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Strange Things That Scared You (But Aren't Obviously 'Scary')

Swifty said:
I'm scared of scaffolding .. I'll cross the street so I don't have to walk underneath it .. I keep thinking someone hasn't done their job properly and it's going to collapse on me.
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What I think as an excuse to avoid walking under scaffolding is, there will be a ladder up there, probably more than one, and it's bad luck to walk under a ladder, for practical reasons (something may fall on you).
 
GNC said:
What I think as an excuse to avoid walking under scaffolding is, there will be a ladder up there, probably more than one, and it's bad luck to walk under a ladder, for practical reasons (something may fall on you).
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I'm more concerned about the whole thing coming down and killing me. A restaurant I worked at .. someone in a car 'clipped' one of the supporting poles on some 3 story scaffolding just outside the window of the room I was working in .. that set me off, I was waiting for some 'Final Destination' stuff so I phoned the police who turned up, had a look and shrugged it off .. I hate scaffolding.
 
Swifty said:
I'm more concerned about the whole thing coming down and killing me. A restaurant I worked at .. someone in a car 'clipped' one of the supporting poles on some 3 story scaffolding just outside the window of the room I was working in .. that set me off, I was waiting for some 'Final Destination' stuff so I phoned the police who turned up, had a look and shrugged it off .. I hate scaffolding.
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How do you feel about those film clips of workers hundreds of feet up in the air walking around the scaffolding on The Empire State Building, or some other very tall building being constructed? Fair sets off my vertigo, that does.
 
GNC said:
How do you feel about those film clips of workers hundreds of feet up in the air walking around the scaffolding on The Empire State Building, or some other very tall building being constructed? Fair sets off my vertigo, that does.
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No way I'd be able to do that .. no way ..
 
GNC said:
How do you feel about those film clips of workers hundreds of feet up in the air walking around the scaffolding on The Empire State Building, or some other very tall building being constructed? Fair sets off my vertigo, that does.
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Like the 1932 photo of the NY construction workers having lunch

51xdK2N638L._AC_SX355_.jpg
 
GNC said:
Exactly - no hard hats because, hey, what's the point?!
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Because -

Sir Isaac Newton told us why
An apple falls down from the sky
And from this fact, it's very plain,
All other objects do the same.

A brick, a bolt, a bar, a cup,
Invariably fall down, not up
And every common working tool
Is governed by the self-same rule.

So when you handle tools up there,
Let your watchword be "Take Care".
If at work, you drop a spanner,
It travels in a downward manner.

At work, a fifth of accidents or more,
Illustrate old Newton's law.
But one thing he forgot to add,
The damage won't be half as bad
If you are wearing proper clothes,
Especially on your head and toes.

These hats and shoes are there to save
The wearer from an early grave.
So best feet forward and take care
About the kind of shoes you wear.

It's better to be sure, than dead,
So get a hat and keep your head
Don't think to go without is brave;
The effects of gravity can be... grave
 
I can't argue with that! But if you were knocked off the scaffolding or a girder at that height, wouldn't a hard hat be superfluous?
 
GNC said:
How do you feel about those film clips of workers hundreds of feet up in the air walking around the scaffolding on The Empire State Building, or some other very tall building being constructed? Fair sets off my vertigo, that does.
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It's the Rockefeller. Officially only 5 men died during it's construction ... not sure I believe that it was that few having read Di Dinato's Christ in Concrete!

Sollywos x
 
GNC said:
Even 5 men dying during a job is an awful lot, there would be a public inquiry if it happened today.
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Agreed but given the time, the dangerous work and the lack of safety measures, 5 out of a workforce of 3-4 thousand seems remarkable.

Sollywos x
 
escargot said:
Because -

Sir Isaac Newton told us why
An apple falls down from the sky
And from this fact, it's very plain,
All other objects do the same.

A brick, a bolt, a bar, a cup,
Invariably fall down, not up
And every common working tool
Is governed by the self-same rule.

So when you handle tools up there,
Let your watchword be "Take Care".
If at work, you drop a spanner,
It travels in a downward manner.

At work, a fifth of accidents or more,
Illustrate old Newton's law.
But one thing he forgot to add,
The damage won't be half as bad
If you are wearing proper clothes,
Especially on your head and toes.

These hats and shoes are there to save
The wearer from an early grave.
So best feet forward and take care
About the kind of shoes you wear.

It's better to be sure, than dead,
So get a hat and keep your head
Don't think to go without is brave;
The effects of gravity can be... grave
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Showing your age there, remembering that advert. Erm if that is indeed what it is. Cough, cough.
 
GNC said:
Even 5 men dying during a job is an awful lot, there would be a public inquiry if it happened today.
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Sollywos said:
Agreed but given the time, the dangerous work and the lack of safety measures, 5 out of a workforce of 3-4 thousand seems remarkable.
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As it turns out, skyscraper fatalities (per thousand workers) are relatively low compared with rail, canal, bridge, and other types of major construction projects.

In 2015, Safer America published an interactive timeline taking a look at the modern era's most deadliest construction projects. The research takes a look at both the total number of construction worker deaths during the construction projects as well as where the projects rank in highest death rate per 1,000 construction workers.
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(NOTE: SEE: https://safer-america.com/famous-construction-projects-of-the-world/ )

Interesting to note is the seven skyscraper building projects included totaled the least amount of construction worker deaths at just 82. Bridges, which included five projects, followed closely with only 90 worker deaths (although even 90 is still far too many).

Canal projects had the highest total of construction worker deaths with 163,609 deaths in only four projects. Railway projects also had a large number with 107,200 spread across only two railroad projects. Tunnel and dam projects recorded a total of 772 and 733 construction worker deaths respectively. ...

Five other projects including the Titanic, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Los Angeles Aqueduct, Karakoram Highway and the Qatar World Cup have totaled 5,383 construction worker deaths, with 4,000 of those worker fatalities on the Qatar project. ...

Like the Chrysler Building, which had 3,000 workers and zero deaths, the Eiffel Tower kept its construction worker death toll down to one worker with much credit going to extensive use of guard rails and safety screens. The other U.S. skyscraper projects included the Empire State Building, which had five deaths among its 3,400 workers during construction; the 1970s World Trade Center construction which recorded 60 construction worker deaths; the Sears Tower which recorded five worker deaths in two incidents; and Las Vegas's CityCenter project which resulted in the deaths of six construction workers. ...
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SOURCE: https://www.forconstructionpros.com...on-the-worlds-deadliest-construction-projects
 
IbisNibs said:
That does sound like an extraordinary cat!
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He probably did it as revenge for being called Franz Ferdinand. I think he was testing the waters because I'd warned him if he ever brought one into the house then he'd be straight up the Cats' Protection League! I'd had another tom cat previously who did the same thing, same time of the year. Always around my birthday in early November. Perhaps it was the feline equivalent of buying me a box of Fererro Rochers?
 
Maybe they (the tom cats) misunderstood something they heard, and instead of giving you house slippers for your birthday, they gave you mouse slippers instead.
 
GNC said:
I can't argue with that! But if you were knocked off the scaffolding or a girder at that height, wouldn't a hard hat be superfluous?
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Hard hats are designed to protect you from falling items, they would do little to protect you from a fall, falls from height are still the biggest cause of death in tje construction industry, although this is being rapidly caught up by deaths cause by silicosis.

"The construction sector has had the highest number of workplace fatalities over the last 12 months, with falling from height still recorded as the most common cause of work-related death."

https://www.shponline.co.uk/news/workplace-fatality-figures-released-for-2019-20/
 
EnolaGaia said:
As it turns out, skyscraper fatalities (per thousand workers) are relatively low compared with rail, canal, bridge, and other types of major construction projects.



(NOTE: SEE: https://safer-america.com/famous-construction-projects-of-the-world/ )



SOURCE: https://www.forconstructionpros.com...on-the-worlds-deadliest-construction-projects
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I would imagine the the more explosive that were used in a construction project, the more the body count rises, not many skyscraper building projects used dynamite, where as explosives were used a lot in building railroads.
 
GNC said:
How do you feel about those film clips of workers hundreds of feet up in the air walking around the scaffolding on The Empire State Building, or some other very tall building being constructed? Fair sets off my vertigo, that does.
Click to expand...

l remember a Joni Mitchell lyric referring to the fact that Mohawk Indians were disproportionately represented among skyscraper construction crews. l’d never heard that before, so l looked into it. Apparently, opinion is still divided as to whether:

a) Mohawks just don’t have the - gene? - for fear of heights, or;

b) Their culture encourages men to take risks while appearing fearless, and they’re just excellent BS-ers when people ask about the legend...

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
l remember a Joni Mitchell lyric referring to the fact that Mohawk Indians were disproportionately represented among skyscraper construction crews. l’d never heard that before, so l looked into it. Apparently, opinion is still divided as to whether:

a) Mohawks just don’t have the - gene? - for fear of heights, or;

b) Their culture encourages men to take risks while appearing fearless, and they’re just excellent BS-ers when people ask about the legend...

maximus otter
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The version I read about Mohawks working in skyscraper crews and being fearless about it stated that because they lived in woodland areas typically, that meant they didn't understand urban lines of buildings etc .. which I'd say is probably BS because they'd know what perilous heights were .. I expect they were just cheaper exploited labour so didn't have much choice.
 
maximus otter said:
l remember a Joni Mitchell lyric referring to the fact that Mohawk Indians were disproportionately represented among skyscraper construction crews. l’d never heard that before, so l looked into it. Apparently, opinion is still divided as to whether:
a) Mohawks just don’t have the - gene? - for fear of heights, or;
b) Their culture encourages men to take risks while appearing fearless, and they’re just excellent BS-ers when people ask about the legend...
Click to expand...

According to The Straight Dope ...

The recruiting of Mohawk and nearby Iroquoian workers for high steel work was something of a historical accident in the Montreal area. As time went on, employers prioritized hiring Mohawk ironworkers, and their reputation for doing that kind of work arose and grew. The idea the Native Americans lacked a fear of heights may or may not have any truth in it, but the more probable attraction has more to do with machismo and good pay than anything else.

https://www.straightdope.com/21341828/why-do-so-many-native-americans-work-on-skyscrapers
 
EnolaGaia said:
In that particular project there were huge numbers of fatalities from topical diseases (malaria; yellow fever).
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You beat me to it Enola. I'd was about to reply then thought ... nah Enola wil be on to this. Your previous post was very enlightening thank you.

Sollywos x
 
bugmum said:
As an ex-Fen girl, let me say "Oi!" Things can't creep up on you on the Fen, there are no hills and very few trees to hide behind! Dykes, on the other hand, should give you the fear - some of them are big enough to hide a car in. A school mate of mine went down one on a motorbike, smashed himself up quite badly, and was quite lucky to be found as you wouldn't have noticed from the road.
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I lived in Cambridgeshire in the 1990s and worked for Cambridgeshire Constabulary. The thing I remember was the time they drained one of the Fens and found several stolen cars. All well and good but one of them had a dead body in it. The guy was a prison officer at HMP Whitemoor who had been missing for quite some time. At the time his death was classed as "suspicious" because he had been receiving death threats from some inmates who were members of the IRA.. I find the Fens quite haunting but not in a bad way
 
Marsha Klein said:
I'd had another tom cat previously who did the same thing, same time of the year. Always around my birthday in early November. Perhaps it was the feline equivalent of buying me a box of Fererro Rochers?
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More like the person who brings you a gift they know you won't like and expects that out of politeness, you offer it back. "Oooh, I just couldn;t accept this. Here, you have it.":)
 
Marsha Klein said:
I find the Fens quite haunting but not in a bad way
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Eastern fen-dweller here.

Have you read Swift's "Waterland"? Without doubt my favourite modern novel. Just incredible.

He describes the fens as giving you nowhere to hide from God. I always liked that.

They are a beautiful, harsh, enigmatic, sinister, eely landscape. I love the fens.
 
I rather conveniently combine a fear of being enclosed with a fear of heights. One of my colleagues was cheerfully telling me about a work trip which involved travelling in the builders’ lift to the top of the Shard, outside the structure. Having seen online some pictures taken by one of the crane operators I smiled weakly and then had to disappear to the kitchen for some controlled breathing and a large cup of tea.
 
Sollywos said:
Looking for something a bit different I considered buying a jig-saw puzzle of this imagine but bought this instead, being a painting and not a photo made it marginally less scarey!

Sollywos x

. View attachment 37930
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH.

Several years ago I visited Tower Bridge, you can walk along the top and there are sections with glass floors, I had to walk across them quickly without looking down. I almost instinctively grabbed children who were running over them a couple of times.
 
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