David Blaine's balloon stunt was a pale shadow of the originals

From the BBC:

“Ascension” saw Mr Blaine rise over 24,000 feet (7,600 metres) while holding on to a cluster of helium balloons. The 30-minute flight was live-streamed on YouTube.

So what? From Wiki:

On July 2, 1982, Walters attached 43 of the [weather] balloons to his lawn chair, filled them with helium, put on a parachute, and strapped himself into the chair in the backyard of a home at 1633 West 7th Street in San Pedro. He took his pellet gun, a CB radio, sandwiches, beer, and a camera. When his friends cut the cord that tied his lawn chair to his Jeep, Walters’s lawn chair rose rapidly to a height of about 16,000 feet (4,900 m) and was spotted from two commercial airliners.

He slowly drifted over Long Beach and crossed the primary approach corridor of Long Beach Airport… 

After 45 minutes in the sky, Walters shot several balloons, taking care not to unbalance the load. He then accidentally dropped his pellet gun overboard. He descended slowly, until the balloons’ dangling cables got caught in a power line at 432 East 45th Street in Long Beach. The power line broke, causing a 20-minute electricity blackout. He landed unharmed on the ground.

With an honourable mention to this chap, of course, who didn’t bother with a parachute, did a proper tribute and was up there for nine hours. From The Express:

Kent Couch flew across the Oregon desert, touching down in a field in Cambridge, Idaho where he caused a stir in the tiny farming community. Mr Couch covered about 235 miles in nine hours after lifting off at dawn from his gas station riding in a green lawn chair rigged with an array of more than 150 giant party balloons.

Local plumber Mark Hetz said: “We go outside to look, and lo and behold, there he is. He’s flying by probably 100 to 200 feet off the ground. When he hit the ground he released all the little tiny balloons. People were racing down the road with cameras. They were all talking and laughing.”