Balloon Building Family were Well Known

Jaunted tipped us off to the fact that the balloon/zeppelin/UFO-like object-building family, the Heenes, were also featured on Wife Swap. Now, this family seems a bit off already, what with Dad and his theories on Martian civilization.

Here is the Episode Guide from their episode. The family sleeps in their clothes so they can leap out of bed and into the storm-mobile. The father, Richard, devotes every moment to his research leaving his wife to tend house solo. They swapped Mom with a safety-conscious woman from Connecticut. Wonder if she’s been reached for comment yet.

The Heenes certainly, as the guide says, live life on the edge. The balloon had a plywood bottom and a small door, floated for hours, taking off from near Ft. Collins and landing a field near Hudson, CO. We hope it turns out he was never inside. Personally, we hope no one was foolish enough to get inside what sounds like a deathtrap.

CBS Denver even reported on them two years ago, saying, “Heeney is not a meteorologist. He calls himself a science detective and admits the work can be dangerous, but is grateful that he and his family are safe.”