Jacko's Jetpack
Michael Jackson has owned at least one pet chimpanzee. He lives in an amusement park of his own design. He has dangled his veiled child over a hotel balcony in Berlin. He has faced multiple accusations of child molestation. His face has undergone such a complete cosmetic reconstruction that he now resembles not a normal human but some type of hybrid cheetah-man. And some witnesses to what may have been his finest hour, the 1994 Dangerous world tour, probably claim that he can fly.
Well, this Web site—one of thousands of Jacko fansites that range from comprehensively interesting to heartbreakingly earnest—manages to debunk that last one, at least (also check their bit on how he pulled off that 45-degree lean trick). The site reveals that the flight was performed each night by a stuntman from Powerhouse Productions, home of the self-proclaimed “one and only” Rocketman, famous for stunts at the 1984 Olympics, a P. Diddy promotional appearance for MTV and many other events of international importance. (Someone should clearly introduce the Powerhouse people to Juan Lozano, the amazing DIY rocketeer profiled by PopSci earlier this year.)
But if you still need to believe it was Michael in that jetpack all those years ago, achieving the miracle of human flight before your very eyes, I’m guessing it will take more than a Web site to shatter that belief. Heck, even I still believe he’s capable of morphing into a jaguar. Keep the dream alive. —John Mahoney
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