The time Larry Page’s secret flying car engineers dressed in chicken suits and launched a glider into the water

In the movies, engineers working on super-secret whiz-bang inventions wear lab coats and safety glasses.

In real life, they also wear chicken suits.

Here's footage of "The Chicken Whisperers" winning a Red Bull-sponsored "Flugtag" event, where competitors launch homemade gliders off a dock. Turns out the Whisperers all work for Zee.Aero, which turns out to be a flying car company bankrolled by Google co-founder Larry Page.

The story of Zee.Aero -- as well as the story of Kitty Hawk, another Page-backed flying car company -- is detailed in a fascinating new story in Bloomberg Businessweek today.

The only real unanswered question is why workers at a super-secretive flying car company backed by one of the world's richest men would dress up in chicken suits and perform a synchronized dance routine in public, before flinging themselves into the water.

But maybe that's because it's obvious: Because they can.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We have a request

Vox's journalism is free because we believe that everyone deserves to understand the world that they live in. That kind of knowledge helps create better citizens, neighbors, friends, parents, consumers and stewards of this planet. In short, understanding benefits everyone. You can join in on this mission by making a financial gift to Vox today. Reader support helps keep our work free, for everyone. Will you join us?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$95/year

$120/year

$250/year

$350/year

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $120/year

Yes, I'll give $120/year

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via