re: Fail Gifs. Let's post them.

quote:

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Part of me (the really stupid part) has always wondered about sliding down those long escalators at the airport.

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Back when the World's Fair opened in New Orleans in 1984, the original part of the current Ernest N. Morial Convention Center served as "The Great Hall" for the Fair. I worked at the fair that summer and found out that in the back portion there were these HUGE extra long escalators that went to some smaller, lesser known exhibits on the second floor. This was back in the days before people figured out to put barriers or stoppers on the stainless steel dividers between the up and down escalators.

Apparently, the convention center still doesn't have them on some escalators:


During lunch and other breaks, I often went there, took off my shoes and "skied" down the middle. I hunched down like a ski jumper on my socks instead of skis. At the end I'd fly forward for probably 10-12 feet and land on my socked feet. There were very few people in that area so it was generally easy to do and not get caught.

Then again, I was 19, a lot lighter and more agile back then. Fun times.