The first thing that appeared with the advent of skyscrapers were suicide jumpers. The second was the “flying men”, not far from the first madmen who climbed these skyscrapers, and in the clothes and shoes of those years, which now look like something extremely inconvenient for those purposes, there was fame and money. Before the Great Depression, you could make good money from rock climbing as part of an advertising campaign. “Fly men” were presented in honor of some bank or film, but the most common theme was, of course, life insurance. The most famous “fly men” was Harry Gardiner. It seems that he was the first to invent this practice, or at least the first to monetize it. He began climbing skyscrapers in 1905 and during his career (until 1926) climbed 700 buildings. He climbed without a safety net, so, as you can imagine, he never fell. Gardiner attracted thousands of people with his performances. In December 1916, more than 30,000 people gathered to watch him climb the Omaha World Herald. Another 30,000 admired his ascent from Terre Haute Indiana, and 22,000 watched him climb to the top of a building in Denver. But the highlight of his career came at the Detroit skyscraper in September 1916. Then, 150,000 spectators flocked to the 14-story majestic Gardiner Building, and after his ascent, Harry Gardiner disappeared as extravagantly as he had lived. In 1926, he simply disappeared. And in 1933, he (or a man who closely matched his description) was found dead at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. And it wasn’t the fall that killed him, as you might think, but people – someone had beaten the poor guy to death.
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