If a guy has a wrecking bar, he can start tearing walls apart to get in. The Target tower parachutists call themselves BASE jumpers. The name stands for the four launch points that a jumper must use to become a member of the daredevil group building, antenna, span and earth. According to the History Channel s Web site, Carl Boenish and three friends invented the sport after Boenish jumped off the Crocker Center Building in Los Angeles in 1980. Buildings under construction are considered ideal BASE jumping sites, the Web site notes, because they have relatively little security and many entry points.
Jumps often take place at night.
Notable structures that have served as launching pads for BASE jumpers include the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center, Empire State Building, Transamerica Building and Texas Commerce Building. Copyright 2001 Finance and Commerce. All rights reserved. A Dolan Media Publication.