In New York City, we go about our lives knowing that, at any moment, something could randomly fall on us from above, be it a poorly installed air conditioner, a crumbling facade, a piece of construction material, or a cat. We have mentally resigned ourselves to this possibility and have learned to push the ever-present threat it poses to the back of our minds, allowing us to function normally as productive members of society. But now our collective batophobia — the fear of being next to a tall structure, such as a skyscraper — must contend with a heretofore unrecognized danger: that of a giant mattress descending from the heavens and crushing us on the sidewalk like Wile E. Coyote. Gothamist reports:
This afternoon a freshman at Kings College was walking to the Broad Street J/Z station when a futon mattress fell from the sky and knocked him unconscious. Two witnesses say the mattress toppled off the top of a building some 30 stories up. Considering how heavy those futon mattresses can be, this guy’s lucky he didn’t break his neck—and he knows it. Jesse Scott Owen, the victim, is out of the hospital and tells us he’s grateful to be alive.
The mattress seems to have been blown off a rooftop spa by yesterday’s high winds — which is terrifying, because if that can happen to a mattress, it can happen to a ton of other stuff that people keep on rooftops. A falling mattress may respresent one of the better scenarios, actually, as it at least provides you a great spot to rest and recover after you’re knocked unconscious.
