Just because earlier attempts of lawnchair ballooning went so well (the first one by Larry Walters, ended up with an arrest, fame, lost of fame, and then suicide; the second one by Brazilian priest Adelir Antonio de Carli ended up with him missing and presumed dead), Kent Couch decided to try it himself.
Couch (I know, I know) rode a green lawnchair with 150 helium-filled party balloons from central Oregon all the way to Idaho:
Couch kissed his wife and kids goodbye, and patted their shivering Chihuahua, Isabella, before his ground crew gave him a push so he could clear surrounding light poles and a coffee cart.
Then, clutching a big mug of coffee, Couch rose out of the parking lot of his gas station into the bright blue morning sky, cheered by a crowd of spectators. [...]
Said his wife, Susan: "He's crazy. It's never been a dull moment since I married him."
Link - Thanks Geekazoid!
Photo: Jeff Barnard/AP
But really, I just don't get the appeal of doing something like this.
Probably more fun than a herd of dull people posting their vapid thoughts to blogs which will all end up being forgotten anyway with time.