Then I watched it again “just for fun,” and that led to a “side adventure” that grew into this post.
That’s because watching the Niagara Falls video led to YouTube suggesting another minute long 360° video of a zipline ride in Cañon City, Colorado within Royal Gorge Bridge & Park.
Then another 360° video of a zipline ride by Superfly Ziplines in Whistler, British Columbia popped up. Again, only a minute long — innocent enough, why not?
Wahoooo! Notice that the speedometer on the video said 100 MPH!
That ride turns out to have been on the longest zipline in Europe and the fastest in the world. Great to experience virtually, but probably terrifying in real life!
A Google search showed that Zip World is a sort of playground for grown-ups with a number of jungle gym like “destinations.” Here’s a non-360° video about what they offer.
After watching ten 360° videos of zipline rides in under 15 minutes, it occurred to me that ziplining is a “thing” at tourist destinations, and taking 360° videos of the rides is too. I couldn’t help but wonder, how many more 360° video clips of rides are there out there?
A YouTube search for zipline+360 turned up hundreds of results from all over the world!
Better yet, the rides themselves are only about a minute’ish long, by definition, and they’ve got great bird’s-eye views of scenery that you wouldn’t see otherwise. If you’re into seeing great places, what a way to do it!
Happy Zipping 🙂
If you enjoy adventures with a side of adrenaline then check out these other posts …
I concluded my last post about Sand Art with highlighting how Booking.com offered the chance to stay in a sandcastle as a promotion for Coney Island’s Sand Sculpting Competition. Here’s a link with more on that unusual “opportunity.”
That may have sounded like a one-off type of oddity, but in truth, it wasn’t.
Booking.com is known for cooking up some “unique” promotions. For example, here’s a silly clip on what they did for that illustrious holiday, National Avocado Day.
No matter what your passion happens to be, there’s bound to be a place to stay for it.
The reason that I’m so aware of this is because awhile ago, with amusement, I realized that there’s some sort of lodging related to almost every subject on Cosma. Sometimes those experiences end up as adventures like Sand Art. That’s why I have a huge stash of links to “thematic” lodging that range from mildly amusing to pretty wild.
For example, there’s some kind of place to visit for what ever kind of transportation.
There’s also a place called Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in Saariselka, Finland where you can have all sorts of winter fun and then chill in glass igloos and watch the northern lights.
If something isn’t covered in this post or those sites, then you can probably find something with a search for “Your+Interest+Hotel 🙂
That’s how I found a place for my inner librarian called the Library Hotel. It’s on Madison Avenue in New York City, and the rooms are organized by Dewey Decimal! Here’s a link to a video about it.
So, next time you are booking lodging, I hope you will consider looking for something a bit less “traditional” that will fit your interests and maybe even become an adventure in its own right!
Two weeks ago Hudson Yards opened to cheers from the developers and some jeers from the community.
The Escheresque whimsy of The Vessel captured the media’s attention at the opening, but the views from the observation deck called Edge is the big draw. Here’s a link to a clip about the views.
Seeing the views from Hudson Yards inspired me to open my files and look for my notes about other clips with views of New York City posted online — they’re all 360° videos, so look around!
This first clip takes you on a two minute stroll along the High Line which was mentioned in the Hudson Yards clip above. It’s a 1.45 mile long elevated walk way that ties together Greenwich Village, the Meatpacking District, Chelsea, and Midtown Manhattan. The views are nice, but more down to Earth than those at Hudson Yards.
TXTExploring the High Line, NYC’s Elevated Urban Park (Washington Post)
Of course, no matter how many new views are generated by new developers, there will never be a more iconic vista in New York than the one from the top of the Empire State Building.
A more adventuresome 360° experience was posted by the New York Times. It is a two minute clip from the perspective of a guy who climbed the spire of World Trade Center.
Finally, The New York Times< also published another great view from even greater heights. It's entitled Take Flight, and it was featured in their 2015 edition of Great Performances. The piece lifts you up from a New York City street at night to take you on a mesmerizing flight of fancy towards the Moon.
The soundtrack is fine, but I can’t help hearing Christopher Cross’s Arthur’s Theme when I watch it.
There’s also a non-360° version on The New York Time’s YouTube Channel that shows each of the individual performances up close, and here are some more stories about Take Flight.
Still deciding what you want to be when you grow up?
Are you considering a second career?
Before you pick up the want ads or head out to the career center to look for your next career opportunity, how about considering something a little off of the beaten path?
For example, if you love dogs, what about a career in Doggy Daycare?
If Trapeze Artist is even a bit too down-to-Earth for you, what about becoming a professional Wingwalker? Here’s a 360° video with an inside look at what it entails.
Remember all of those action movies where people jump out of airplanes or off of buildings wearing wingsuits?
Did you ever think it would be cool to do that for real?
Well, now you can get a sense of what it would be like.
Here are some 360° videos that share the experience from the jumper’s point of view. It’s the next best thing to doing it yourself, so don’t forget to look around!
In this first video, Jeb Corlis jumps out of a plane with a group of friends. It starts off as a nice, peaceful experience, but the suspense builds by the end as the ground comes up to greet you.
Of course, the above video was cut so that you didn’t actually get to see the landing. Here’s a short, fast clip of someone wingsuiting over Dubai, and it shows what it’s like to land. You also get to see what it’s like to jump from a plane and then land on the ground in about a minute and a half after visiting some skyscrapers up close and personal in between. Geronimo!
As fun as it is to see what it’s like to jump out of a plane and not go splat, the experience of “basejumping” off of stationary things like cliffs can be even more adrenaline inducing. Here’s a dramatic perspective from Jokke Sommer and Halvor Angvik whose basejump takes them up close and personal with the mountains of Stryn, Norway.
Finally, my favorite video of all shows Gabriel Lott jumping off of a mountain, buzzing some traditional skydivers, and then landing near a beautiful beach! 🙂
If all of this adventure from the safety of your own screen isn’t enough of an adrenaline rush, and you’re just dying to get out and try it yourself, here’s a few things to consider before you “try it at home.”
First, there’s a lot more to it than just buying a suit from a vendor like Squirrel and jumping off of a cliff or building. Here’s a nice one minute video primer that covers the basics of what you really need to do before you jump.
Personally, I file this under things that should make sane people just say, no!
Still, I hope you enjoyed this vicarious adrenaline rush compliments of some adventuresome folks who didn’t say no, and then even took 360° cameras along so us landlubbers could experience their rides, too!
If you like adventures like this, then perhaps you will enjoy these other posts …
Finally, for those who are too young to know or too old to remember, here’s a fifty year old pre-MTV flashback by the The 5th Dimension singing the song that inspired the title of this post.
Groovy!
If you like this adventures then perhaps you will enjoy these other posts …
A Monday morning caffeine fix is nice, but how about a serious adrenaline rush instead?
Nothing will get your pulse going like some good old fashioned adventure at extreme heights. Luckily, there are a ton of 360° videos on YouTube designed to do just that, so pick your poison from these five specially selected experiences, don’t forget to expand the video, turn up the resolution, look around, and especially down! 🙂
