Latest / Strange Stuff Podcast / Episode 242: Larry Walters - Balloon Man

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Episode 242: Larry Walters - Balloon Man · Strange Stuff Podcast

• Andy: Hello everyone. Mark: Yes, good, it's almost good afternoon after having asked around for 40 minutes because Andy couldn't get his bloody microphone working. Andy: My microphone was fine. Hello everyone, I'm Andy and this is Strange Stuff Podcast and we've just had a very strange experience in our high tech recording studio. Mark: and I'm Mark. Yeah. Yeah. Andy: It's been quite hilarious. Mark: Where it's like the blind leading the blind. I thought you were some competent individual when it came to technology, but you don't know anything. Andy: I'm very confident. I took you through every step we needed to go through to find out why the problem was. Mark: Yeah, and what did it end up being? You had to restart your bloody connection and then everything worked. Andy: The problem lay in our host and not in either of our computers. Mark: Yeah, but you say that now. Andy: Well, that's a fact. Do you ever question the guys who laid your foundation, for example? Say, I don't believe you did that right. Because you're not the expert, are you? They're the experts. Mark: It's not, I restarted 20 times and you restarted once. What do mean I supervise these people's job? I'm enough of an expert to know when someone doesn't know what they're doing. idiot Andy: Anyway, I want to kick off quickly with what happened today in history, because we keep forgetting this. And I thought I'd be very efficient today and we'll start it. On this day in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed. So the treaty was signed between the US and France. Mark: Alright. Andy: Robert Livingston and James Monroe, who's a very little known president, agreed to pay France $15 million, which is about $300 million today, for the 828 square miles of land that lay west of the Mississippi River. And that's an area that's bigger than Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal combined. And it greatly expanded the US territory. Mark: Don't be ridiculous, how many square miles? 800? Andy: 828,000. Mark: ⁓ thousand, thank you. Anyway, what are you talking about, the Frenchies? The Frenchies didn't have anything to do with America. Andy: ⁓ the French owned Louisiana. Mark: I suppose that's not wholly surprising, bearing in mind they almost speak French down there. Andy: But they still do in many parts. Mark: So, did the English kick out the French at some stage? Andy: No, the French sold off their interests to America. in 1803. Mark: I'm trying to establish that I thought America was England. It's 250 years of independence from England. Andy: Yeah, but that was 1776 and this is 1803. So they were at war with England, but not necessarily at war with France. Mark: Exactly. Andy: The French weren't trying to rule them, they just had their own territory on the same continent. Mark: Alright. Andy: It sort of makes sense. So in 1897, a bit more recently and within your lifetime, the discovery of electrons is announced. And if you remember, it was the British physicist. Mark: Maybe. Indeed. All right. Andy: J.J. Thomson, who announced the discovery of copsicles, known today as electrons. He was a Cambridge professor and he made the discovery by determining that cathode rays were made of particles that are much lighter than atoms. And this is Mark: How many electrons are there in a hydrogen atom? Andy: Errrr Mark: to. Exactly. Andy: And this proved that something smaller than atoms actually existed. Although Thompson's conception of what electrons looked like, he described them as somewhat like a plum pudding, was later disproved, surprisingly. And if you remember last time we did one of these, I think it was April 12th when Adolf Hitler was born. Mark: Indeed. Andy: And on this day, April the 30th, Adolf Hitler died by suicide in 1945. Mark: Hmm. Andy: He was 56 at the time in the bunker in Berlin in Germany. And he'd risen to power alongside his Nazi party in the thirties and later, as we know, orchestrated the extermination of Europe's Jews and gypsies and Christians and also Romanies. By the end of World War II, Hitler had taken refuge in his bunker and decided to end his own life and that of his wife or his girlfriend. Mark: Romanies. Andy: ever more. Rather than fall into the hands of the allies. Mark: Ava Braun. Andy: And in 1975, the fall of Saigon took place, which was basically America's victory parade. Mark: Vietnam. Andy: Yeah, South Vietnam, capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces, eventually ending the Vietnam War. Or as Trump would say, giving victory to the Americans. Mark: I can't even remember what the Vietnam War was, North versus South, who were the communists? Andy: ⁓ The North. Mark: So the Americans were fighting on behalf of the South Vietnam. Andy: The Americans were trying to impose their democracy as usual. And Saigon obviously became Ho Chi Minh. Mark: Mmm. Andy: And this is more up my street. In 1996, Anton Levy founded the Church of Satan. Mark: What? Andy: And he based it on Varaporgis Nat or the Knight of the Witches. And despite its name, Lavy's Church didn't encourage evil, because that's not what Satanism is, but rather worshiped his infernal majesty as a humanist who embodied values like self-assertion and justified rebellion. Lavy's Church operates to this day and attracts ⁓ celebrity members like Jane Mansfield. Mark: Yes, but the thing with all of these things, you put that as if it's some sort of innocent organisation and I'll ask you a simple question. If you were an evil person, which church would you join? Andy: Yeah. Catholics. Obviously. Mark: No, it's like Reform Party. Reform Party isn't inherently bad, but if you were a racist thug, which political party would you associate yourself with most? Reform. Andy: or conservatives. Clearly. Mark: Now that's the danger of promoting these sort of things because you align yourself with Andy: No, but the thing is, if you join the Satanists expecting child sacrifice, you're going to be very disappointed because that's not what they do. Mark: Yes. Yeah, you might, you might well be disappointed, but that's still who you're going to join. Sorry, Jane Mansfield, did you say? So it wasn't Jane Mansfield? She wasn't a good person. Andy: Yes. What do mean she was a Hollywood starlet? What do mean she wasn't a good person? Mark: So who's the Mansfield that was a very bad person? ⁓ yes. ⁓ Andy: Do mean Charles Manson? I mean, it's incredible that I can pluck that from the void that is your mind. Mark: ⁓ didn't wasn't Jane Mansfield the one on the ⁓ No, but wasn't she the one that appeared in Eric and Clive pulling lobsters out? Andy: She was the one with the fabulous boobies. Yeah, Derek and Clive getting lobsters up their arsehole. Pulling lobsters from their arsehole, I like the job once, pulling lobsters from Jane Mansfield's arsehole. Genius comedy. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Mark: No, it was pulling lobsters out of her arse. Huh? dead. I don't think it would, I don't know would it be, would it have aged well? Andy: Yeah, unfortunately. ⁓ I don't... In lonely days, yeah, because nobody had ever said fuck or cunt on a record before. Mark: There was the shock value and it was pretty... No, you're right. ⁓ yeah. Andy: Eric and Clive live if anyone's interested, you'll still find it funny today. Very good comedy. Anyway, onto the news. Forget the traitor King Charles and his cozy on up to Trump being all buddy buddy. Mark: for those of a deviant nature. It wasn't that I was hoping for more fireworks, but the thing is I didn't listen to all the speech, but what I did listen to it was King Charles definitely criticizing the way they were running things, but these idiots weren't smart enough to work out that he was in fact insulting them. Andy: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, I know. But I ⁓ I don't know. The thing is, as soon as he gets on a plane to come home, Trump will go back to slagging off the prime minister and NATO and invading Canada, etc. So it's a waste of time. And if I hear the fucking phrase, special relationship one more time, I'm going to shoot anybody between the eyes. ⁓ Now, I did see a good news story. Mark: Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah. ⁓ I agree. Andy: You'll be happy to know. And it came from the current bun. And it was a disgruntled joy rider who went on a wrecking spree across Wolverhampton in a bulldozer after a row with his mechanic. So Darren Coffrey, 41, took the 385,000 pound Caterpillar rolling machine. Mark: God here we go Yes. Andy: from his employer while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Mark: Good combo. Andy: I would say so. He then went on a rampage for nearly three hours across Wolverhampton, causing chaos as well as, get this, £8,000 worth of damage, which in Wolverhampton is several streets worth of houses. Mark: What are you talking about? Eight thousand pounds? That's a dent in a car these days. What was he doing? Andy: This is Wolverhampton. could, I mean, you've basically wiped it off the map. It's more, it's been like the blitz in World War II. Mark: What are you talking about? What happens if you've got Wolverhampton listeners? You're just insulting them. Andy: Now the police... Yeah, sorry about that, Brummy Dave. Now the police... Mark: What is Wolverhampton near Birmingham? I've never been there, obviously. Andy: Yeah, very much so. They've got the same accent, don't you know? Mark: Really? I don't know, I've never been there. Andy: No, of course not, because it's north of Watford. Mark: north of the Watford Gap. Andy: yeah. So the police in their wisdom decided to park a Royal Mail lorry in his way. Because that's the way to stop a bulldozer. A Royal Mail lorry. So of course that got destroyed. He then made his way towards traffic in the 24 tonne dozer before he was finally stopped by cops. But it doesn't say how. But was actually jailed for 18 months after admitting dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving a motor vehicle without a license or insurance. Now, normally when people steal a car with no license or insurance and they kill a mother and child, they get a driving ban for three years and that's about it. Mark: Yeah, but he was drunk. Sorry Andy, this was your good news story, was it? Or have I missed something? Andy: Yeah, because I like a man going on a rampage in a bulldozer. Mark: We even did a rampage story, didn't we? That guy in America who sort of armoured a... He put armour on some sort of vehicle that he then... Or was it a tank? No, he built it. He built it. Andy: did. Yeah. No, he was, it was an armored car that he built himself and he basically went rescue, delivering supplies to war torn places. Mark: No, no, no, no, no, the fellow who went on a... he was a good fellow. There was another story we did where a chap went on a rampage. Andy: Yeah. ⁓ possibly. We've done so many. We have done so many. Mark: ⁓ So that was the extent of the good news story. Some bloke goes on a rampage. It's just an excuse for a you to insult Wolverhampton, the poor city. It can't help what's happened to it. Is it a city or a town? Andy: That's pretty good. Wolverhampton is a city. ⁓ Mark: They need to get some new post office lorries if that only did 8000 pounds worth of damage. The thing about if I was going to go on a rampage I wouldn't do it in a what did you say a steamroller? ⁓ it was a bulldozer was it? Alright. Andy: No, it was a bulldozer. Yeah. How did they cost 380 grand? Mark: To be honest, I think you're wrong there. That sounds ridiculously cheap for a bulldozer. Andy: How is that cheap? Mark: Just weigh the bloody thing, in metal alone it must weigh a few quid. Andy: Well, it's 24 tonnes. Mark: No. Andy: Huh. Mark: I would have thought they were more than that really, so it was a small bulldozer. Andy: Well now you're making me look for the story again. Mark: Why did it have a picture? Andy: Yeah. Yeah, it's not massive. Mark: No. Yeah, if I was going to steal a bulldozer, I'd make sure it was the biggest available. Andy: Pretty nippy. Would you get one of those that have got a ladder to climb into the cockpit with the 18 feet wheels? Mark: yeah exactly yeah exactly tires taller than a house Andy: Yeah, wouldn't. The scale of those I find quite intimidating. I have trouble parking a normal size car because of my eyes. I'd hate to try and squeeze that between two buses on the A4. Mark: you Indeed. I wonder what the top speed is. They probably only go probably faster than walking pace but not much faster than walking pace. Andy: Yeah, I would imagine they're pretty limited to like 15 kilometres an hour or something. Mark: Something like that, yeah. So did the current ban, was that that I assume was on the front page, did the current ban report anything about the King's Visit or Hesketh's committee interviews? Andy: ⁓ Nothing about committee interviews. Mark: No, because he was appearing in front of the select committee answering or not answering questions. Andy: The main story is the stabbings in Golders Green, of course. Mark: ⁓ of course, yeah, yeah. I'll tell you what, that wasn't a good look for the police. I mean, obviously, complete nutter, but this guy must have been assessed as a nutter. Yeah, exactly. The video of the police kicking him in the head. Andy: I know they kicked him in the head about six times. But, you know, in the heat of the moment, the guy wouldn't let go of the knife. Mark: Yeah, and I think he'd either attempted to or stabbed a policeman, you can sort of understand it, but nevertheless. Andy: He did attempt to stab a policeman. I would have kicked him in the head as well. Mark: No, but you're not a policeman, that's the point. A policeman is trained to restrain themselves and to act appropriately. Andy: No, but even if I were the police... You cannot train someone to deny their base instincts when survival kicks in. Mark: Yeah, he was on the ground with two officers kneeling on him and there was another bloke kicking him in the head. Andy: It's not enough. Mark: Anyway, you're right, that was a terrible instant. Hopefully it's not becoming too normal in the UK. Andy: Well, Mark: Yeah, so what I was surprised about back to the King's visit a little bit more mainstream was that there wasn't any incidents. Andy: Well, to be honest, he's basically on White House grounds most of the time, isn't he? Mark: The thing I thought was funny, did you happen to see that, I think it was on the BBC, where there was a line of people to be greeted and Queen Camilla started shaking people's hands. And I think Trump thought she was doing it too slowly. So he just pushed in front of her. and quickly shook all these people's hands and Camilla was sort of standing there, what's going on? And the next thing you know, they're going somewhere else. Andy: Yay. He's got no form of etiquette, no sense of decorum. Mark: He doesn't. The most telling incident of all of the Trump presidencies was at that G20 meeting, do you remember, where child Trump was at the back of the row of prime ministers and country leaders and he literally shoved, I can't remember whether it was a prime minister of Luxembourg, even if they got a prime minister. He literally shoved him out of the way so he could get to the front with all the cameras and everything. was just unbelievable. It was literally like a child. Andy: Yeah, well, he should be front and center. It's the most important man on the planet. Mark: That's Front and centre. Did we talk about the assassination attempt last time? We've covered that, have we? Andy: Yeah, it was perfect. We need some proper assassins in America. Mark: Well, yes. Anyway. ⁓ yes, and of course, Sir Comney's been indicted again. I didn't know that the term 86 comes from the catering industry, apparently. Andy: Who's been indicted? Mark: The ex-leader of the FBI. He's already been, they've tried to do him once and the judge just... Andy: ⁓ okay. So if something's been 86, it comes from the catering industry. Mark: Yeah, it's apparently if something's off the menu, then it's been nixed exactly, removed or edited. ⁓ And then it developed into more mainstream and apparently now in very few circles, 86 means killed and Comney put out a post Andy: All right, it's been removed from the menu. Mark: of seashells arranged ⁓ in the shape of number 8647, Trump being the 47th president. So now that idiot Cash Patel, the drunk dwarf, sorry to short people out there, he has now indicted Comney again for ⁓ trying to get the president assassinated or something. Andy: number 86. ⁓ for fuck's sake. mean, they're still trying to get Jimmy Kimmel cancelled because of his comedy routines. Mark: Yes, yeah. Well it was something to do with the Melania wasn't it? Andy: Yeah, because before the assassination attempt, he did a ⁓ sketch where he had Melania and Baron from another thing, ⁓ earlier filmed episode somewhere, that he edited into his own audience thing. And he said, Melania is looking particularly lovely tonight, just like a widow in waiting. Mark: Yeah. Really? Andy: And it went to Melania and Baron and they're like, and she, she, demanded that CBS cancel him for that. And then Donald got on board and said, not only CBS, Disney should cancel him too. ⁓ can you preach freedom of speech and it's one of your core values. then as soon as someone makes a joke about you and your wife, you want them canceled. Mark: Yes. ⁓ that poor fellow, I say poor fellow Baron, obviously I don't mean I have sympathy for him, but what I do think every time I see that bloke Baron, I think of Lurch from the Addams family. I mean, he just looks like Lurch. Some great tall lumbering tree of a... Andy: Yeah. Yeah, don't be six foot 11. Just about six foot 11, isn't he? It's ridiculous. Mark: He's what? I think he's 6 foot 7, he's bloody tall though. Andy: Just don't be that. Mark: It's ridiculous. Anyway. Yeah, exactly. He could. Yeah, you would imagine that he could could be one of the lizards. Anyway, so what else is going on? Do you know it's going to be 24 degrees in Sweden tomorrow? In Dalhalla? Andy: That's the lizard in him coming out. ⁓ talking of Sweden, I understand that some new rules have come in with citizenship. Mark: Err, yes, some of them were kicked out. This is mildly interesting. Some of them were kicked out because these Sverigedemokraten are cheated in the vote. Did you know that? So apparently in Sweden, to save everybody voting, all the MPs voting, what they do is pair off. Andy: I did not. Yeah, and they cast votes for each other. Mark: Well, they don't even vote because they just literally, I agree not to vote, you agree not to vote and then it, but it's very Democrat and they're cheated. Andy: Alright there's the end screen. So they said, I won't vote if you don't vote. And then they went and voted. Mark: Exactly, and then they went to vote. Exactly. But yes, you have to... I think it's been extended. If you're not married to a Swede, instead of five years, you have to be here eight years now. and of good standing, which would have put you up the guy. I was going to say you slipped under the wire there, that's for sure. Andy: luckily I've got my citizenship in early. Yeah, they can't get rid of me now. Mark: and a few other well they can do actually that was funny enough that was one of the things i couldn't understand that there was revoked and that is if you are a dual citizen they have the right to revoke your swedish citizenship if you are a naughty boy or girl no no but that is sort of Andy: Yeah, but I'm not a naughty boy. Well, that's quite right as well. They should do the same thing in England. If you commit a crime in England after being given a British passport, you should be immediately revoked. Why the fuck should we have to put up with that? Mark: I think it depends on the crime. Andy: typical leftist. Mark: What do you mean, if it's a speeding event? If it's crimes that you commit, why should they be deported? Andy: What do mean? Mark: If you caught speeding, you think they should be deported? Andy: Depends where they were speeding. Mark: Anyway, whatever. Yes, you're right. They have introduced new rules in Sweden, making it tougher on immigration. Andy: ⁓ That leads us nicely. Mark: Yes. ⁓ no, what are you going to talk about now? Andy: I'm actually going to talk about Amelia Earhart. Mark: We've done Amelia Earhart, you can't keep regurgitating the same old stories. Andy: We haven't done a media art. Mark: Yes, we have. You can't remember we've done Amelia R. ⁓ Andy: I'm sorry. Are sure? Mark: Ha ha ha ha! Literally, you forgot how many episodes have we done? Andy: This is 242. Well it's a new take. At least. Mark: Well, clearly it's a new tape because you didn't remember. It's going to be Andy: Okay. Well, I'll start. have a, I had a lead in story, which is ⁓ about a guy called launch air Larry, Larry Walters. Now this is a man who in July of 1982, he sawed into federal airspace over LA on his flying machine made out of a launch air. Mark: I haven't heard of him before. Andy: and 45 weather balloons. Mark: ⁓ yes, I remember that, and I think we've talked about it before. He survived. Andy: know, we talk about the child who went up, allegedly went up in a homemade balloon. Mark: All right. No, but there's photographs of this fellow hanging in a... he got quite high, didn't he? Andy: Oh yeah, no, this actually happened. This happened. Well, the idea of a man flying high in the sky in a chair hoisted only by balloons is something you'd normally expect to find in a children's story. But for Californian Larry Waters, it was a reality. On July the 2nd, 1982, the then 33 year old Waters tied massive balloons to a lawn chair and he took off into the sky. Planning on just a short flight, he bought some ⁓ beer, a sandwich and a radio and a pellet gun because how else are going to get down? Although he was supposed to ascend just a short distance, the cable meant to tether him to the ground quickly snapped. And as a result, he shot 16,000 feet into the air before he entered a rocky descent by shooting some of his balloons. Ultimately, he landed totally unharmed. Yeah. Mark: Did he? That's quite an achievement. Andy: Yeah. He was born April 19, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, and he long dreamed of touching the sky. According to an article in the New Yorker in 1998, this dream was born when Walters visited Disneyland around the age of eight or nine. And while he was there, he spotted a woman holding a zillion Mickey Mouse balloons and something clicked. in his brain. Mark: He doesn't know how to count. Andy: Yeah, apart from maths. I know that that's when the idea developed, Walters told the magazine. I mean, you get enough of those and they're going to lift you up. By the time he was 13, he was already experimenting with making his own hydrogen generators, which is quite advanced for a 13 year old. Mark: A zillion blue. No, hydrogen is quite easy to make. It's electrolysis. Andy: I was experimenting with self-flagellation at the age of 13. Mark: That's methane. That wouldn't get you very high. Sorry, what's this name? I've got to get I want people to do a picture Larry Walters. Andy: Larry Walters. And when he saw a weather balloon in an army Navy surplus store, which you do, he became convinced that such large balloons could easily lift a person. He originally thought he might direct his curiosity about flying into becoming a pilot. Yeah, that was him. But Walter's poor eyesight meant that that path was closed to him. Instead, he worked as an army cook during the Vietnam War. But in 1972, Walters realized that if he wanted to fly, he would have to start putting his plan into action. So he did. Over the next decade, he collected a damn sturdy little chair, 45 large weather balloons, and several water jugs to help with weight distribution. And he dubbed his lawn chair contraption the Inspiration won. And before long, Larry Walters would take to the sky. On July the 2nd, 1982, Walters got ready to take flight in his lawn chair contraption. He intended to fly above his San Pedro neighborhood for a while, enjoy the view, and then come back down. He had a parachute, a camera, Mark: Did he know what to do with a parachute, I wonder? Andy: Well, you jump and pull the string, that's all you need to know. Mark: I don't think it's quite that simple Andy, but anyway. Andy: a camera, a CB radio, and a pellet gun to pop the balloons in order to descend. He also had a cooler that held a sandwich, a soda, and a beer. But things didn't go quite as he intended. Walters had used a rope to tether his chair to the ground, but as he began to ascend, the rope snapped. And with nothing keeping him on the ground, Larry Walters began to climb higher and higher. into the sky. From the ground, while she could, his girlfriend begged him, abort, abort the mission. But Walters was exactly where he wanted to be. I wasn't going to hassle with her because there's no way in heck, you know, after all this, my life, my money, we'd sunk into this thing and just come down. No way in heck. I was just going to have to Have a good time up there. Mark: Where's this fellow from? You're supposedly... Andy: LA. Mark: I don't think they speak like that in LA. Andy: Well, he has also spent a lot of time in his younger years on a trailer park. Mark: in Cornwall. As a pirate. Andy: I could see the orange funnels of the Queen Mary. I could see a big seaplane of Howard Hughes, the Spruce Goose with two commercial tugs alongside, Walters recalled. Then higher up, the oil tanks of the Naval Station, like little dots. Catalina Island in the distance. I had this camera, but I didn't take any pictures. It was something personal. I wanted only the memory of it. That was enough. Mark: ⁓ this is one of your... this sounds like one of your bloody UFO stories where they've got a camera and he didn't even take any photographs of it. Do we know this story is true? Andy: You know, we know it's true. We know this happened, but as he soon found out, it was a lot easier going up than it was coming down. As Larry Waters reached for 15,000 feet, the air around him began to chill and thin. He decided it's time to come back down. So he used the pellet gun he'd bought to shoot several of his large balloons. Mark: Yeah. Andy: in hopes of initiating a controlled descent. But when Walters placed the pellet gun in his lap, a gust of wind came along. ⁓ Walters jerked forward and the gun fell from his grip. To this day, I can see it falling, getting smaller and smaller, down towards the houses, three miles down. And I thought, I hope there's no one standing down there. Mark: No. He dropped the pellet gun. Andy: Yeah. With no other way to pop the balloons, Walters was stuck. As he tried to decide if it was time to use the parachute that he'd brought with him, however, some of the helium in his remaining balloons began to leak. After reaching 16,000 feet, his lawn chair started drifting back down towards the earth. The danger wasn't completely over, because without the pellet gun, Larry had no way to regulate his altitude. He used his radio to connect with ⁓ a dumbstruck air traffic emergency responder who couldn't quite understand exactly what type of aircraft Walters was flying. Mark: God, Andy: And the difficulty is that this is an unauthorized balloon launch, Walters told them. I know I'm interfering with general airspace. I'm sure my ground crew has alerted the proper authorities, but could you just call them and tell them I'm okay? Meaning his girlfriend, course. Waters continued to try to control his landing, even cutting open some of his water jugs with a pen knife. But I don't understand why he'd do that, because surely that's ballast. Mark: Yeah exactly, but if he's descending too fast, then you take the weight out of the balloon. Andy: But he descended swiftly towards some power lines and narrowly avoided electrocution when his balloons got stuck in the wires. If I'd come in a little higher, the chair would have hit the wires and I could have been electrocuted, he recalls. I could have been dead and Lord knows what. Well, just dead, really. So he had safely landed in his lawn chair contraption, but he was then met by the Long Beach Police Department who let him know that he'd soon be hearing from the Federal Aviation Authority. Mark: Damn right, I'm surprised they didn't bring a straight jacket. Andy: Well, the thing is, we know he broke some part of the Federal Aviation Act. And as soon as we decide which part it is, a charge will be filed. The FAA safety inspector, Neil Savoy stated. If he had a pilot's license, we'd suspend that, but he doesn't. Walters, not really knowing what to do with the chair, gave it away to a kid in the neighborhood, which was probably a bad move. That would be an eBay auction item today. Mark: in inspiring. Andy: Then he reunited with his girlfriend and headed home. Now he was initially fined $4,000 or $13,000 in today's real money for flying without establishing and maintaining two-way communication with the control tower. But Walters appealed and his fine was reduced to $500 or sorry, $1,500 or $5,000 today. Meanwhile, his strange flying contraption and his story made him a little bit of a minor celebrity. Mark: for 15 minutes. I'll tell you what 16,000 feet that's 5,000 meters. Andy: Yeah. That's three balls. Mark: I can't remember how... I know Everest is 8,000 meters, I think. No, whatever. But I've been up to... I've just been up to three and a half thousand. Somewhere in the Alps, I went up to three and a half thousand meters. And even there, you really feel like, you know, you know you're somewhere different, basically. Andy: I thought it was 12. I would be talking my... Mark: This fellow was sitting in a chair. I hope he was wearing a nappy because I'll tell you what. Andy: I would have been carking my pants. Mark: Literally. Up there with the seagulls? No way! Andy: No wonder they keep shitting on people, seagulls. ⁓ god, look how high I am! Mark: Yes, exactly! I tell you what, that I would have been really pooping my panties, that's for sure, at 16,000 feet. ⁓ dear. Andy: Well, Launcey Lary tried to capitalize on his fame and he quit his job as a truck driver to become a motivational speaker. Unfortunately, he was never able to successfully get his speaking career off the ground, so to speak, and struggled in late later life to make money from the lecture circuit. Because, mean, frankly, he's a one trick pony. So once he's told the story, that's it. He's not exactly a raconteur. Mark: Yeah. Yes, I mean, I think that he would be a sort of a sideshow to commercial convention or something, know, the cement mixes of United States listening to some bloke about helium. Andy: Or if there's a weather balloon manufacturer doing an expo, it'd be good to have him on board, I suppose. Well. Mark: exactly. ⁓ Anyway, why on earth has this got to do with Amelia Earhart, who was a proper aviation person? It's not. It's the opposite of aviation, actually, Larry Walters. Andy: It's aviation and it's pioneers of aviation. ⁓ come on, pioneer aviation at its finest. He actually instigated a solo flight to three miles high with homemade garden equipment, basically. ⁓ Well, sadly. Mark: No, it's not. It's stupidity at its finest. Yeah, but he's an idiot. Andy: Lawnchair Larry, I hope you're going to feel bad about this now because Lawnchair Larry killed himself roughly a decade later in October 1993. Mark: Obviously he dropped, he... ⁓ How old was he? He was only 60 then. Or 50. Sorry, you know he's 41, you said, or 49, I can't remember. Scroll up. Andy: Yeah, about that. But his legacy... I can't remember. No, but his legacy lives on. Walter's legendary flight gave rise to the extreme sport now of cluster ballooning, in which participants are strapped into a harness and attached to rubber helium-filled balloons. Mark: Do you know what ultimately causes weather balloons to come back to Earth? Andy: rain Mark: No, because the pressure in the upper atmosphere is much lower than it is down. So the helium balloon expands and eventually pops. Andy: ⁓ so the helium expands. Well, inspired by Larry Walters, others have made similar flights, including Mike Howard and Steve Davis, not the snooker player. The two men who now hold the Guinness world record for the highest altitude ever reached while cluster ballooning. Mark: I was gonna say. Andy: Another person who followed in Walter's footsteps is John Finch. I know you're going to ask me how high. Mark: no no no no no no hang on a second yes of course i am you idiot how high Andy: Well, I will tell you soon. Another person who followed in Walton's footsteps is Jonathan Trapp, who attached 54 balloons to his office chair, which I can perfectly understand having sat in one myself. And it would have been great to be able to just tie some balloons to your chair and float out the office window. Mark: I'll tell you what you should do, you should get rid of that old chair of yours by tying a few balloons to it. Andy: was too heavy. But anyway, his office chair soared to an altitude of 14,783 feet and it landed in a field 50 miles away. Mark: Yeah, that's still not 16-7. How, what's the world record? I'm gonna have to do it while you're segueing into some other whatever you're doing. Andy: As for Larry's lawn chair, whatever happened to that, you remember the neighbour kid, Jerry Fleck? He kept it all this time and he donated it to the National Air and Space Museum in 2019, where it can be seen to this very day. Mark: ⁓ really? So okay, his legacy was the chair. Cluster Balloon Record You ready for this? Andy: Go on. Mark: I know, you've got to go somewhere else. Holy shit! 21,000 feet! Andy: Jesus, that's like six miles. Mark: Well it's not actually, it's six and a half kilometres but it's four miles, yeah. Really? Andy: Almost. ⁓ yeah. Mark: They had 20,000 balloons. Andy: Yeah, I guess they weren't using weather balloons in the cluster ballooning. Weather balloons are kind of too big. You could get yourself into serious trouble. But you imagine what time you'd have to get up in the morning to start blowing your balloons up? Mark: You'd certainly feel faint, wouldn't you, after blowing a few of those up? Andy: Yeah don't think... Mark: Don't let me distract you, Andy. Andy: Sorry, my phone's dinging. Hey, get off. What did you do? Hello, hello, hello. Mark: I hope you can hear me because I don't want to go through that bloody saga again. Andy: Yeah, can hear you. He just stepped all over my mixing desk and muted my mic and my headphone. No, he lives here. He's the boss. Mark: But he's still there, get rid of him! Not on your keyboard, he doesn't. Andy: Yeah, I know. He's coming for a cuddle. Mark: Right, well that's the end of this week's episode then. Andy: Well, it kind of is because you've ruined my Amelia Earhart. Are you sure we've done Amelia Earhart? Can you get- Mark: Well, what aspect of the story are you going to talk about? Andy: There you are. Well, you know, I was going to talk about her early life and the struggles that she went through. Mark: What struggles? Andy: Oh, but here you go, you see. It could be that you learned something. Mark: She was, I thought she was a bit of a aristocrat. Andy: ⁓ well, you would be wrong. Because Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24th, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. And at first glance, nothing about her early life clearly pointed towards aviation. Mark: Well it wouldn't have done because they didn't have bloody planes in 1897 Idiot Andy: Well, they did. The skies were still a novelty, airplanes were fragile and rare, and there was no obvious path from a midwestern childhood to global fame in flight. But Amelia's early years... Mark: Hang on, hang on, hang on. When were the Wright brothers made their first flight in 1912, wasn't it? Andy: No, that was the launch of the Titanic. And the sinking of the Titanic. Mark: That was it. Andy: But Amelia's early years were shaped by something more foundational than opportunity. They were shaped by instability. Her father, who was called Edwin Stanton Earhart, was a capable and educated man working as a railroad claims agent. But he struggled with alcoholism and that struggle created cycles of stability and collapse within the household. There were periods when the family lived comfortably, when routines held and expectations were clear. And then there were periods when everything shifted. Jobs were lost, finances strained, and uncertainty took hold. And for a child, this kind of environment doesn't just create disruption, it reshapes how you understand the world. So Amelia grew up learning that stability could vanish without warning. moved frequently. Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, each relocation forcing her to adapt to new schools, new social circles and new expectations. was often a newcomer, arriving after friendships had already formed, learning to observe before participating. And over time, this built a quiet independence. She became self-reliant, comfortable on her own. Mark: Alright, so she wasn't a silver spoonie one. Andy: less dependent on social approval, but it also created a sense of distance, an awareness that belonging could be temporary. At one point, financial strain led to Amelia and her sister Muriel being sent to live with their grandparents. And this introduced a completely different environment, more structured, conservative, and emotionally restrained. I'm guessing there was religion involved. Compared to the unpredictability of her parents' it offered stability, at the cost of freedom. Amelia adapted, as she always did, but she didn't fully belong in either world. Between instability and rigidity, she developed something else entirely, an internal compass. Her mother, Amy Otis Earhart, played a crucial role in that development. Because unlike many parents of the time, Amy rejected rigid gender expectations. She encouraged exploration, independence, and curiosity. So she didn't confine Amelia to traditional roles or interests. So Amelia climbed trees. She built makeshift ramps and experimented with movement and speed. In one early episode, She constructed a homemade roller coaster using wooden planks and a shared roof. an early, almost symbolic expression of her fascination with motion and risk. At the same time, Amelia was quietly observing the world beyond her immediate surroundings. She collected newspaper clippings about women succeeding in fields that were traditionally dominated by men, science, engineering, leadership. And this wasn't just casual interest. It was a way of mapping possibility. of understanding that a different kind of life might exist for her. Still, her academic journey was uneven. Frequent moves disrupted her schooling. She attended multiple institutions, sometimes excelling and sometimes disengaged. There wasn't a single clear trajectory for her. So after high school, she enrolled at the O'Gonce School in Pennsylvania, which was a finishing school. designed to prepare young women for conventional futures. When World War I intensified, she left school and volunteered as a nurse's aide in Toronto. Mark: Well, I assume they had money at that time. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Andy: ⁓ no, can't hear you. What has he done? Mark: Exactly, I told you that bloody cat! You were completely ignoring all of my commentary. Andy: I don't know what he's done. Mark: Can you hear me now? Andy: Buh-dum-buh-dum-boom. Mark: Now this is quality production. Andy: can't see what he's done. Mark: I did. Andy: Hello, Yeah, now I can hear you. He muted you. Mark: Yes, I can hear you. Yeah, so you've missed all of my quips. I wonder if that comes out on the recording or if it was just you that missed them. Andy: Now it will have come out on the recording. Mark: I was saying that if she went to finishing school, must have, they must have had a bit of money at that stage. Andy: No, the money came and went and at this point she was being cared for by her grandparents which was more stable. Mark: ⁓ I see. Andy: but she did have to drop out of school a couple of times due to financial reasons. Mark: What I want to do is get onto the aeroplane bit. I'm not bloody interested in finishing school. When did she learn to fly? Andy: Well, Pratch, you need to listen to our previous podcasts. Mark: Yes, you're right. Andy: So when World War I intensified, she left school and volunteered as a nurse's aide in Toronto. And there she worked with wounded soldiers, men recovering from injuries that were often severe and life-changing. This experience exposed her to discipline, hardship and resilience, but it also brought her into contact with pilots, injured aviators who spoke of flight with a mixture of excitement and gravity. At the time, Amelia didn't immediately decide she wanted to become a pilot, but inside her something shifted. The idea of flight had entered her world, not as fantasy, but as something real. Her early struggles, instability at home, constant adaptation, exposure to hardship, didn't point her towards a specific career. But they built the qualities that would later define her resilience, independence, and the willingness to step outside expectations. So you asked when did she discover flight? Well, her first airplane ride came later than you might expect. She was 23 years old when she attended an air show in California in December of 1920. A pilot offered her a short ride, after which Mark: Mm-hmm. Andy: He her up in his plane. It was just 10 minutes, but that was enough. As soon as we left the ground, she would later say, I knew I had to fly. And within days, she began taking flying lessons. Her instructor was one of the few female aviators of the time. And that visibility sort of mattered to her. It reinforced Amelia's growing belief that the boundary she had growing up questioning were not fixed. Money, was a constant challenge. Amelia worked a variety of jobs, photographer, truck driver, stenographer, anything that would allow her to pay for lessons. She saved relentlessly, committing herself fully to the pursuit of flight. And in 1921, she bought her first plane. Yeah, just a year later, it was a secondhand biplane painted bright yellow. Mark: What? That's a bit of a step. Andy: and she called it a canary. She practiced tirelessly, often alone, refining her skills and pushing her limits. And just a year later, she set her first record flying higher than any woman had ever flown before. Which was about 50 feet. Mark: Very condescending, thank you. Andy: But aviation in the early 20s was unstable. Financial pressures returned. Family circumstances shifted again and reluctantly, Amelia had to sell her plane and step away from flying. But the pull remained. She returned to aviation in the late 20s, just as public fascination with flight was growing. In 1928, she received a call that would change her life. A transatlantic flight was being organised and the team wanted a woman on board. Now I would immediately have red flags. Mark: Well, you would because of the dirt track mind that you have. Andy: Well, it's, you know, there was no supersonic flight in those days. It was going to be a while. Anyway. ⁓ Mark: What, so you think that they brought her on board to provide coffee and biscuits? Andy: or as a sandwich filling, So Amelia was selected, but not as the pilot. She would be a passenger. The flight from Newfoundland to Wales was successful and Amelia became an overnight celeb, but she was deeply unsatisfied with the way the achievement was framed. She later referred to herself as just baggage. It wasn't enough to be present. She wants to be responsible to earn her place through skill and not symbolism. So she went back to work. And in 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. The flight was dangerous and physically demanding. She faced icy conditions, mechanical problems and extreme fatigue. And after nearly 15 hours, she landed in Ireland. this time, there was no ambiguity. She'd managed it all by herself. And with the recognition of this came influence, and Amelia used it quite deliberately. She wrote books, gave lectures, and became a visible advocate for women in aviation. Mark: What plane was she flying? Andy: ⁓ Do you know? Mark: I'm just looking it up because I'm interested to know, sop with camel or something. Andy: It would have been something like that. She helped create opportunities for other female pilots, emphasizing that competence, not gender, should define capability, which is true even today. She also worked within the aviation industry, consulting on commercial flight development and helping to normalize air travel in a rapidly changing world. Her public image was intentional. She was practical. composed and forward looking. She also, I don't know if you know this, but she used to lie about her age a lot. Mark: What making herself younger or older? Andy: Yeah, making herself younger. don't know what the purpose of that was. She didn't lean into celebrity for its own sake. Instead, she redirected attention towards broader goals. In 1931, Amelia married publisher George Putnam, who had been instrumental in promoting her career. But their relationship was unconventional. Mark: He sounded like a man of money. ⁓ dear, what does that mean? Andy: Well, before marrying, Amelia wrote him a letter outlining her expectations. She wanted independence, equality, and the absence of traditional constraints. She wanted partnership, not ownership, to which he agreed. So their marriage became a collaboration. George handled logistics and publicity. Amelia focused on flying and advocacy. And it wasn't without tension, but it allowed her to maintain her autonomy. Throughout the early thirties, Amelia continued to break records. She became the first woman to fly solo across North America, the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the U S and she set numerous speed and altitude records. But each flight carried risk. Aviation technology was still evolving. and navigation remained challenging, but Amelia viewed risk as part of progress. Every successful flight expanded what was considered possible and made future flights safer. So we come to a final flight. And this was in 1937 when Amelia set her most ambitious goal, which was to fly around the world along a near equatorial route. The journey would be longer and more complex than previous circumnavigation attempts. Her aircraft was specifically modified for long distance travel. Her navigator, Fred Noonan, bought expertise in celestial navigation and their first attempt faced mechanical setbacks. A second attempt began in June 1937 heading eastward. The journey progressed successfully through South America, Africa, India and Southeast Asia. By late June, they reached Ley in New Guinea. Ahead, was one of the most difficult legs. A two and a half thousand mile flight over open ocean to Howland Island, a tiny isolated target. On July the 2nd of 1937, they took off and they never arrived. During the flight, Amelia transmitted radio messages indicating difficulty locating Harland Island. Signals were intermittent and weak, and then contact was lost. A massive search operation followed, ships, aircraft, extensive resources, but no confirmed trace of the plane was found. Over time, multiple theories emerged, fuel exhaustion and crash that see landing on an uninhabited island or other scenarios. None have been definitively proven. Amelia Earhart's disappearance. Mark: Yes they have. Her aircraft was found about 10 years ago. Andy: No, her disappearance remains unresolved. Mark: ⁓ really? I thought it had been resolved. Andy: They keep finding bits of flight. M30 whatever it was. It doesn't mean anything. Mark: Well that's not quite the same is it? Andy: She changed anyway, how people understood both aviation and the role of women within it. She demonstrated that visibility and action could shift expectations in lasting ways. So her life wasn't just about records. It was about redefining possibility. And she once said, the most effective way to do it is to do it. Very wild words. Mark: Well done. Sorry, when did she die? 19 what? Andy: 37, she disappeared. So Amelia Earhart grew up in a world that offered instability more often than certainty. And she responded not by retreating, but by building her independence, resilience and clarity of purpose. When she found flight, it wasn't just a new skill. It was a space where she could define her own trajectory. From a child navigating uncertainty, to a pilot navigating the open sky. Her life followed a consistent pattern, moving forward despite the unknown. Her final flight remains a mystery, but her direction never was. Mark: Yeah, she was 40 then. She was born in 97, wasn't she? 1897. Died in 37. Have you ever been in a light aircraft? Andy: I Mark: because I think the oldest aircraft I've ever flown in was a Piper Cub which was sort of, I think, fifties. Andy: I've been in all sorts of different crafts, I've been in helicopters. Well, a helicopter anyway. Mark: Why did you go in a helicopter? Ooh, did you go in a sea king? Andy: when I was in the sea cadets. It was seeking. Yeah. And they turned off the engine while we were up in the air. They absolutely did. Mark: bollocks did they not with a load of air cadets on board absolute bollocks Andy: with load of Sea Cadets on board. Yeah, and they showed us how they basically jumpstart the Invin. Mark: Auto-rotated. Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah, I think that might be a bit storified. It's a bit of a Gary. But the thought of doing even a transit line, I mean, 15 hours in an aeroplane. mean, Ireland is not too difficult to hit. Andy: That's absolutely true. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, obviously. Mark: I don't know how long island is, but it's a fair old target. Andy: Obviously a navigator couldn't read the stars quite as well as he thought he could. Mark: ⁓ Yeah, but when you're in an aeroplane, because you know I have done... I've actually soloed in an aeroplane. Andy: Yeah, I know you said. Mark: even just doing circuits of the aerodrome is intimidating enough let alone actually going i never did cross country Andy: No, but I mean that's because it's an acquired skill. I'm sure that the first time you do most things it's kind of nerve-racking, but it's something you get used to. Mark: Er, sort of, but the thing is that I knew instantly I wasn't a natural flyer, which is why I didn't pursue it. Andy: Which way is up? Which way is up? Mark: you know some things you you feel that you have a natural aptitude for and other things you don't and it is important that you listen to what you feel you have a natural aptitude towards you can over it's like me and dancing you know i could go to dance lessons for years but as soon as i went on to a dance floor people could see i can't dance Andy: Yeah. Well, as you told the lady in the lap dancing club. Mark: Yes, exactly. That classic. Would you like a dancer? ⁓ I'm sorry, I don't dance. ⁓ Andy: you None of my jokes have ever come close to that. Mark: That was, that literally happened. can even remember the name of this poor girl who was asking... Bambi, why do you think? Andy: I can tell you that wasn't her real name. You ⁓ god. Mark: Amelia Earhart. I'll tell you, ⁓ the most exciting flight I had was in a de Havilland Beaver, which is a radial engine. It was a seaplane. That was just amazing because that was 40s, I think it was. And that thing really did shift. It was so powerful. Andy: Do they have, is it harder to take off from water? Is there more resistance? Mark: But I want- Yes. Yeah, much. It's pretty demanding landing on water. Well, taking off and landing on water. Taking off is just a matter of power. Landing is, yeah, there's so much more drag when you hit the water. Andy: Oh yeah, it'd be quite easy to tip your nose, I would imagine. Mark: Exactly. ⁓ No, but when you see those old airplanes, it is quite incredible what they managed to do. And the Wright brothers, sorry, I've forgotten. I actually looked it up. I think it was 1903 or something. They patented something. But yeah. And now of course YouTube is full of people making their own airplanes out of cardboard boxes that they steer with a watch and Xbox controller. Andy: Xbox controller. Well, I don't know. mean, I guess this episode is now going to be called the Larry Waters. No, we haven't. haven't. We have done a balloon. ⁓ but that was the family that claimed they'd lost that kid who climbed in while that balloon was, ⁓ tethered and the kid floated off. Don't you remember it was in the, they had the news. Mark: Yeah, exactly, which I think we've also done before. Andy: cameras following the balloon and it turned out to be probably a hoax. Mark: Maybe. ⁓ I see. What you can call this episode is dementia for symptoms. Andy: Oh, I thought I'd struck gold. So I thought, oh, you'll like this one. But I mean, with 240 odd episodes, it gets really quite difficult to remember what we have and what we haven't covered. Mark: Have a late. It would be funny to find out how can you chase can you chase can you search the database of our episodes? Andy: Yeah, of course. Mark: Well can you do that next time then please? Andy: I can't do it now because it will make me leave the studio. Mark: Yeah, now I'm not suggesting you leave. Just scroll back up to the beginning of the story. Andy: chick. I know we haven't done Larry Walters. Mark: Can't you put a little f- Can't you put a fence around your keyboard to stop the cat walking over it? Andy: No, he's quite happily lying down now with his shoulder blades on my number pad. Aren't you naughty boy? He keeps bringing up my transcripts. Mark: ⁓ Yes, well done. Andy: Yeah, well, thanks for joining us, everyone. Hope you enjoyed Larry Walters and hope we reminded you of some of what Amelia got up to. In fact, that was basically a new episode. So, yeah. Mark: Yep. Yes. Exactly. It was. Yeah, but do better next time. Andy: I can't. This is as good as it gets. Thanks for listening. Join us again same time, same place next week and join us on Patreon on Wednesdays where we release our extra episodes. And this week it was... Mark: you Alrighty. Not the Bible. Andy: ⁓ come on. Mark: I even saw the picture yesterday. ⁓ No, ⁓ yes, the something to do with science, drugs, pharmacy. Andy: Was it? Mark: No, can't remember. What was it? Come on, tell me. Andy: I remember because I recorded yesterday with Richard as well, we did one about... No, because we did one about a Scottish woman who was murdered yesterday. Mark: ⁓ so you can't remember? Well, that's alright then, that's not so bad. ⁓ nice. Alright. Andy: Sir? I can tell you. Mark: What? Andy: That it was. ⁓ we did a selection of strange stories. Mark: Good boy. Andy: Yeah, with the... ⁓ Ugh, with this snake oil salesman and... Mark: ⁓ that's it, yes, was you and me. ⁓ Am I imagining this, but are you getting better looking in all of these AI pictures? You do yourself up, don't you? Andy: I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is. It's like with Arabella, know, AI seems to love me and doesn't really like you very much. ⁓ Mark: You seem to be morphing towards Brad Pitt. Andy: You It's actually how other people see me. Mark: I wouldn't want to try and put into pictures what people see of you Andy, I have to say. It would be like a picture of Jorian Gray. Andy: Anyway, join us on Patreon at patreon.com backslash strange stuff podcast where you can get so many more episodes if you can suffer anymore. And you'll also get our murdery bits. Follow us on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. Give us a like and a subscribe. So I know I'm not just putting stuff out there for myself. It would be nice. Feel free to give us any suggestions for any future shows. In the meantime, have yourselves a strange week and don't go weather ballooning or extreme ballooning without establishing first two-way communication with a tower. Bye for now. Mark: No. Yep. Cheerio.