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Vicki Winslow's avatar

This site continues to astound me. I had chosen this line as a favorite: "Some 50 to 75 people chased it in their cars as it floated down into Neal Phillips’ peanut field, three miles south of Halifax." But that was before the description of the Larry Sprinkle bobblehead astronaut, the briar patch, and the line at McDonald's. An embarrassment of riches, sure enough.

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Diego Forest's avatar

What fun!! You guys gotta do it again. I'd start a little further east so it's easier to recover. Count me in if you need to raise funds for another high tech redneck endeavor.

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Andrew Dunn's avatar

Launch another balloon! The Rabbit Hole readers demand it. What a great story. Yes, I watched every second of the mini-doc and the bonus footage. So cool.

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Kathleen Purvis's avatar

Dang, Markovich. That video is good fun.

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Stuart W.'s avatar

Sign me up for the ground crew of the next flight, Jeremy! We'll show those Chinese a thing or two!

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Robert Anthony's avatar

Balloons. Blimps. Airships. Dirigibles. Zeppelins. The smart folks among us know the differences. But, rather than quibble over which is what, let's simply agree that, like the Chinese, North Carolinians have been fascinated with gas-filled aircrafts for years, even occasionally sending them up ourselves.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/weeksville-dirigible-hangar

https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/nc_post/id/519/rec/1

https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/nc_post/id/598/rec/2

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Jeremy Markovich's avatar

All worthy topics. Apropos of nothing, a different boss at the same TV station once prank called me, telling me I had to come back to the station because there'd been a "blimp crash in Taylorsville." I told me it was a joke, but not before I'd gotten off the highway at the next exit.

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KC's avatar

Is that really Brad at McDonald’s? That guy has hair! Great story.

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