Man Vs Machine

In the battle of height, the line between what man has achieved and what machine has achieved can overlap and become blurred. When it comes to getting high, humanity is unrivalled. With the invention of the aeroplane and the skyscraper under our collective belts, cliff jumps and tumbling out of space seems effortless.

The question is: Do we get higher by our own bodily endeavours – or do our machines and our minds do it for us? Cherry picker manufacturer Niftylift have looked at some of the greatest endeavours and engineering projects to date.

Man: natural heights of skill

Highest skydive: In 2014, Alan Eustace jumped from a balloon that was 135,890ft above Earth, plummeting at speeds over 800 mph, beating the previous world record by more than 7,000ft.

The tallest man: At 8ft 11.1/2.72m, American Robert Wadlow was the world’s tallest man.

Highest vertical jump: According to the Guiness Book of Records, in May 2016, Evan Ungar performed the highest standing vertical jump of 1.616m/5.3ft.

Highest high jump: Javier Sotomayor is said to jumped the highest high jump ever at 2.45m/8.04ft in March 1989.

Highest bungee jump:The Royal Gorge Bridge, Colorado, United States is the highest bungee jump point at 321m.

Highest human away from Earth: At one point, the crew of Apollo 13 were 400,171km/248,655 miles away from planet Earth.

Highest mountain ascent: The highest any human has climbed is to the summit of Mount Everest which is 8,848m/29,029ft.

Highest manned balloon flight: Malcolm Ross and Victor A. Prather Jr rose from a zero-pressure balloon to an altitude of 34668m/113,739.9ft.

Machine: the heights we build to

Highest skyscraper: Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is 829.8m/2,722ft tall, a whole 192m taller than the Shanghai Tower, the second highest building in the world.

Highest church: Although the current title is claimed by the Ulm Minster in Germany at 161.5m/530ft, it is expected that the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona will take the title when construction is over, with an estimated height of over 170m/560ft.

Tallest cherry picker: Some of the world’s tallest cherry pickers reach 61m/200ft.

Highest bridge: France is home to the Millau Viaduct, the highest bridge which is both tall for structural height and deck height. Millau Verdict takes this title for highest structural height at 343m/1,125ft above ground (that is a whole 19m taller than the Eiffel Tower). Although it is not world’s highest bridge for deck height, it still soars 270m/890ft above the valley floor.

Highest object in space: The International Space Station takes this title orbiting at 400km/248.5 miles away from planet earth.

Tallest crane: the world’s tallest mobile crane extends to 328ft and has a maximum lift height of 192m/630ft.

Whether man is tackling nature with their bodies or building to heights with our machines, our achievements are significantly impressive. Regardless of whether it’s a high mountain climb or an elevator ride up the world’s tallest building – we’ve got a real obsession with heights.