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September 22, 2006

Strange But True!

Q. It's hardly a hot stunt nowadays, but if you were newsreel cameraman Al Mingalone in 1937 intent on leaping over a house (yeah, a house — called “house-hopping”), what did you strap on for assistance?

A. In Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Al strapped on a harness with 27 large hydrogen-filled balloons attached, then ran toward the house and took a leap, says Jearl Walker in “Flying Circus of Physics.” He did manage 25 feet of altitude but not enough. So with darkness coming on, he ordered the crew to add five more balloons. Now up, up and away he went, over the house and more, because his safety line snapped and he became airborne. With a storm brewing, he drifted toward the Atlantic Ocean, his father watching on in horror and then jumping into a car to follow. A local priest joined him, toting a 22-caliber rifle. An hour later they spotted Al, 750-800 feet up, and stopped the car. Careful aim now! Bam, bam, bam. How many balloons to shoot? Too many could have been tragic. Luckily, the loss of buoyancy turned out to be just enough to bring madcap Al in for a light landing.


 
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