Red Bull Flugtag 2011: Video Highlights and Photos from the Crazy Flying Contest

I have no idea who thought up the Red Bull Flugtag event, but I am sure glad they did. This zany event is the exact kind of thing that cultivates all that is wonderful about human creativity.

By wonderful I don't mean effective, I mean entertaining. These flugtag flying machines do very little flying, but they bring about a lot of smiles. Check out the slideshow.

Highlights of Flugtag Moscow

Flugtag is a world wide phenomenon. Here are some fantastic highlights from the Moscow event.

We have a bee that flies much worse than bees are supposed to fly, and a Frankenstein that flies like a typical Frankenstein.

There is also a coffee cup that proves to be a much better boat than plane.

Highlights of Flugtag Leeds

Leeds didn't want Moscow to have all the fun. They came up with plenty of their own falling contraptions.

My favorite moment of the video is that split second when the object leaves the ramp. They aren't exactly falling yet, but they certainly aren't flying either. It is just this weird suspended moment of anticipation.

Then the bottom falls out and everything starts happening.

When Pigs Fly

This pig had a much happier expression before jumping off the runway. His creators had filled him with a false sense of confidence. "You can do this," they told him. "Pigs are born to fly."

As it turns out his creators were wrong. This left millions of disappointed people across the globe who were anxiously awaiting the moment when pigs fly. Great things are going to happen when pigs fly.

The Grand Experiment

I have no idea what this contraption is. It looks like a shed of some sort maybe. There certainly are a lot of items adorned to it that could come in handy for things other than flying.

However, that is not my favorite thing about this picture. My favorite thing about this pic is that it proves that people can fly better than whatever that thing is.

The object is already well submersed in the water while the person is still dry. He must have done a good job of flapping his arms.

Red Power

I am really shocked that this flying lobster/alien did not fly better. I mean just looking at it, I would say to myself, "You know? I bet that thing could glide for miles."

It did not. It certainly wasn't for lack of red though, or size. This has to be one of the biggest entries.