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Parabounce
The Parabounce is a balloon-like apparatus created by Stephen Meadows and patented on December 4, 2001 (U.S6,325,329. Description and operation The apparatus consists of a gas-filled balloon envelope made from polyurethane-coated material and of a sufficient diameter and volume so that the balloon, when fully inflated and balanced with appropriate weight, almost counteracts the effects of gravity of a pilot. The Parabounce incorporates patented features that permit it to be weight balanced and quickly deflated in case of an emergency. A parachute-style harness secures the pilot to the balloon. By pushing off the ground with his or her legs, the pilot ascends in the balloon to a maximum height of about 120 feet before gradually descending due to the positive weight of the pilot. Optional tether lines held by persons serving as the ground crew prevent the balloon from floating out of control. Once aloft, the pilot can float and glide for distances up to a quarter mile before gradual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Meadows
Stephen Meadows (born 1950) is an American actor, architect and inventor. Biography Meadows was born in 1950, in Atlanta, Georgia. He has appeared in movies and television shows such as ''Ultraviolet'' with Esai Morales, ''V.I. Warshawski'' with Kathleen Turner, '' Santa Barbara'' (as Peter Flint, from 1984–85) and '' One Life to Live'' (as Patrick London from, 1986–87). He played a role in the TV movie '' A Cry in the Wild'' as Brad Robeson. Meadows has appeared in numerous feature films and TV movies, including a notable role in ''Sunstroke'' with Jane Seymour. He is also an architect and inventor of the Parabounce.Martin Miller''Putting a Bounce in Your Step'' Los Angeles Times, August 8, 1999. Retrieved 2012-01-09. Meadows taught Architecture and design at San Francisco State University, Santa Monica College, City College of San Francisco and the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design. He began his acting career in 1984 at the age of 34. He married television presenter L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Today (NBC Program)
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and after 70 years of broadcasting it is fifth on the list of longest-running United States television series. Originally a weekday two-hour program from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007 (though over time, the third and fourth hours became distinct entities). ''Today''s dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's ''Good Morning America''. ''Today'' retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, she was Yahoo's Global News Anchor. Couric has been a television host at all of the Big Three television networks in the United States, and in her early career she was an assignment editor for CNN. She worked for NBC News from 1989 to 2006, CBS News from 2006 to 2011, and ABC News from 2011 to 2014. In 2021, she appeared as a guest host for the game show ''Jeopardy!'', the first woman to host the flagship American version of the show in its history. In addition to her roles in television news, Couric hosted ''Katie'', a syndicated daytime talk show produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television from September 2012 to June 2014. Some of her most important presenting roles include co-host of ''Today'', anchor of the ''CBS Evening News'', an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Sixth Avenue, split by a large sunken square and a private street called Rockefeller Plaza. Later additions include 75 Rockefeller Plaza across 51st Street at the north end of Rockefeller Plaza, and four International Style (architecture), International Style buildings on the west side of Sixth Avenue. In 1928, the site's then-owner, Columbia University, leased the land to John D. Rockefeller Jr., who was the main person behind the complex's construction. Originally envisioned as the site for a new Metropolitan Opera building, the current Rockefeller Center came about after the Met could not afford to move to the proposed new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports (consisting of nine disciplines) were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing (consisting of the disciplines military patrol, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping), and skating (consisting of the disciplines figure skating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas Balloon
A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent the escape of gas. A gas balloon may also be called a '' Charlière'' for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small latex party balloons. For nearly 200 years, well into the 20th century, manned balloon flight utilized gas balloons before hot-air balloons became dominant. Without power, heat or fuel, untethered flights of gas balloons depended on the skill of the pilot. Gas balloons have greater lift for a given volume, so they do not need to be so large, and they can stay up for much longer than hot air balloons. History The first gas balloon made its flight in August 1783. Designed by professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, it carried no passengers or cargo. On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
