Volume 1, No. 10. June 15, 2001
It's a bicycle!
The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa,
Florida, announces the arrival of a high wire bicycle, June 9, 2001. Measurements:
30 feet above the ground (9 meters), 98 feet long (30 meters), 1-inch steel
cable (2.54 centimeters).
Give the media a chance to be daredevilish, and you
get publicity. MOSI invited members of the media to try out the longest high
wire bike ride in a U.S. museum, and almost all of the Tampa Bay region's TV,
radio and newspaper crews came out not just for the Friday preview but throughout
the whole weekend. "They love it," said Beverly Littlejohn, MOSI's public relations
manager. Among the more bizarre stunts involved Peppermint Patty of Mix 100.7
radio station, who crossed the chasm wearing a pink tutu while broadcasting
a blow-by-blow description of the ride.
The exhibit, intended to be an interactive way to explain physics, also drew
a good crowd of public participants during its opening weekend, especially kids.
"They seem to have no fear," Littlejohn said. But would they wear a pink tutu?
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