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scmarine84 said...
Just saw on ABC News two men who followed in the "footsteps" of my all-time hero and the only surviving Darwin Award winner (until he committed suicide) Lawnchair Larry.
They got two lawnchairs, a whole bunch of balloons and a BB gun to pop the balloons to come down, just like the pioneer Larry did back in the early 80's.
Unlike Larry, they actually put some thought into their venture; oxygen tanks, GPS, warm clothing, none of which Larry had.
They also didn't drastically underestimate the amount of lift from their balloons, which was Larry's mistake, although it led directly to the reason Larry is a legend, and my hero. That more violent amount of thrust is what caused him to shoot into the sky in a matter of seconds, instead of slowly ascending like he planned, ripping out the mooring line he had attached, and causing him to drop his BB gun, sending him skyward with no way to get down.
It's just a shame that Larry couldn't deal with the fame that the early Internet brought him, because he ended up killing himself.
But although the roll call of names of men who walked on the moon is short, there is only one man who soared with the angels, clad in a T-shirt and shorts, and actually obstructed air traffic at 10,000 feet going into LAX.
And that is Larry, hallowed be his name.
This post was edited by 901Club on 7/14/2012 at 8:20 PM
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scmarine84 said...
Just saw on ABC News two men who followed in the "footsteps" of my all-time hero and the only surviving Darwin Award winner (until he committed suicide) Lawnchair Larry.
They got two lawnchairs, a whole bunch of balloons and a BB gun to pop the balloons to come down, just like the pioneer Larry did back in the early 80's.
Unlike Larry, they actually put some thought into their venture; oxygen tanks, GPS, warm clothing, none of which Larry had.
They also didn't drastically underestimate the amount of lift from their balloons, which was Larry's mistake, although it led directly to the reason Larry is a legend, and my hero. That more violent amount of thrust is what caused him to shoot into the sky in a matter of seconds, instead of slowly ascending like he planned, ripping out the mooring line he had attached, and causing him to drop his BB gun, sending him skyward with no way to get down.
It's just a shame that Larry couldn't deal with the fame that the early Internet brought him, because he ended up killing himself.
But although the roll call of names of men who walked on the moon is short, there is only one man who soared with the angels, clad in a T-shirt and shorts, and actually obstructed air traffic at 10,000 feet going into LAX.
And that is Larry, hallowed be his name.
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D A Stankovich
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scmarine84 said...
Yeah, in the late 90's I think.
It was right after the Internet exploded and the Darwin Awards site resurrected his feat.
Apparently since they linked to the original article about it, it gave his full name and people were coming up to him and bringing it up.
He couldn't live with the shame of being the only living Darwin winner.
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Tribute to my hero, Lawnchair Larry!