the search for intelligent life in the universe. As they talked over lunch, Frank kept marveling at the ways in which Nick reminds him of his father. The two couldn't stop grinning.

Check out the video below for a glimpse at these two together.

It really was a rare glimpse at an exceptional moment.

Katie Pyne
Associate Producer
SCIENCE