Tim Worstall

The balloon boy hoax

This is really rather fun, the Balloon Boy hoax. So, slightly crazed father builds home made balloon and fills it with helium. Son has an argument with said father and runs away and hides. Balloon slips its tether and sails away into the skies.

At which point all hell breaks loose and the FAA, the National Guard, the Air Force and Uncle Tom Cobbleigh are called out to track the balloon 70 miles across Colorado.

Upon the balloon's landing, boy is not found: he's still actually in the attic over the garage.

Snigger. There's a round up of the balloon boy's story here.

The drama over the skies of Colorado yesterday was indeed a hoax. The
Balloon Boy was not in fact inside the balloon at all. What had police,
the Air Foce, the FAA and the National Guard chasing across the skies
was an empty balloon: our Balloon Boy was safely at home all the while.

In

4 responses

  1. Auto Insurance Quotes Avatar
    Auto Insurance Quotes

    It seems implausible to believe the family actually say one of the children video taped the 6 year old child getting into that jiffy pop balloon contraption with a supposed cardboard bottom and he could somehow be able to secure himself inside of it?? If the boy’s weight is between 40-45 lbs.and the speed of the balloon is traveling @ approximately 25 miles per hr in a 2 hour span at an elevation exceeding 500′ in the air and it finally lands around 50 miles from the home the scientist father logically explain exactly how he woud believe his son could have been inside of it? It truly defys logic and sounds like a publicity stunt or hoax of some sort. It is most unfortunate for parents to involve small children in dangerous activities, such as storm chasing, mommie swapping and bogus balloon mischief.

    Reply
  2. zorro Avatar
    zorro

    When my mrs called my attention to this story as it broke yesterday my first question was ‘how do they know he’s in it?’.
    My second thought was that the whole thing was a hoax.

    Reply
  3. Sam Kaufman Avatar
    Sam Kaufman

    it’s hard to believe that so many people believed that a 6 year old kid was still inside of this deflated balloon, even right at the end when it was barely keeping it’s own weight afloat

    Reply
  4. Johnny Ancich Avatar
    Johnny Ancich

    Here’s a cartoon I recently made regarding Balloon Boy:
    http://pastexpiry.blogspot.com/2009/10/cartoon-balloon-boy.html
    Past Expiry Cartoon

    Reply

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