Fountain Drop

Days like today make me long for winter and the cold snow that accompanies it. Walking to class in 90-degree weather today really dashed my hopes of continuing the cool weather we had last week. As I walked through the engineering mall I glanced at one of the few ways to get out of the heat, the fountain. This time however, it was no longer just a fountain. It was a challenge. A challenge to ride.

The fountain stands 38 feet tall and has four vertical columns sloping down. As I walked past it today, I wondered if anyone had ever tried riding down one of the columns. It would certainly be legendary if someone did but if no one ever had I could see why.

For starters, the fountain is 38 feet tall. Unless you have a decent lift just lying around, it would be very difficult to get to the top. Secondly, there is the small problem of the gap midway through the column. Although it only spans a few feet, misjudging this gap would be costly. Any attempt to connect the two pieces would seem rather difficult as well.

If somehow you could figure those two problems out there’s the fact the ledge is only about two feet across. Better line up straight when you drop in or else you’ve got a fast date with some hard concrete.

These are only minor problems and I’m sure someone determined enough could easily fix them. If they did, they could get some sweet shots and a pretty good rush. Shooting this at night would be spectacular. If the fountain somehow got turned on, the colored lights would give the rider a beautiful background. Plus if you could get the bell tower in the background, you would have two of Purdue’s most known landmarks.

If I had the time and money I would love to try it. Unfortunately I am a poor college kid and probably wouldn’t be able to pull something like this off. If someone decides to ride the fountain, I hope I’m there to witness it, or maybe even take part in the riding.