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| -Obits- |
| Attempt at Unassisted Human Flight Appears to Have Ended Life of Henry Badenhorst |
| 2017-11-13 |
| [BBC] The founder of groundbreaking dating site Gaydar has died in his native South Africa. Henry Badenhorst, 51, died after falling from a tower block on Saturday, news website Buzzfeed reported. He died a decade after his co-founder and former partner Gary Frisch fell to his death in London. The two created Gaydar, which became the world's largest dating site for gay and bisexual men, in 1999 when a friend said he was too busy to find a partner. Mr Badenhorst told the Guardian in 2009: "We put him on Excite [a search engine], which had a dating section where you could upload a picture. But it took two weeks for him to get a response, so we said that we were sure we could create something specifically for the gay market." Africa's only gay radio station makes waves. At one time Gaydar boasted more than four million subscribers. The founders would go on to launch an award-winning radio station. As a result, Mr Badenhorst, who was born in Johannesburg, was named in the top five of the Independent's Pink List of influential gay men and women at least twice in the mid-2000s. Mr Badenhorst and Mr Frisch split in 2005, but continued as business partners until the latter's death two years later. Paying tribute to Mr Badenhorst, Gaydar's current managing director Rob Curtis said: "Eighteen years ago, Henry and his partner Gary revolutionised the way that gay men meet, and in doing so created a safer environment for LGBT people everywhere. "The Gaydar team is shocked and saddened to hear of Henry's passing and send our sincerest sympathies to Henry's friends and family." The exact details surrounding Mr Badenhorst's death remain unclear. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #5 Sadly, another social trend popularized by the US. Assisted flight. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-11-13 16:29 |
| #4 I'm getting a strong Douglas Adams theme here from the comments. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2017-11-13 14:47 |
| #3 It's not the fall that gets you. It's that damn sudden stop. |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2017-11-13 12:52 |
| #2 Of course you also have Flat Earth advocates who insist gravity does not exist |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2017-11-13 09:07 |
| #1 If you want to fly unassisted you have to aim at the ground and miss. The aiming part is easy, it's the missing part that's hard. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2017-11-13 08:02 |