Jet-Pack Miracle Funded By Advertising [Publicity Stunts]

[KiRby]

In an era of TiVo and dying print media, advertisers are desperate for honest-to-God focused attention. Sometimes this results in creepy Minority Report-style ads or cell-phone spying, but now it's produced an essential miracle of modern science: A guy flying across a thousand-foot-deep gorge in a jet pack. (Video after the jump.)
Eric Scott, who has been testing jet packs for 14 years, crossed the Royal Gorge near Canyon City, Colorado today in a supposed historic flight ("the biggest feat of daring since Evil Knievel crossed the Snake River") that is sure to be endlessly replayed on TV newscasts desperate for something happy to report.
That means free advertising for sponsor Go Fast energy drinks. And the 33-second maximum flight time turns out to be just long enough for flashy TV spots. Needless to say, the panzies at DARPA would never waste countless dollars on such a limited machine. (See, America's not entirely socialist yet!)
(Video excerpted from [I]Denver Post[/I])

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