Balloon Boy

When the whole balloon boy story took place, fans of Mythbusters immediately realized that the whole thing was bullshit. In episode 27 (November 3, 2004) they successfully debunked the Mr. Bean skit in which a large collection of standard, party-sized helium balloons lifts a baby carriage (complete with baby) up into the sky. It took 3500 balloons to lift a 4 year old girl (daughter of one of the sound crew) off the ground under carefully controlled conditions in an enclosed aircraft hangar. The collection of balloons were roughly the size of a two-story house and the 4-year-old girl obviously much lighter than a 6-year old boy. There is no way a flying saucer-shaped balloon 20' in diameter could have lifted the boy. Also, if it were open at the bottom as it appeared to be, the boy would have quickly suffocated in the helium and died (as happened to this young couple just a few years ago). No way, no how.