Disbelief as Paper Plane With Handwritten Note Lands on Stranger's Balcony

You often hear of people discovering a message in a bottle that's washed up on the shores of a beach. But what about a message from the sky?

One paper plane with a handwritten note managed to travel from one balcony to another across the road, flying over trees and a Chicago intersection, according to a viral clip shared on TikTok by (@artbyhybrid).

A voice in the clip, which now has 7.4 million views, said: "We made paper airplanes to fly off our balcony and this happened," as a person's hand was shown holding a piece of paper folded into the shape of a plane. A handwritten note was shown on the inner fold of the paper plane which read: "A gift from the sky :)"

A caption shared with the post read: "We still can't believe this happened. I drew a photo of a creature and wrote some angel numbers on it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the drawing but maybe this video will find its way to them."

How Far Can Paper Planes Travel?

According to the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), how far a paper plane can travel will depend on the following four factors, as explained in an article in the February 2020 issue of Science & Children, a peer-reviewed journal from the National Science Teaching Association.

"When the four forces are balanced they achieve a longer flight," the article said.

Drag: When a plane moves through the air, that push against the air creates resistance or drag. "If you want a paper airplane to fly far, you need to design a paper airplane with as little drag as possible," the article said.

Gravity: Paper planes tend not to fly continuously because of gravity, the invisible force that pulls objects to the center of the Earth. "Objects with a greater mass (like Earth) pull more than objects with less mass (paper airplanes). Keeping the paper airplane's weight to a minimum will help fight against the pull of gravity," according to the article.

Thrust: Thrust refers to the force used to throw the paper plane forward.

Lift: Lift occurs when the force of the air below the plane wing pushing it up is greater than the air above it pushing it down. "The difference in pressure is actually what makes the paper airplane fly" and the forces of the thrust and lift "help the paper airplane make a longer flight," the article said.

'This Is Incredible'

The footage in the viral clip showed a woman throwing a paper plane from a balcony against a backdrop of skyscrapers across the Chicago skyline.

Someone in the clip says "Oh my god," as the paper plane soars past trees and a busy intersection below. The voice said: "Wait, where [did] it go?" as the paper plane briefly appeared to vanish from sight.

As the camera zoomed in and located the paper plane, the voice was heard saying: "Dude, yours is f****** soaring."

The plane was later spotted flying over the top of a building, heading towards a patch of green space on another building's balcony. The paper plane then landed on the balcony next to a person who appeared to be lounging on a chair. The clip later showed that two people were on the balcony, reading the message.

The voice said: "Dude, this is incredible," before the clip ended.

'What Are the Odds'

TikTokers in the comments were impressed by the footage of the paper plane's flight.

"The odds that would end so well are astonishing," a commenter named Landon Ward wrote, while @itsanjelica said, "wow the universe knew who this message was for!!"

TikTok user Gemma wrote: "How it landed on an occupied balcony, what are the odds?!?!!!!"

Newsweek reached out to the original poster via TikTok for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

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