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JEROME DA GNOME
BANNED
2418 Posts |
 Posted - 07/11/2007 : 23:06:51
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| Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks -- and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons. |
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What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 02:23:05 [Permalink]
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Mythbusters did a test of this and wrote it down as a hoax.
Edited to add:
The episode I was thinking of was just ordinary balloons, filled with Neon (I think), which didn't even lift the dog(?) they strapped to them. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
| Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 07/12/2007 05:39:10 |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 07/12/2007 : 05:49:54 [Permalink]
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Didn't some other idiot pull this same gag a couple of years ago? I seem to recall that the federal aviation folks had some harsh words for him when he finally got down.
Heh, as I recall, his version of ballast was a pellet gun.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Paulos23
Skeptic Friend
USA
446 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 05:52:35 [Permalink]
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Well, apparently it was real enough:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19694083/
Link
Note: if I remember correctly the Mythbusters did do this one very close to this and successfully got Adam up in the air. Don't remember if it was Confirmed/Plausible/Busted.
Fixed the too long url link.
Kil
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You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting. -- Robert A. Heinlein
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 06:10:43 [Permalink]
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From Wiki
| Could Larry Walters have flown a lawn chair by means of weather balloons, and descend safely by means of an airgun? Confirmed Adam Savage went up in the MythBuster's rig, which was a lawn chair with 16 plastic weather balloons attached, and went up to the maximum height that could be obtained with the safety ropes attached, 75 feet (22.5 m). He safely descended by shooting out some of the balloons. The actual event behind the myth was verified by documents provided by the FAA. |
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by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 07:13:16 [Permalink]
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Well, there's a distict difference between Helium and Neon when it comes to lift.
Ordinary carneval balloons aren't filled with helium, because it's too expensive and it leaks out of the balloons too quickly. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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JEROME DA GNOME
BANNED
2418 Posts |
 Posted - 07/12/2007 : 12:56:24 [Permalink]
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I am thinking about trying this.
What do you guys think?
Should I?
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What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 12:58:57 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by JEROME DA GNOME
I am thinking about trying this.
What do you guys think?
Should I?
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If you do, make sure you check your Sectional Charts to see at what altitude you start violating FAA airspace...because when/if you get down you will have a hefty fine waiting for you. |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 13:47:03 [Permalink]
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The Mythbusters have done three tests of flying via helium.
One reproduced Larry Walters' ride (3rd pilot). The second (episode 23) was a test of how many normal helium-filled party balloons it would take to launch a child (checking the story of the balloon vendor who gives his whole bunch to a kid who sails away, but nobody carries 3,500 balloons around). The third (episode 60) tried to get rubber rafts filled with helium to float. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 14:11:13 [Permalink]
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It must be my faulty memory of the second program I saw.
Are you really sure they used pure helium for that test? I distinctly recall telling my girlfriend about the gas not being optimal for lift, because of the mix of gas marked on the tubes. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 15:01:05 [Permalink]
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| Mab, helium is sold at "party stores" all over the US just for inflating birthday balloons. The optimal gas for lift would be hydrogen, but it has a tendency to catch fire. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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JEROME DA GNOME
BANNED
2418 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 15:08:32 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
Mab, helium is sold at "party stores" all over the US just for inflating birthday balloons. The optimal gas for lift would be hydrogen, but it has a tendency to catch fire.
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OHH, The Humanity!!!
Anyone want to hear about the Hindenburg conspiracy?
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What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell |
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Lawn Chair 105 Baloons and 193 Miles
