# Scary stuff: the boy in the balloon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 15, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940 "2009-10-15T18:58:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/161 "2009-10-16T07:23:01Z")
Four pages of this thread and two massive references missed: 1. _Enduring Love_ 2. Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/162 "2009-10-16T08:27:14Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > How about when the interviewer asks for clarification and the father goes into story mode? > > Officer Barbrady, I call Shenanigans. Yeah, and the dad’s reaction right after. “Oh, man.” That was hilarious. “Noooo, my fifteen minutes!” ---
**Author:** ![not\_austin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c68b51/32.png) [@not\_austin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_austin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/163 "2009-10-16T10:42:56Z")
Damn, they should have called the 9 year old Falcon… He’d be the millenium falcon… D&R ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/164 "2009-10-16T10:46:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah, and the dad’s reaction right after. “Oh, man.” That was hilarious. “Noooo, my fifteen minutes!” The authorities said there would be no repercussions and the father said they don’t ground their children. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/165 "2009-10-16T11:17:52Z")
I smell a rat. Dad didn’t take one look at the television screen and notice that there was no box or basket attached to it and therefore the boy couldn’t possibly be aloft? If he had been aboard at any point, dad would be starting the ground search between his house and the first time the craft appeared without basket. And the first call he makes is to a television station? Sure, he may have some contacts there but it sounds like he just wanted to get on television. Then only after the balloon lands and the ground search begins, he just happens to find his kid safe and sound. I think he got addicted to fame because of the wife swap show and had to get another fix. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/166 "2009-10-16T11:34:35Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > The previous guy in the flying lawn chair didnt fair too well. IIRC he got stuck with one hella fine. I think he begged it way down though. Larry Walters was an adult who wanted to make his lawn chair fly, although he didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did. (He was fined $4,000 - which is about $8,500 now - and got it reduced on appeal to $1,500.) Falcon Heene’s a six-year-old who released a weather balloon by accident. Well, maybe. If it turns out this was a publicity stunt, the parents should be fined into oblivion. I assume an investigation is forthcoming. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/167 "2009-10-16T12:14:08Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > A publicity stunt? What do I win? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/168 "2009-10-16T12:15:21Z")
A free and unlimited supply of snark! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/169 "2009-10-16T12:17:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Larry Walters was an adult who wanted to make his lawn chair fly, although he didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did. (He was fined $4,000 - which is about $8,500 now - and got it reduced on appeal to $1,500.) Falcon Heene’s a six-year-old who released a weather balloon by accident. > > Well, maybe. If it turns out this was a publicity stunt, the parents should be fined into oblivion. I assume an investigation is forthcoming. By who? The FAA? It is legal to build your own flying machine in the US. The most that he could be dinged for by FAA is for flying in a hazardous manner or some variant. That’s expensive, but not ruinous On the other hand, he could potentially be billed for the emergency response by other parties. It’s not a common practice, but it could be done if this found to be a deliberate publicity stunt. THAT could get quite pricey. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/170 "2009-10-16T12:19:50Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > On the other hand, he could potentially be billed for the emergency response by other parties. It’s not a common practice, but it could be done if this found to be a deliberate publicity stunt. THAT could get quite pricey. That’s what I had in mind. And the press will get on it. If there’s supposed to be a show, there’s an agreement with a network, and it would be on paper someplace, and that’ll turn up. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/171 "2009-10-16T12:21:57Z")
Of course it was a hoax. When I turned on the TV, it had already came down, but they were still showing footage of it in the air. But once they showed it on the ground and I could see the size, it was obvious it wouldn’t be able to lift a kid off the ground. And even if it managed to, it clearly wasn’t designed to be able, and would have probably just came apart. And his parents designed it, so they knew full well their kid wasn’t up there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/172 "2009-10-16T12:32:01Z")
They should’ve said that they saw a **kitten** getting on board as it took off. Yeah… _that’s_ the ticket! That balloon could plausibly have lifted a kitten, even without a basket. And everyone could obsess over a cute little kitty being lost. And, best of all, when they find it in the attic, it couldn’t blurt out embarrassing admissions. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/173 "2009-10-16T12:42:40Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I smell a rat. Dad didn’t take one look at the television screen and notice that there was no box or basket attached to it and therefore the boy couldn’t possibly be aloft? There was a box attached to it. > **[Examiner is back - Examiner.com](https://examiner.com)** > > At Examiner.com™ we help you excel personal finance, boost income, invest wisely, travel smart, reach financial freedom faster, and enjoy life on a budget. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/174 "2009-10-16T12:46:18Z")
I didn’t think that box was accessible. At least from the photos I saw, it looked like that was part of what was filled with helium. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/175 "2009-10-16T13:34:08Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m sorry, but this is not good enough. It’s “trust but verify,” not “trust, send a camera crew, and, time permitting, verify.” I don’t know exactly what time this story breathlessly broke, but as soon as CNN started backtracking with ‘boy _apparently_ in hot air balloon over Colorado,’ I was pretty sure I knew where this was headed. And it took three hours to get there while everybody dropped coverage of everything else. Was a somewhat relevant article in last month’s [Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/media), discussing the sources of what passes for news these days. Suggests there is increasingly less interest in presenting in-depth, in-context coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/176 "2009-10-16T13:46:09Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > [Forty seconds in on this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6UONWCq7A&feature=player_embedded) the kid says, “We did this for a show.” > > I see. I’m told the boy was asked about that comment in two morning shows today, and both times, he got so nervous he puked. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/177 "2009-10-16T13:50:20Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > [Forty seconds in on this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6UONWCq7A&feature=player_embedded) the kid says, “We did this for a show.” > > I see. [Sheriffs will be talking to the family](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon) about what he meant and why he threw up twice (separate incidents) when his dad was being asked to clarify that. Confused little boy growing up with lots of fantastic adventures and **zero** discipline,\* who can’t tell what’s make-believe and what’s real any longer, or family that’s so obsessed with their storm chasing and with publicity that they did something that freaked out a lot of people and caused chaos, in the name of It’s All About Me attention? - The dad actually **apologized** for yelling at his kid (which happened before the incident, when he was crawling into the gondola/compartment)! Apologized! :smack: And if the kid actually did panic because daddy has pretty much never yelled at them before, I can see how that might actually happen… Or, equally, I can see how ‘wacky dad’ might not entirely realize/care how much of a freaking mess would be caused by a “boy in a balloon!” report. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/178 "2009-10-16T13:56:14Z")
Dad obviously has a few screws loose. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/179 "2009-10-16T14:11:25Z")
Ugh. Poor kid. The ten year old also seems confused about his story. In one of the CNN videos he’s asked if he saw Falcon getting into the balloon and he says something like, “I saw him getting in” and then “I didn’t actually see him getting in” right after. It’s all very odd. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940/180 "2009-10-16T14:18:25Z")
NBC’s Today show has broadcast home video of the incident, during their interview with the family: 1. Dad was right there as the balloon came untethered (it looks like it wasn’t tied down at all, though ropes were attached to the balloon) and starts yelling and kicking at things as it floats off - so we can exclude “kid lets balloon go when parents aren’t looking and runs to hide out of fear of punishment” but keep in “he was scared from the original yelling and hid.” 2. The silver projection on the bottom was the only gondola/compartment attached at liftoff. So there wasn’t a basket that fell off during flight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-stuff-the-boy-in-the-balloon/513940.md?page=10)