The prospect of a 6-year-old floating away to his potential doom captivated cable and Internet news consumers for hours on Thursday. However, when it was determined the boy was hiding in a box in his home rather than a UFO-shaped balloon, questions began to emerge.
Throughout the live coverage of the event, numerous experts speculated about numerous things, such as the direction the balloon might be headed, what altitude it could potentially reach and how long a child could survive in such a craft.
However, one thing I did not hear a peep about was the shape of the balloon.
There is a fascinating article on Wired.com about how experts might have easily deduced from the onset of the story that the balloon was likely not carrying a child.
Check out the complete article, complete with videos, images and calculations, here.
