Gee, I wonder why someone would have needed to run like a madman across rooftops in the first place? You don't suppose he was being followed by Inspector Clouseau do you?

It's not really about that at all, Tanker.

I mean think about it. If you're French, and more than a city block away from the Nazis you're enthusiastically trying to surrender to, then running across rooftops and jumping from building to building gets you to your destination that much quicker.

I was in Europe a couple of weeks ago and saw something on TV (maybe it was on the plane) about this fad. It was set to music and it really made it seem cool. I remember thinking that it was pretty irresponsible to romanticize this sort of thing.

Nike had a couple of commercials for the "Presto" shoe line, and they played in the US.

We had some kids hurt (one nearly killed) in Orlando while doing this sort of thing.

They call it "Garage Jumping" around here.

I've been to France a bunch of times, and I've found that in a lot of public places -- pools, municipal centers, whatever -- there are a lot of teenagers, mostly Algerians, who do that kind of crazy stuff, whether its building jumping or cliff jumping.

Example: I was at a public pool one time, and they let these kids do incredibly crazy things, like going off the high dive (25 feet) in a 69 position, with one person inevitably landing on his back with the full weight of the other person.

Stupid is as stupid does - Forest Gump

Looks about as safe as base jumping with a bed sheet rather than a parachute.

So, uh, Tanker, now that you're here... Who the hell are you?

Tanker has been credited with tips under two different names. Tanker, and something closer to his real name.

I'm not sure if he wants to be outed, but trust me, you've seen his name in the hat-tip line.