Lawn Chair Ballooning: Serene or Idiotic?
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 07.14.08 | 5:55 PM ET
Perhaps it’s both. In the wake of Kent Couch’s latest stunt (video below), Thomas Vinciguerra looks at the phenomenon. Two things in his piece surprised me: The first lawn chair balloon flight may have taken place as early as 1937 over Minnesota and Iowa, and it’s estimated that about 10 of these flights take place each year.
So why do we hear so much about Couch, and not so much about the rest of the fliers? Perhaps not everyone has the need to promote themselves like Couch.
Related on World Hum:
* Talk About Leg Room: The 193-Mile Flight in a Lawn Chair
Photo by OiMax, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Ling 07.15.08 | 12:46 AM ET
Well, I dunno about you, but I’d feel pretty silly if I was photographed sitting on a flying arm chair.
Dave 07.16.08 | 7:33 PM ET
That is such a bad idea. It’s not very safe to put your life on balloons like that. Did anyone see the caption? lol That guy was called a Balloonist. What are they thinking in those states.