During my first winter at ISU, I was walking across the Great Lawn from Curtiss towards Beardshear. I saw someone slip and fall down both sets of stairs of Beardshear. It is still the funniest things I've ever seen live.
Dude 100% looked like a cartoon. He had a handful of files in his arms and a backpack. He just gotten past the columns and then the fun started. He started sliding sideways helplessly and he went into an impromptu Russian Cossack dance. Finally, both of his legs shot forward up into the air simultaneously and he let out a very audible "****".
By trying to brace himself the files in his arms were the first casualty. He made it rain files and papers in every direction like a majestic fan. He landed on his backside and the ice and his momentum proceeded to carry him towards the stairs. He proceeded to go down the stairs haphazardly, chasing files and papers along the way.
By the time he hit the landing between the stairs, he had gotten turned around so he was still on his back , but now he was going headfirst towards the second set of stairs. I'd like to add that his backpack was not helping this poor man gain any semblance of balance or control of the situation and it gave him a bit of a helpless turtle appearance. And he was NOT slowing down.
He then proceeded to careen down the 2nd flight of stairs, arms wildly flailing in a futile attempt to slow down his demise. He finally skidded to a stop at the foot of the stairs and just stayed there for awhile as the shrapnel of papers and files were strewn all about in a sort of beautiful semicircle array around him.
There were about 3 other people like myself that had completely stopped walking to admire the tragedy that just took place. We all just kinda glanced at each other, knowing we had just witnessed greatness.
We then helped him gather his things and went our separate ways. I surprisingly never laughed at the man that day, because it would have been a **** move and he could have easily suffered some internal injuries. But, if I'm honest, I've replayed that scene in my mind several times since then. It still remains one of the funniest unscripted things I've every witnessed.
