He misses the latest one when his latest experiment blows up. And he discovers a substance that defies gravity, which he says is flying rubber which he calls flubber. He then places it in a Model T which enables it to fly. Alonzo Hawk, a banker who’s upset with Brainard for failing his son in his class making him ineligible to play in a big basketball game. When the team is losing, he places flubber in sneakers which allows the players to make high leaps. Eventually Hawk sees Brainard flying in his Model T, he then asks him for the secret so he can make a fortune from it. But Brainard decides to give it to the government instead. So Hawk decides to steal the car. So Brainard has to try to get it back.