Wallenda’s Niagara Falls walk appeals to our attraction to thrills

Tonight seventh-generation daredevil Nik Wallenda will perform his long-awaited tightrope walk across Niagara Falls.

Beyond the multiple news headlines, the stunt has become a bit of an international television event: Millions are projected to tune in to tonight's spectacle which will see Wallenda cross the 53-metre-high Horseshoe Falls an 18,000-foot wire. Tens of thousands of spectators will likely show up to watch the 32-year-old cross the Falls first-hand.

[Related: Nik Wallenda preps to walk Niagara Falls ]

But if there's anything to rein in the excitement, it comes in harness form.

To prevent the stunt from turning into a potential live televised death, ABC brass has insisted that Wallenda strap himself into a safety harness. It's a move Wallenda accommodated for sponsorship's sake, but he told CTV he's not thrilled about the condition.

"I practiced with it today, and it is definitely a challenge," he told the news network. "It's very unique. It's something I'm not used to, and I'm very uncomfortable with, but it is what it is."

The added safety precaution may also be a letdown for voyeurs who prefer their spectacles to be high stakes.

It's the thrill of the unknown that made Evel Knievel a legend among his daredevil peers. Throughout his multi-decade career, the entertainer suffered for his craft, holding the Guinness World Record for most broken bones and spending a total of 36 months strapped to a hospital bed.

No matter how many times Knieval failed, he never lacked for an audience to watch him try again.

And though some have challenged the Houdini comparisons, illusionist David Blaine commands massive attention for every high-stakes stunt he performs.

Whether it's the week he spent entombed in a plastic box underground, or the time he went for 44 days without food, suspended in a Plexiglas case above the River Thames' south bank, the idea of watching someone push their physical body to the limit holds powerful appeal.

This attraction to thrills could also be what immortalizes our non-daredevil entertainers.

Both Mike Tyson and Jim Morrison embodied the spectacle factor — the idea that beyond their respective talents, people also came out to witness the potential unexpected, whether it was an ear hors d'oeuvre or the Doors' frontman displaying far more than his stage presence.

So while Wallenda's harness-held walk may lack the morbid promise of a fall off the Falls, there's still more than enough spectacle to make tonight's event a must see.