Is It A Bird, Is It A Plane?
'Spiderman' scales BBC building
A TV presenter has used two vacuum cleaners to climb up the side of the BBC building in White City as part of a science programme to be screened on Monday (August 10).
Jem Stansfield, one of the presenters of the BBC One programme Bang Goes The Theory, climbed the building using a pair of vacuum gloves he created himself, using a couple of ordinary vacuum cleaners.
“I'm not quite sure if I can do it,” he said before beginning his ascent up the 40m (120ft) high building.
However, Stansfield, who is also an engineer, clearly felt confident enough to turn around and wave at the cheering crowd below when he was already part-way up.
When he was near the top of the building, the gloves appeared to lose their suction and came away from the smooth surface - eliciting a cry of horror from the people watching below.
But Stansfield was caught by the safety harness tied to his back and continued his climb upwards. On reaching the top, he was rewarded with loud cheers and applause.
Stansfield scaled the White City building in an attempt to demonstrate the laws of physics.
Just in case anyone wants to copy the stunt, the BBC website warns: "This stunt was carried out by trained professionals following strict safety procedures and should not be attempted or replicated."
Bang Goes The Theory, in which a team of intrepid presenters put science to the test, can be seen at 7.30pm on Monday night on BBC One.
August 7, 2009
