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Hi Puzzlers,
June 11-13th there will be a hot air balloon festival here in North Conway NH and I’m so excited to go and see them. I have always been mesmerized by their colorful, grand stature. What’s truly amazing to me is the fact that they can fly with just hot air.
British balloonist Julian Nott speculated that the Nazca culture of Peru could have used hot air balloons some 1500 to 2000 years ago to help design the famous Nazca ground figures and lines. Using the materials that were available at that time, balloonists determined it would have been possible for a hot air balloon to fly.
The first officially documented hot air balloon flight took place on September 19, 1783. The balloon was made by the French brothers, Jacques and Joseph Montgolfier, in the town of Alchemy located in southern France. The hot air balloon was fueled by burning straw, wool and dried horse manure and on board were a rooster, a duck and a sheep. After experimenting for a while Jacques took the first tethered ride on October 15, 1783.
With the approval of King Louis XVI, the first passengers/pilots of a free flight in a hot air balloon were Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurnet. Originally, King Louis wanted “condemned criminals” to take the first flight but Francois and Pilatre where finally granted the honor on November 21, 1783.
The balloon ascended 500 feet and then landed in a vineyard a few miles away. Upon landing, the “local farmers raced towards it with pitchforks, ready to attack this strange object from the sky. To prevent the farmers from destroying the balloon, Pilatre and Francois offered them a bottle of champagne, as thanks for allowing them to land in their field. Today, in memory of that first courageous flight, champagne (or an Australian sparkling wine) is often drunk after a hot air balloon ride.”
So cheers to the hot air balloon festival and puzzling!
June 11-13th there will be a hot air balloon festival here in North Conway NH and I’m so excited to go and see them. I have always been mesmerized by their colorful, grand stature. What’s truly amazing to me is the fact that they can fly with just hot air.
British balloonist Julian Nott speculated that the Nazca culture of Peru could have used hot air balloons some 1500 to 2000 years ago to help design the famous Nazca ground figures and lines. Using the materials that were available at that time, balloonists determined it would have been possible for a hot air balloon to fly.
The first officially documented hot air balloon flight took place on September 19, 1783. The balloon was made by the French brothers, Jacques and Joseph Montgolfier, in the town of Alchemy located in southern France. The hot air balloon was fueled by burning straw, wool and dried horse manure and on board were a rooster, a duck and a sheep. After experimenting for a while Jacques took the first tethered ride on October 15, 1783.
With the approval of King Louis XVI, the first passengers/pilots of a free flight in a hot air balloon were Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurnet. Originally, King Louis wanted “condemned criminals” to take the first flight but Francois and Pilatre where finally granted the honor on November 21, 1783.
The balloon ascended 500 feet and then landed in a vineyard a few miles away. Upon landing, the “local farmers raced towards it with pitchforks, ready to attack this strange object from the sky. To prevent the farmers from destroying the balloon, Pilatre and Francois offered them a bottle of champagne, as thanks for allowing them to land in their field. Today, in memory of that first courageous flight, champagne (or an Australian sparkling wine) is often drunk after a hot air balloon ride.”
So cheers to the hot air balloon festival and puzzling!
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