(AP)
SAN MARCOS, Calif.
An elementary school students who launched a helium balloon to study weather patterns were astonished when it ended up on a farm in North Carolina.
Fifth-grade students at Richland Elementary on Dec. 2 set off the 12-inch balloon, which carried information on how to contact the school. Similar launches in years past have had balloons end up in different parts of Southern California.
On Feb. 19, a farmer in Asheboro, N.C., some 2,200 miles away, discovered the balloon´s remnants.
Teacher Gary Nash said he initially doubted the farmer´s wife, Carla Queen, when she contacted him to report the finding. But he now believes a jet stream may have carried the red helium balloon to the other side of the country.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 2:24 pm