10 Insane Movie Plots That Actually Happened In Real Life

9. National Geographic Really Went Up - Up!

Sam Jackson Snakes On A Plane
Disney/Pixar

Providing the Pixar world with one of its most iconic and instantly uplifting visuals - in more ways than one - watching Carl Fredricksen keep his promise to his late wife Ellie via the transforming of his home into a full-on helium-ballon-powered airship is the stuff of glorious, heartwarming fantasy.

Or at least it was.

That's because a couple of years on from Carl's elevation and trip to Paradise Falls, National Geographic decided they wanted in on the levitating abode life.

Equipping a house inspired by Carl's Up! gaff with 300 helium weather balloons, a group of passionate folks consisting of scientists, a couple of balloon pilots, a ton of volunteers, and some engineers not only got a damn house to float... but they got it 10,000 feet in the air!

Now sure, the house itself may not have been 100% legit, being forged as a custom-built lightweight one in order to successfully pull off the feat. But by filling each of the eight-feet-high balloons with helium, the How Hard Can it Be? TV series managed to successfully carry two folks across California's High Desert for around an hour.

Which is pretty bloody impressive, if you ask me.

Contributor
Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...