(Continued...)

2. Up, Up, and A Whoops

When not running his empire, Virgin honcho Richard Branson likes him a hot-air balloon. The airline mogul and real-life Austin Powers has crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific in the largest gas propelled basket available and has prominently featured the anachronistic aircraft on his failed Fox reality show, Rebel Billionaire. But a few years earlier, he commissioned a balloon strung with lights to resemble a flying saucer and had it hover over Hyde Park in London.

The year was 1989, and Branson was about to pull off the biggest PR stunt the UK had ever seen. Unfortunately, his "spacecraft" was blown off course and landed in a field on the outskirts of the city, a full day early. As the UFO descended, local armed forces were called in to hold back the screaming crowds. And because it was only March 31, when a midget dressed like E.T. who had been hired by Branson exited the balloon and approached the legion of police on scene, it wasn't so funny. Branson was later hauled into court, but that didn't stop him from trying the stunt again in 1992—this time over Orlando. Unfortunately, a fog obscured his balloon's landing and—not unlike the response to his reality show—no one much noticed or cared.