This guy strapped 45 helium balloons to a lawnchair in his backyard and went to 16,000 feet above LAX before a TWA pilot spotted him. True story. I remember.
Thats a great story. In my previous life, I was flying a corporate aircraft to a "meeting", stopped in DCA and picked up Langhorn Bond and McCarter(both former FAA administrators. This topic came up in the back of the aircraft within earshot of me. Mr. Bond was telling the story and began to laugh. Before long, everyone on the aircraft was in tears from laughing so hard(me included). I think Mr. Bond's commit was that the guy knew what he wanted to do but didn't count on going that high. There must have been a few "Oh Shxts" along the way.
Are you shure whatkindoffreshell that aguy could float 16,00 feet above the ground in a lawnchair? I don't think so! Are you shure that that just wasn't a common made-up false story that some guy made up?