Don’t Be Like Larry Lawnchair

A Little Bit Of Science

Aug 25, 2022•1 hr 8 min

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Episode description

Have you ever had a dream that you just had to do no matter how crazy or how dangerous it might sound to anyone else? A dream so core to your being that nothing was going to stop you realising it no matter the obstacles?

Nail Armstrong sure did. As did Marie Curie. Edmond Hillary too.

But recently, we found out about a human who eclipsed all those wannabes.

That man was Larry Walters.

Even as a very young lad, Larry imagined himself flying.

His inspiration?

Balloons.

His idea first took flight when he came across helium balloons on a trip to Disneyland. But it really cemented at the age of 13 when he came across weather balloons at the army disposal store.

From then on, he dreamt of nothing else.

Well, we can’t 100% confirm that he dreamt of nothing else, but it’s more dramatic if we say that.

Larry did attempt to become a pilot to get his fix of zooming through the air. But his bad eyesight stopped him joining the airforce.

This dream of his refused to die.

He was a man on a mission.

Many years after his trip to Disneyland, Larry devised a foolproof (ahem) plan to strap 42 weather balloons filled with helium to a lawn chair and launch into the unknown.

The lawnchair was really sturdy apparently. There was surely no cause for concern.

Larry’s idea was to float up to about 30 feet, drift lazily for a few hours out over the Mojave Desert and then pop some balloons and drift back down.

Sounds like a nice way to spend an afternoon really.

Larry prepared. He packed an altimeter (because, height), CB radio, two litres of Coca-Cola, eight plastic bottles of water (for ballast), and a BB gun. There were reports of a stashed six pack as well.

The thing he was in very short supply of was maths.

Strap in, as we join Larry on his ‘peaceful float across the Mojave desert’.

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