On this date in 1977, police in New York City arrested George "The Human Fly" Willig on the 110th floor of the World Trade Center. His crime? He climbed the South Tower from the outside. He accomplished this feat, which took him 3 1/2 hours, using clamps he had fashioned to fit into the channel that ran the entire height of the tower for window-washing equipment.
The City, sensing they had a new folk hero on their hands, decided against a hefty fine for Willig. Instead, he was fined $1.10 -- one cent for every floor floor of the tower.
Further reading:
New York Press -
"WTC Climber George Willig Would Do It All Again" Gothamist -
George Willig's 1977 WTC ClimbWikipedia -
George Willig
2 comments:
I hadn't heard about this one. (Of course that's why I read you.) Did they fine that guy who did the tightrope walk? We saw the documentary about him, but I don't remember. He was quite an odd duck.
He was a Frenchman named Philippe Petit. He did his walk in 1974. Charges against him were dropped in exchange for a free show for kids in Central Park. And I read somewhere that they gave him a free lifetime pass to the WTC observation deck.
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