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The REAL balloon boy

With all this media hulla-balloo surrounding the Heene family and their son Falcon, at least one man was indifferent to the whole thing. Why? He had already done it. Except this time, he had actually floated away in a balloon. Well, attached to a balloon at least.

In 1964, a boy from Marin County, CA (across the bay from San Francisco), Dan Nowell, went with his friends to go see a hot air balloon take off. All the boys could take a turn holding the rope that fastened the balloon to the ground. Dan wrapped his finger around the rope when he held it, and with the roar of the hot air, didn't hear when someone told him to let go. He then proceeded to float away with the balloon, holding on by a finger.

Once the man in the balloon realized he had an 11-year-old boy under his balloon, he landed in a nearby yard. Dan was fine. He made headlines and was soon receiving letters from around the world addressed to "Balloon Boy".

He wasn't doing it for a show. His parents weren't trying to exploit him in order to be famous. Hmm, seems to me that in the battle of the states, California--1    Colorado---0. Boo-ya!

 

 

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