Dean's World

Holy cow, I want to go on this thing.

(Via Peggy.)

Misty Moonlight reports that the Grand Canyon skywalk looks like a big scam. Not an urban legend but an apparent blatant fraud.

I think I'll drop a note to the Snopes people...

I've always loved snopes.com, although some years ago I had a run-in with them that shook my faith. It started with an article about the well-known myth that people breathe through their skin. I'd had doubts; if people breathe through their skins, why wouldn't SCUBA divers asphyxiate? Then I ran across their article debunking the idea, and was convinced that the legend was nonsense.

In those days, at the end of their articles Snopes used to invite people to comment if they had any insights on the legend in question. Joyfully for me (at the time), I realized I had one: I was a skydiver back then, and I knew some fellow skydivers who believed that you don't breathe in free fall. They noted the fact that when skydiving you're falling at about 120 miles per hour (the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane), and they believed this caused so much oxygen to be pumped into them through the skin that breathing was unnecessary.

I could see why my fellow skydivers thought this. When you're in free fall the wind is so loud, and the rush of adrenaline so great, that you barely notice if you're breathing. But you will be breathing, I assure you.

Still, I thought it was interesting that this legend was believed among some skydivers I knew. So I wrote Snopes to share the story, thinking they would find it amusing and possibly worth sharing. This was 10 years ago and the internet was a much smaller place, as was their site.

To my surprise I got back a sarcastic and rude email to my friendly story. I was condescendingly informed that people simply do not breathe through their skin and I should not believe this story. The skydivers who told it to me were obviously just pulling my leg.

Just pulling my leg?

I wrote back and said no no, they believed it, and they thought it was because of how fast they fell. I knew it was silly but I thought it was interesting as another real-world example of an odd myth being circulated.

Their next response was even more condescending: they could absolutely promise that people do not breathe through their skin, and further, if what I was saying was true then you could just stand in front of a big fan and hold your breath forever. I should stop being so gullible.

I could only stare at the email in disbelief. It appeared that no matter how much I explained to these people that I did not believe the legend, was merely giving another example of where the legend had spread, all they would do is respond with snottiness and derision.

The emails were signed by Barbara Mikkelson. I decided to chalk it up to her getting too much email, or having a bad day, or whatever. Now I begin to think the real problem is that the Mikkelsons are just plain jerks. Why?

Yesterday, I dropped them a polite note saying they might want to consider reducing their Grand Canyon Skywalk article from "True" to "undetermined" because despite all the publicity, this may be one of those projects that is proclaimed to the world but never actually materializes. After all, we have nothing here but artist's conceptions: no photos, no names of architects, just a lot of promises. Add on a troubling recent eyewitness account, and something doesn't smell right. But get a load of this correspondence from "Dave" (I assume Mikkelson) at Snopes:

From: Snopes

The article you cite doesn't say there's "nothing there." On the contrary, it documents obvious construction activity and notes that holes for the skywalk have indeed been drilled into the canyon.

The skywalk may not be completed by the projected due date, but most construction projects of this magnitude eventually fall behind schedule.

- David

From: Dean

Dude. There's nothing there but holes in the side of the canyon.

This may be a scam. You should look harder before just assuming it's true.

Dean

From: David

Dude. Are you expecting them to hang the superstructure from skyhooks?

You should familiarize yourself with the meaning of "scam" and leave the analysis to those who understand what they're doing.

I believe I see the real problem: the Mikkelsons apparently think everyone who writes them with potentially interesting or useful information is attacking them.

Let's review what we have here: It's a structure that was first promised to be open to the public by late 2005. Then it got moved to being open to the public in January 2006. Now it's moved to being open to the public in "early 2006." Yet so far as I can find, there are no pictures anywhere of this structure, just artist's renderings. As of December 4, 2005, the web site for the Grand Canyon Skywalk contains only artist's drawings. It does include a section marked "photo gallery," but it's empty. Even more peculiar, the site states flatly that:

In May 2005, the final test was conducted and the stucture passed engineering requirements by 400 percent, enabling it to withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes (more that [sic] 71 million pounds).

Question for the peanut gallery: how do you conduct "final testing" to certify the load-bearing ability of a cantilevered structure that is not currently in place--but which they're trying to charge people to see anyway?

It appears that the Mikkelsons lack the skepticism that would allow them to see past charlatans like the man with the death ray he can't demonstrate, or Moller, the inventor of the Sky Car, who has been saying he'll have flying cars in production "within 5-10 years" for 40+ years, yet has never shown any prototype that does more than hover a few feet off the ground attached to a tether.

This should be an interesting test: can the blogosphere outsmart Snopes? And, if it does, will the Snopes folks acknowledge it, or will they simply quietly withdraw the page without comment? Or, will the builders of the famed Grand Canyon Skywalk actually put a skywalk in place as promised?

Who wants to bet on the skywalk being real? After all, they've already tested the thing to show it can support 71 jumbo jets even though it's not even up yet. Although they do say they've got holes in the canyon walls, and you only have to pay about $100 to see the holes. Pictures? None available, but check back, the structure will be done within 6 months ("early 2006").

Another random question: how deep do you figure those holes have to be to support 71 million pounds, and withstand an 8.0 Earthquake and 100 mph winds? And what materials do you suppose they're using?

Also, the web site for the Grand Canyon Skywalk (and yes, I have taken screen shots) claims (as of 12/4/2004) that the skywalk has been:

Design-tested by a world-renowned team involved in such projects as:

Taipei 101
Mandaly Bay Resort
The Palms Hotel Casino
Wynn Resort Las Vegas
Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam project started in 1928. I don't know about those other structures, but I would surely think that whatever architects and engineers were involved in them would have names. Can anyone tell me those names?

Anyone want to place wagers? I'm willing to give the builders a call tomorrow for a statement. Also, is there anyone living near this famed skywalk who's willing to go down there and try to get some pictures? I'll bet we could come up with the $100 or so they want you to pay just for the privilege of seeing it and taking photos....

Well, the case of the Grand Canyon Skywalk still looks to need to be ranked as "indeterminate." It appears that at some point someone was serious about trying to build it, but the project which "began construction" in 2004 still looks to be nothing more than a couple of holes in the ground. They appear to be awfully behind schedule. Peggy has a detailed report with photos.

I've decided to put off any more writing on this until I have more time after graduation.

Last year we did some investigation on the famous "Grand Canyon Skywalk" that was all the rage on the internet. We worked with Peggy Hall and her husband to do a little gumshoe work and concluded that the skywalk looked a whole lot like a promised work that was never going to be finished. They kept giving nothing but artist's rendering, and kept making bloviating claims about it its marvelousness, and kept predicting when it would be open to the public--and the opening date kept shifting and the pictures never changed from any "artist's conception." Peggy eventually got out to the site and got some pictures, which showed all the signs of a half-baked, underfunded, massively behind-schedule construction project--and the company behind the project did not return phone calls.

Well it's starting to look like, as ridiculously behind schedule as they got, they might be going ahead and building this thing.

Reader Michael Pollard recently forwarded this National Geographic article on the Skywalk to me, and initially I wanted to call "bull***t" again, because the story reads just like all the ones we were reading from a year and a half ago--and still contained nothing but that same artist's conception.

However, Michael also pointed out that the folks at Snopes have what appear to be more recent construction photos which would tend to indicate that significant progress has been made--although it looks somewhat different from the artist's conceptions we've seen, I notice.

(Thanks Michael.)

So, it appears that the Grand Canyon Skywalk is real. After Peggy's investigation last year, it appears that the company making this thing, being two years late, finally managed to get a structure up.

Michael Demmons was also kind enough to email me this link about it, within minutes of Peggy sending her update to me.

Then my antannae began quivering: this was all well and good, but I examined both links carefully, and the supporting links. This thing is supposedly the 8th wonder of the World. An amazing and truly unique construction. So where the photographs?

I'm not alleging a conspiracy here. I'm certain the structure exists now, too many say they've seen it. But this has to be simply the worst, most incompetent job of marketing and press relations that I have ever seen in my life. To whit: where are the clear and impressive photos of the marvelous Skywalk?

The lack of any photo evidence--other than "artist's conceptions"--along with the apparently huge construction delays was what had me wondering what the heck was going on in the first place.

I understand that Arizona is a dark, primitive land steeped in backwardness and barbarity, and that the natives there fear the evil juju of a decent camera. Still, you'd think some Christian missionary somewhere would have managed to smuggle one past the guards in order to snap a few clear shots from a few different angles using a decent lens.

Even journalist Elizabeth Mitchell, who claims to have been there, has no photographs at this writing on her site.

This is driving me batty. How can you have story after story after story about this amazing new structure, unique in world history and a huge tourist attraction, and not have any decent goddamned photos of the thing?

Is modern-day journalism really this bad?

Finally with digging I found this pathetically bad photo, and this story with somewhat better images. Which, after much looking, turns out to be *the best* photography of this 8th wonder of the world I have yet to see in the last two years.

It's this that led me to wonder whether the whole thing was a business boondoggle/hoax in the first place--something some underfunded and/or unrealistic entrepreneur dreamed up but never actually produced, like the Moeller Sky Car.

When I first raised the question, the Grand Canyon Skywalk home page had no actual photographic evidence at all. Even now, it's mostly dominated by artist's depictions. Good lord. Who is in charge of this project? Where are the spectacular, awe-inspiring photos of this amazing and unique construction?

I repeat: I no longer doubt that it exists. But I wonder (A) who is the incompetent person on charge of press relations on this, and (B) why do Arizona reporters apparently not know how to use cameras?

I actually think this is a pretty cool construction project. I'm just dazzled at the fact that apparently no one on the entire internet--including the people who own this structure!--can supply a clear shot of this breathtaking marvel that's much better than your average smudgy picture of Bigfoot.

*Update*: Okay, here's a video. Which isn't exactly impressive, but hey, at least it's clearly Buzz Aldrin and he's walking on something. Note to Hualapai tribe: I can probably find you a cheap photographer who would give you shots that look like something more than an ex-astronaut walking around on a bridge with a microphone in his hand. Give me a call.

*Update 2*: Here is the very best photo I have managed to find so far, in all its glory and majesty:

Wow. Just... wow.

*Update 3*: Okay, this video is sort of cool:

Finally. That actually does look like something it would be cool to walk on. Not exactly like the artist's depictions, but nothing ever is.

(Thanks Sandi.)

Although it differs substantially from the initial artist's conceptions that were making their way around the internet a year or two ago, and although its construction fell way behind schedule, it appears that the Grand Canyon Skywalk is doing brisk business.

Good for them! I'd like to check it out myself.

(Thanks Martin.)