Mr. X and Mr. Y: “We’re the first to try to fly the Atlantic Ocean
in a balloon.”
A.B. Eiloart and Colin Mudie were,
respectively, the commander and navigator of the Small World. The four-person crew, which included Mudie’s
wife (who appears) and Eiloart’s son, took off from the Spanish island of Tenerife
on December 12, 1958. They were forced to ditch in the ocean less than four
days into their trip, and spent three weeks in their specially designed gondola
sailing to Barbados, where they arrived on January 5. Still, the Small World broke all existing
endurance records of the day, and gained considerable notoriety for its
crew. Though the Secret claims they were
the first to try, several 19th century adventurers also attempted to
balloon across the Atlantic. A
successful crossing wouldn't be achieved until the Double Eagle II accomplished the
feat in 1978.
Jack Mosley from Long Beach, California: “I’m going to inflate an
automobile inner tube until it explodes…with my mouth”
Mosley had previously worked as a
sideshow strongman for the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not touring show, pulling
fire trucks with his teeth. Hilariously,
as Mr. Mosley blows, the inner tube continues to expand but refuses to blow
apart. With Mosley’s efforts taking far longer
than his allotted time, special guest Andy Griffith comes out not to play his
scheduled Secret, but to watch in fascination as Mosley continues to apply his
lungpower. Mosley is finally successful,
some nine minutes after he began and just in time for the show to wrap
up. Griffith is in New York to star in
the Broadway musical Destry Rides Again,
which would open in April. His Secret
would be rescheduled to March 11 (
E326). Mosley himself would return, in person, for the show's ninth anniversary in 1961 (
E438).
