Friday Eye Candy: Hang Out Above Chicago at the John Hancock's 'Tilt!' Installation

The John Hancock Observatory will open a new attraction called "Tilt!" which has viewers stand against one of 8 glass panels that tilt out and down on an angle from the observatory," reports Phil Velazquez in a photo gallery provided by the Chicago Tribune.

Tilt! is enabled by a hydraulic system that extends and rotates the panels so visitors can gain a gravity-imperiled bird's eye view of the city below.

In a separate review, Steve Johnson describes the feeling of stepping into the Tilt! machine on the 94th floor of one of the country's most famous skyscrapers: "At 20 degrees from vertical, your body tells you it should be falling. Looking down, you see your presumptive target: Chestnut Street, or, with the right wind and a bit of a leap and a soar, the top of the Water Tower Place building across the street. Welcome, shoppers. Your knuckles match the white in the nearby clouds."