On 05/10/2020 6:15 a.m., JOE MACKEY : DARYL STOUT wrote:

 JM> When I was in the Navy in Norfolk, VA (50+ years ago)
 JM> there was a USO bus tour of DC. You rode up on the bus, it
 JM> traveled around with a guide pointing out this and that
 JM> place. Usually by the time you crossed the aisle to look
 JM> out the other side you were p

I'm in suspense.  P what?


 JM> One stop was the Washington
 JM> Monument and I raced a shipmate to the top on the stairs.
 JM> He was huffing and puffing the whole way and I hadn't
 JM> broken a sweat not any shortness of breath. The stairs are
 JM> closed now and you have to use the elevator. One place I
 JM> did take the elevator was the Empire State Building a few
 JM> months later. Joe

From a WashingtonPost article: By John Kelly
June 13, 2015


"..the steps of the Washington Monument were closed for walking up
in 1971, and then closed altogether — up and down — in 1976. "

"In fact, it was concerns over health that ended routine access to
the obelisk’s stairs. And that was way back in the 1970s, before
we’d all blimped up. A worrying number of people were experiencing
heart attacks during the climb or injuring themselves in falls
during the descent. "

Sad commentary, wrt human health.

The steps in Toronto's CN tower are open twice a year for charity
events:

"The CN Tower's 1,776 steps are equivalent to about 100 floors.."



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--- TB(Stealth)/Win7