ArticleCN Tower

Rendering things a new meaning can sometimes prove to be a double-edged sword because some of those meanings are imaginary rather than real. None is more so than the Glass Floor in the CN Tower in Toronto.

A human mind may play all sorts of amazing tricks with its respective body. For instance, shipwreck survivors perfectly equipped with food, water, and warm clothes might die of sheer terror within a couple of days, if not hours. Yet, it takes something pretty special to make a perfectly healthy person freeze, unable to move a step on a perfectly straight floor – and that’s exactly what happens from time to time in an ordinary hall located on the top level of the Tower. This hall is usually filled with casual tourists happily stretching their legs after having waited for about 45 minutes in line for the elevators. Many people find themselves in front of a piece of glass serving as a part of the floor during the very first stroll. If, driven by a natural curiosity, they cast a glance at the glass, they will see almost nothing but colourless air, as miniature human shapes and sidewalks looking like grey bands are so distant that they can be easily overlooked or fully ignored. The glass area looks like a grey hole, and – though it’s explicitly stated that the glass is super-reliable (it can withstand the weight of 14 large hippos!) – one’s mind perceives it as such. Consequently, the mind issues a harsh command to the legs, and they stop in midair.