The sheriff being interviewed said the boy weighed 37 pounds and that the contraption could carry up to 80. I doubt the balsa wood/aluminum foil weighed as much as the difference.
My wife and I disagree on whether or not this is a hoax. She thinks the entire thing was staged.
I tend to think that the "flying saucer" (which is what they called it when talking to 911) was in fact going to be used as for a different hoax for some much needed publicity, and that it had nothing to do with weather or science or whatever the guy was claiming. However, when it went up accidentally, with supposedly the kid inside, the parents genuinely thought he was inside, which is why the investigators are convinced their interviews were valid. They really WERE scared and surprised and afraid.
My scenario suggests that they would release the balloon "on accident", let it fly around Colorado, scaring up numerous calls from concerned citizens about a UFO, then after it landed or was found they would come forward with a "sorry, that was our weather balloon for experiments" type of story, getting their faces shown on news all over the country. When asked what was the deal, the dad could say "I'm a storm chaser/actor/etc," and could hope for a reality show or book deal.
Now that it has turned out the way it has, and the public isn't merely curious about them, they are angry at them, it changes his prospects. Angering the press this morning with a claim of "big news" at 10 AM didn't help. "Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel" as they say.
In any case, I am seriously glad the kid ended up not being inside, and while the parents are irresponsible at best and dirtbags at worst, I was sick to my stomach the day this was happening, picturing a little 6 year old kid panicking inside the balloon at 15,000 ft and jumping out to his death.
So who here thinks this was a hoax/what kind of hoax, and who here thinks it was a genuine mistake?
[This message has been edited by Flamberge (edited 10-17-2009).]
