IP: News of the Weird: Parachutes, Clear Envelopes Booming

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2001 17:00:18 -0500
> To: farber () cis upenn edu (David Farber)
> From: Richard Jay Solomon <rsolomon () dsl cis upenn edu>
>
> http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/11/7/63942.shtml
>
> > Parachutes, Clear Envelopes Booming
> >
> > NewsMax.com Wires
> > Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001
> > CHICAGO -- With reports of the highest unemployment rate in years and 
> > hundreds of thousands of jobs disappearing, there are at least three 
> > companies reporting booming business.
> >
> > A Michigan firm that makes parachutes designed for use from tall 
> > buildings and two Wisconsin companies that make clear envelopes say 
> > business has increased markedly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and 
> > later anthrax contaminations.
> >
> > John Rivers said he began developing the "executivechute" long before the 
> > attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, but didn't do much with 
> > it because he didn't think anyone would buy it.
> >
> > "It (the attacks) hit a little too close to home knowing that we could 
> > have had a product on the shelf or in some of those people's hands that 
> > would have saved some lives," Rivers told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We've 
> > been working hard on it ever since."
> >
> > Executivechute Corp. of Three Rivers, Mich., was born and Rivers said 
> > final testing, using 200-pound dummies, has been completed on its 
> > products. The company has orders for 100 of its $795 chutes.
> >
> > The chutes are designed for people who have never used a parachute and 
> > from as low as 10 stories. Rivers acknowledges, however, the chute has 
> > never been tested under emergency conditions and he cannot guarantee the 
> > safety of anyone using it. That's why, he said, it should be used only as 
> > a last resort.
>
>
> snip


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