Jonathan Trappe only needed 215 balloons to lift a specially built house off the ground this weekend. OK, they are humongous balloons, and this “house” doesn’t have plumbing or furniture or a foundation or any of the other things that make a house heavy — but still, bet you can’t get your McMansion up there.

Your support powers solutions-focused climate reporting — keeping it free for everyone. All donations DOUBLED for a limited time. Give now in under 45 seconds.
Secure · Tax deductible · Takes 45 Seconds

Stories like this don’t tell themselves.

Make others like it possible. Your support powers solutions-focused climate reporting — keeping it free for everyone. Give now in under 45 seconds.
Secure · Tax deductible · Takes 45 Seconds

What if you wanted to do the same with a real house, using easily available party balloons? Real estate company Movoto has a handy calculator for figuring it out. If you lived in a 130-square-foot tiny home, like the one this teenager built in his backyard, you could do it with 3,364,660 balloons. (But, you know, don’t, because of the helium shortage.) For a 3,000-square-foot suburban monstrosity, you’d need 77,646,000. Tiny houses win again!