Professor Duton Lang is an obese scientist who has made many great discoveries. When he finally weights 497 pounds he develops a compound which permits him to eat as much as he wants and still lose weight. He gets down to 150 pounds in weight but is still the same body-size as when he weighed nearly 500 pounds. Eventually, he becomes a minus-weight and floats off into outer space.

Jebediah Prentiss has just built the first rocket. In the excitement, he is asked what is his name. This question sends him back through history to the pivotal moments and inventions that led to this moment from Icarus's first flight, to Montgolfier's first flight in an air balloon to the Wright brothers' first flight on a plane. Finally, he answers the boy that his name is Icarus Montgolfier Wright.