Beijing said on Friday that the craft was indeed from China, but described it as a “mainly meteorological” blimp that had strayed (very) far from its original course. The spotting of a second balloon — this time over South America, on Friday night — made the coincidental-lost-balloon theory less likely.
Still, the brouhaha briefly called us back to the early days of collective social-media viewing, when it was still novel to watch something bizarre unfold on television alongside a cascade of tweets and cackle-inducing memes. Recall that time in 2009, when it seemed like the entire country was captured for several hours as some sort of large silver bag — thought at first to be carrying a 6-year-old boy, of all things — zipped around in the sky over Colorado.
It was the day Balloon Boy was born. After the boy, named Falcon, was found hiding out in the attic of his house, his parents were convicted of misleading a public servant and falsely reporting an incident.
They were later pardoned, and their lawyer called the whole matter “balloonacy.”
In 2012, balloon enthusiasts around the globe were again transfixed as Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian daredevil, rode a helium balloon to an altitude of 128,100 feet, breaking the sound barrier before landing safely back on the ground. That event set a livestream record, racking up some 9.5 million views.
Will Leitch, a novelist and contributing editor at New York magazine who writes about internet culture, said that, given the range of technological options available to dueling superpowers, there was an absurdist element to the idea that a “menacing balloon” could be a harbinger of conflict between the United States and China.
“I understand arguments to the idea that a balloon could have some sort of spying technology and could be threatening to us,” Mr. Leitch said. “Also, I just kind of think it’s weird to be afraid of a balloon.”
“It seems like a prank that someone would pull in the 1920s,” Mr. Leitch added.
Those who have built and studied these balloons say not to be fooled by this one’s steampunk-looking exterior.
