1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know Fromhouse Stuff Works dot com. Hey, 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles W. 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant, and there's Jerry. We are up, Up and away. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: They're Beautiful Are Beautiful podcast. Uh. You know what I 5 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: was disappointed to learn today. I've never read it, but 6 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: around the World in eighty days. Apparently it wasn't like 7 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: a balloon race story. I thought it was like this 8 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: balloon on the cover of the VHS cassette tape. Well, 9 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: the movie changed it, and I looked up today the 10 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: original Jules Verne book. Uh, they said that he entertained 11 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: the balloon thing, but then kind of disregarded it, saying 12 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: like it's not feasible. So it was like trains and 13 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,959 Speaker 1: other modes and chips and other modes of transportation in 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: the book. Yeah, and apparently the movie version took it 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: and ran with it with a balloon and even such 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: that a balloon is on the cover of a lot 17 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: of the books now, so in the movie it's balloon centric, 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: they do, I think, But I haven't seen the movie, 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,119 Speaker 1: so I don't. I haven't either, But whenever I think 20 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: of that, But jeles Burn is like, this is preposterous. 21 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: We couldn't just do it in a balloon. I think 22 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: that's the case. I mean, I just skirted through this research, 23 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: so I'm sure fans will hold me to the fire 24 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:23,960 Speaker 1: for this. Well. I think we should both go see 25 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: that movie because I want to see it too. Go 26 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: see it. Go go to a television and see it. 27 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: It's where it's streaming. Yea. I was like, I didn't 28 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: know was playing. Yeah, it's at all the cineplexes. I 29 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: didn't know when Wilson remake it too, somebody did. I 30 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: accidentally ran across that one and before I could like click, no, no, 31 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: close the tablet, I saw like Jackie Chan was in 32 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: it and Steve Coogan, Oh, I love. Yeah. It doesn't 33 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: mean that it was a good remake, you know what 34 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: I mean? Uh so hot air balloons you have a 35 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: been in one? You don't know, and I never will 36 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: ever in my whole life, I won't. It seems like 37 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: something that would not be Joshy No, no, I I 38 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: think it's one of one of the things. One of 39 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: my great joys in life is looking at pictures of 40 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: hot air balloons on the ground. Yeah, I just realized 41 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: with your feet sitting on the ground in your chair 42 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: button a chair. Yeah, but it's true. I do love 43 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: looking at pictures of hot air balloon Have you ever 44 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: seen a race going on or a gathering like my dad? 45 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: My dad went on a hot air balloon ride. I've 46 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: seen them out like around Callaway Gardens. I've never been to, 47 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: but there's like a really big hot air balloon expo there. Yeah. Um, 48 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: it's coming up actually in September, like the beginning. I 49 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: think like September, maybe Labor Day weekend, I believe. Why 50 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: did you sound disappointed? Just that? Well, I have plans 51 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: labor the weekend. Well, so no ballooning for me. No, 52 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: but you can look at pictures of it afterward. Your yah? 53 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,919 Speaker 1: So um? But no, I I have never been in one, 54 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: will you? I mean I would, but I'm not like 55 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: it's not on my bucket list or anything like. If 56 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: someone like if a fan brow in and said I'm 57 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: a balloon pilot, I'd like to invite you on a 58 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: free trip, then I would totally do it. I'll be 59 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: by your house to pick you up and stand on 60 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: your roof at six pm or I maybe somewhere close 61 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: by because you never know where we'll land. There's probably 62 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: fans at Callaway Gardens. You should go down there with 63 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: the stuff you should know t shirt on out. So yeah, uh, 64 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: and that was a teaser slash spoiler. By the way, 65 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: that was not just a joke. I don't get it 66 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: that you never know where we're gonna land. I don't 67 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: get that at all. They don't know where they're gonna 68 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: land necessarily. Didn't you read the article? Oh yeah, I 69 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: thought you were talking about us. No, no, no, I 70 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: thought you're making like a reference to tour or something 71 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: like that. Oh no, no, I mean the hot air 72 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: pilot will air balloon pilot would say, I may land 73 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: at your house to pick you up. And I maybe 74 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: a got it. I would put to you, Chuck that 75 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: no podcast has ever gone this far off the rails 76 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: this early in. I think we're right on the rails, 77 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: do you. We're talking about hot air balloons. See, we 78 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: can't even agree on whether we're off the rails. All right, 79 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: let's let's talk about this. Hot air balloons they actually have, 80 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: uh not the longest history you would think usually when 81 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: we do something like this, for like, you know, hot 82 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 1: air balloons are actually thousands of years old ancient China. 83 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: Not the case. No, No, the ideas that, um that 84 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: the understanding of the principles of how hot air balloons 85 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: work have been around for a couple of thousand years, 86 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: but hot air balloons themselves and actually the first human 87 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: to ever fly didn't happen until the eighteenth century. Util 88 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: I think seventeen the seventeen eighties, right, h for the 89 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: hot air balloon three with Joseph and Etienne mont gulf Yer. 90 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: Not bad names if you're gonna be born in France, 91 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: those are good names to half, that's right. And uh 92 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: they worked for their uh for a paper company, their 93 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: families paper company. And then on the side, like you 94 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: know the little floating Japanese lanterns. I think they made 95 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: those for fun out of paper. They had leftover paper 96 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: and um, and that we should have I didn't look 97 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: into that too much, by the way, for this, did 98 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: you the monk Golfier brothers No, the lanterns no? And 99 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: I meant to be I always think of what was 100 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: that movie about them, the tsunami? Oh yeah, there's like 101 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 1: a scene in there, isn't there where they released like 102 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: a bunch of those was the one with Naomi Watts 103 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: and yeah, oh boy, that was a tough movie. I 104 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: never thought you should check that out. Yeah, it was 105 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: very realistic and tough to get through. Which one should 106 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: I watch first? That? Or Around the World in eighty Days? 107 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: The one I can't think in the name of what 108 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: was it called. It's like the Great beneath there they're 109 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: the Great the I don't know, I can't remember. It's 110 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: something like that. Are you gonna look it up? Because 111 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:18,039 Speaker 1: if so, I'll start talking about balloon history while history. 112 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: So anyway, the brothers mont golf Yer, they started fashioning little, 113 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: basically model um hot air balloons out of paper from 114 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: their their family's mill, like you said, and they said, 115 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: this works, this works conceivably, if we make a big 116 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: enough balloon, we could float livestock in the air if 117 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: we wanted to. And they did. They ran a test, 118 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: and they were so sure of this test that they 119 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,840 Speaker 1: actually invited the King Um Louis the Six to come 120 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: check it out. And they ran a test that involved 121 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: the sheep, a duck in a chicken which they put 122 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: into a basket attached to a hot air balloon and 123 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: said what and they I'll bet they did and the 124 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 1: king went. They did, and they actually those weren't random 125 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: selections of animals. Um. They chose the sheep because it 126 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: was similar to humans as far as being a land 127 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: mammal having hair. Sheep is represented with hair. Well. One 128 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: of the worries was, wouldn't be able to duck have feet. Yeah, 129 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: they wouldn't be able to breathe up there. So uh, 130 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: that's why they said, we'll listen to mammal up there 131 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: to see if it survives. Yeah. That was one of 132 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: the first things hot air balloons proved was that humans 133 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: or living things can breathe in the atmosphere. No I 134 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: knew that before because no one had been into the 135 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,679 Speaker 1: atmosphere before. That's right. And the duck and the chicken 136 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 1: the rooster were chosen because they can both fly, um, 137 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: so they were the control but they can both fly 138 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: at different altitudes. So they didn't just randomly throw three 139 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: farm animals in there. There was a purpose behind each one. 140 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: I'm sure the sheep is like, what are you two 141 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: worried about? You're the ones who can fly. Is that 142 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: a friend? Sheep? Okay, it sounded like droopy a little bit, 143 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: but it was a little bit. It was from the 144 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: Burgundy region. That's what they saw in like down there. Okay, 145 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: And by the way, the Impossible was the name of 146 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: that movie, The Great Underneath the Impossible, virtually the same thing, agreed, 147 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: so they floated it up there. In the beginning, they 148 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: thought that the smoke was what provided left because they 149 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: were just silly eighteenth century goons, and um, the smoke 150 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: was the only thing they could see, so they figured 151 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: it had to be that. Yeah, and this they were 152 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: definitely producing a lot of smoke because they were using 153 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: like straw, manure, whatever they could get their hands on 154 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: to fuel these hot air balloons. Yeah, and their balloon 155 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: was it was a rigid frame. It was a framemate 156 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,839 Speaker 1: of lightwood, and the balloon was cotton or silk. And 157 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: so it wasn't like the non rigid balloons that we 158 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 1: have today, the non rigid canopies. Maybe more specific so 159 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: the mont calf Yer's Um, we're feted by King Louis. 160 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: They all ate some lamb's legs together, I would assume. 161 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: And yes, And then two months later, uh, they're like 162 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: it's time for human trials, and they put two people 163 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: not themselves in a balloon and sent them up Yeah. 164 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: The King wanted convicted criminals at first to pilot it 165 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: because they figured that's just what you do back in 166 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: those days. Let's just use these criminals for something. Hey, 167 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: that's what connects this episode. The next one convicted criminals spoiler, 168 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: but they were He was talked out of that and said, 169 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: now we should probably get some people that kind of 170 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,680 Speaker 1: know what they're doing. So they got a major in 171 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 1: the infantry name Marquis Francois de Lard. That's not bad, Darland, Darland, Yeah, yeah, 172 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: and uh, you do the second one, uh, a physics 173 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: professor pill a Tree de Rosier, Yeah, very nice. De Rosier. Yeah, 174 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: and uh de Rosier became not only the first human 175 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,679 Speaker 1: to pilot a balloon, but he became the first human 176 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: to die piloting a balloon. Yeah. Um, not in that flight. 177 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: A couple of decades later he did, right, Yeah, he 178 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,439 Speaker 1: tried to fly with the English Channel and he had 179 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: a great, bad idea that was to put a hydrogen 180 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 1: balloon inside of the hot air balloon. Yeah, why do 181 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: this use air? Use something lighter than air. And that 182 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,440 Speaker 1: didn't work out so well because about thirty minutes into 183 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: the flight, Uh, you apply fire to a hydrogen balloon. 184 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: It blew up, Yeah, and he died. Had he been 185 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 1: a chemistry professor, this might have never happened. But he 186 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: was a physics professor, so he did right. Um, But 187 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: those two actually were the first human beings on the 188 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: planet to fly as far as we know. That's right, 189 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: the whole world round in the history of humanity, those 190 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: two did the first Oh what do you mean, fly? 191 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: Like you consider that flying? Yeah? Pretty right? Brothers, Yeah, 192 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: and right brothers are usually turned are given them the 193 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: title of the of the first manned powered flight. Yeah, 194 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: because it's a little bit different than floating. Apparently they're 195 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: not even that somebody else beat the Right Brothers to it. 196 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: Of course that's a whole other podcast if you ask me. 197 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: But this is the first flight of any sort as 198 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: far as anybody knows. Although it didn't like the ancient 199 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: Chinese hang glide, I don't know. I feel like they did, 200 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: and we talked about it. Maybe we'll find out. I 201 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: feel like the ancient Chinese did almost everything way before 202 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: everyone else. Yeah, they just didn't tell anybody about it 203 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:42,440 Speaker 1: because they were isolationists. Uh, and look where it got him. Yeah, 204 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: they're on the rise in the twenty one century, So 205 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: balloons fell out of fashion for a number of years 206 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: because the dirigible, which we did a podcast on blips 207 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: came into fashion because you can steer those and you 208 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: can take more people. Yeah, that's a big plus. You 209 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: can steer them. Yeah, you're you're not at the uh 210 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:03,960 Speaker 1: the mercy of the vagaries of the winds. And then 211 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,079 Speaker 1: there was something called the smoke balloon. Um, did you 212 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 1: this sounds like fun? The thing about the flying Allan's No. 213 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: Are we talking about them in the circus family of No, 214 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: but we should have because they were a circus family. 215 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: And that's where a lot of the smoke balloon activity 216 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 1: took place was in circuses and fairs in the late 217 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,319 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. And that was it 218 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: was an act this I would possibly do. No, you wouldn't. 219 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 1: I might go look at the footage because it would 220 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: be it would be over fairly quickly your death. To 221 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: tell him about what we'll tell him. What to smoke 222 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: balloon is, well, that's basically a balloon that's lifted from 223 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: the ground with the fire, but it's not attached to fire. 224 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 1: They basically just hold you to the ground until this 225 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: thing is full. And then they let you go and 226 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: you shoot up in the air and you're attached the balloon, yes, 227 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: and you are hopefully wearing a parachute and everybody's holding 228 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: them balloon down. And then when everybody let's go, like 229 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: you said, you shoot up into the air and then 230 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: once you hit your apex in the balloon like loses 231 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: heat and starts to come back down to earth. Um, 232 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:16,079 Speaker 1: you get away from it and parachute down. It sounds great. Well, 233 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: the Flying Alan's did all kinds of stuff. Like they 234 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:22,560 Speaker 1: it was a family of you know, like teenagers kids 235 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: who like they were all teenagers. Well no, they were parents, 236 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,679 Speaker 1: but they were sending their teenage kids up like three 237 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: at a time, hanging and doing like trapeeze work under 238 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: these balloons. Uh. Like one of them brought a cannon 239 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: up and was shot out of a cannon because that's 240 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: what you do. And uh, I mean it's just crazy. 241 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: There's actual footage of them trapeezing under a balloon and 242 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: then dropping and parachuting and it's like a static line deal. 243 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: There's no free fall. Really, you don't see that these days. 244 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: What smoke balloon acts, all right, it's because they're probably 245 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,559 Speaker 1: I would say they're dangerous. It sounds a little dangerous, 246 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: but thrilling. Yes, I'm sure it was so. Um. This 247 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: was in the late nineteenth century, right is the smoke 248 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: balloon the early nine hundreds. So by the time this 249 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 1: had happened, By the time smoke balloons were like a 250 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: popular carnival attraction, hot air balloons had been basically totally 251 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: abandoned in favor of dirigibles, right, um. And it wasn't 252 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: until the nineteen fifties that they started to experience a revival. 253 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: Apparently the US military, I think the Navy, the Office 254 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: of Navy Research to be exact, from what I understand, Um, 255 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: they said, Hey, we need to figure out a way 256 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: to ferry sheep and ducks and chickens from point A 257 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: to point B, but we don't want to spend a 258 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: lot of money or put a lot of effort behind it. 259 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: So you, Mr ed Yost, come up with an idea 260 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: for us. How are we going to move our sheep 261 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: and chickens and ducks. That's what he said. Yeah, he 262 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: found in ray Then Industries, and they in the mid 263 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties started designing these hot air balloons for the Navy, 264 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: and uh that I think he's the one that kind 265 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: of I don't know if he patented it literally, but 266 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: he he got on board with that lightbulb shape. Well, 267 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: I think he. I think he came up with it 268 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: because this is his original designs were spheres were round, 269 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: perfectly round balloons. No, we figured out that like the 270 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: way that the hot air heated up inside the balloon, 271 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: the top of the balloon would be fully inflated, but 272 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: the bottom wouldn't be. And that's not good. You want 273 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: it pretty much uniformly inflated. So he just got rid 274 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: of the bottom of the sphere and tapered it in 275 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: to make what you like, you say, the light bulb design. 276 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure it was him, or at least his company. Yeah, 277 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: he's I mean basically said you don't need this extra material, right, 278 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: So this is that what you think of when you 279 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: think of a hot air balloon is from as recent 280 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: as the nineteen sixties, that's right. And uh, he started 281 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: in the sixties selling them. After the Navy he said, 282 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: I'm not so interested anymore. And he says, well, I 283 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: think their civilian applications like fun. They're like, um, we 284 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 1: have no problem with that, Just please stop corresponding with us. 285 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: That's right. So that's uh, it's a bit on history, 286 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: and when we come back, we will get into how 287 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: these crazy looking things work. Right for this, all right, Josh. 288 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 1: Hot air balloons are based on one principle. And even 289 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: though this article has four pages of incomprehensible science, it's like, seriously, 290 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: we're saying earlier, it's like it's describing alchemy. Yeah, it's magic. 291 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense, and will we will get into 292 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: the science more, but very simply, how air is lighter 293 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: than cool air because it has less mass, and so 294 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: hot air rises. You've all heard that it's gonna be hotter. 295 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 1: Your ceiling in your bedroom is at the floor. If 296 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: you're trying to cool off, do not stand on a 297 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 1: chair and put your face towards the ceiling. Is why 298 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: you reverse your ceiling fans in the winter to bring 299 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: that hot air back down. That's exactly right, Chuck. But 300 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: a cubic foot of airways about twenty eight grams, which 301 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: is about an ounce, and if you heat that by 302 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: a hundred degrees fahrenheit, it's gonna weigh seven grams less. 303 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,240 Speaker 1: So essentially each foot of that cubic air, and a 304 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,679 Speaker 1: hot air balloon lifts about seven grams, which is not much. No, 305 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 1: it's not. And that's why they're so huge to carry 306 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 1: just that little basket with two or three people in it. Yeah, 307 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: because if you can capture enough air and heat at 308 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: all by a hundred degrees, each cubic centimeter will lift 309 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,680 Speaker 1: its own seven grams, and all those cubic centimeters put 310 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: together will lift a lot of weight. So, for example, 311 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,360 Speaker 1: if you have sixty five cubic feet of hot air, 312 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,719 Speaker 1: you can lift a thousand pounds. That's pretty great. Like 313 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,400 Speaker 1: you said, that's why those balloon envelopes, is what they're called, 314 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: are so big. Right, So, like you said, we're gonna 315 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: we'll we'll talk a little more about the science in 316 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 1: a minute. But um, let's talk about the parts of 317 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: the balloon, right, parts as parts. I just gave away 318 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: the name of the balloon itself, the envelope. The envelope 319 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,200 Speaker 1: the most beautiful part of the balloon because wickers ugly, frankly, 320 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: but the balloon itself is not really I would figure 321 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: with your macromay obsession, you would be a way into wicker. 322 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: I'm obsessive Macromay because it's horrid, you know what I mean. 323 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: But Wicker doesn't. It's too pedestrian to be horrid, you 324 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: know what I mean. Boy, the Wicker Association is gonna 325 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. I know they've got a very strong lobby, 326 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: but I'm not afraid of them. They're gonna put a 327 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: Wicker foot up your butt exactly. How Yes, the envelope 328 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: is made up of nylon triangles called Gore's a bunch 329 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: of them, and those gores are even made up of 330 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: smaller parts sewn together panels panels if you will. Yeah, 331 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 1: like the this strip, you know how like a balloon 332 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:12,359 Speaker 1: has lines usually going down it. Those in between the lines, 333 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: the whole thing from top to bottom. That's the gore, right, 334 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,959 Speaker 1: But the gore itself is made up of smaller panels 335 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: that you can't see unless you're close to it. That's right. Also, 336 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,639 Speaker 1: together nylon is what they use because it's light and uh. 337 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: It also has the nice feature that it's um it's 338 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: not as flammable. No, it has a high melting point. Yeah, 339 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: so you can get it kind of hot before it 340 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: starts to melt, like tooth from Writers of the Lost Dark. 341 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: That's right, What they use as their fuel, and they're propellant, 342 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: is heat brought on by propane, but not not the 343 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,360 Speaker 1: kind of propane gas that you use in your backyard. 344 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,399 Speaker 1: This is liquid compressed liquid propane, which means that it 345 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: takes up a lot less space, so you can use 346 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 1: smaller canistores called canisters, which is important because you are 347 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,879 Speaker 1: carrying them aboard the hot air balloon with you in 348 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,959 Speaker 1: the basket, So you want more space for paying customers 349 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: than you know propane canisters, so you probably want the 350 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 1: right mix of both. That's true, but if you can 351 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: get a smaller and more propane and a smaller canister, 352 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 1: that's ideal. Hence why they use liquid propane. The problem 353 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: is is that if you just burn liquid propane, it's 354 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: not going to burn as efficiently as say, gas propane. 355 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,360 Speaker 1: You'll just burn through it. Well, they have figured out 356 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 1: a way around this chuck with these burners. The things 357 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: that are at the bottom of the envelope in the 358 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: little room that's called the skirt um. Those are the burners, right, 359 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,879 Speaker 1: and they're connected by host to the propane canisters in 360 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 1: the basket that's right, and on the burner itself is 361 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,439 Speaker 1: a coil that the propane comes into and there's a 362 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: pilot light that heats that that propane. It burns some 363 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: of it as it's coming in, and then the heat 364 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: from that that burn off heats the coil, so it 365 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 1: turns that liquid propane into gas propane at the burner. 366 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,439 Speaker 1: Then it ignites it and that's what burns into the 367 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 1: hot air within the envelope. So it's pretty clever, correct. 368 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: So it it converts the liquid propane to gas propane 369 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 1: at the burner so that you have a much more 370 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 1: efficient burn right. And sometimes let's say, if they're flying 371 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,199 Speaker 1: over a field of cattle, that things pretty loud when 372 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 1: they're burning the gas. Yeah, and they they're they're like, 373 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: we don't want to disturb the cattle, so they can 374 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 1: actually there's another valve where they can burn just a 375 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: straight liquid like we were talking about, much quieter. It'll 376 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 1: keep you aloft, keep you a offt for a little while. Um. 377 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: I think it's a very nice thing to do because 378 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:49,719 Speaker 1: they don't want to scare the livestock. Well, and I 379 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: imagine as a passenger it's much more uh you know, 380 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,679 Speaker 1: user friendly, right or friendly if you just hear that 381 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,840 Speaker 1: little sound and not that big do it again? Oh yeah, 382 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: that would annoy me at a certain point. I don't 383 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: think it would annoy me. You're having a nice conversation, 384 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,679 Speaker 1: oh man, right, and the pilots like, sorry, I'm just 385 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,879 Speaker 1: trying to keep us alive. Do you want to float 386 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: or not? Or fly? Excuse me? I think floats than 387 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: curate too. So the skirt that we mentioned is um. 388 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: It is a nylon as well, but it is coated 389 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:28,200 Speaker 1: in a fire resistant material, which is very key because 390 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,440 Speaker 1: that's where the hot stuff is. And so the basket 391 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: is traditionally wicker, not for any kind of throwback purpose. 392 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:38,879 Speaker 1: I don't always figured it was thrown back. I always 393 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 1: thought they were just trying to annoy me, like a 394 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: beautiful hot air balloon then like the world's ugliest little box. Right. 395 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: It turns out that wicker plays a role in um 396 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: absorbing the impact of landing. Yeah, it makes sense. I 397 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: still have a hard time believing they can't build something better, right, 398 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,719 Speaker 1: something out of like like this same stuff they make 399 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: super balls out of. Yeah, or something with with shocks 400 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: or springs or you know, that's like kevlar. I don't know. Well, 401 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,479 Speaker 1: the other the great aspect of it is when you 402 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:13,360 Speaker 1: add shocks or something, you're adding weight wicker. You need 403 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: the wicker to stand in, but because it's woven, it 404 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 1: will absorb that impact and distributed across the wicker rather 405 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: than up into your knees. As as much I think 406 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: it makes sense. It kills several birds with one stone. 407 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 1: I think it's one of those if it's not broke, 408 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 1: don't fix it deals. Probably like they probably looked into 409 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,679 Speaker 1: it and then like wickers, fine, but can't they like 410 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: wrap it in construction paper or something. One guy made 411 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: a glass bottom basket. Sounds terrible. I think it's a 412 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: great idea. They should all be glass bottom because then 413 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 1: you can just look. I know, you know that I 414 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,560 Speaker 1: would totally lose my mind. Uh, there is an upper 415 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: The more you know fuel you pump in there, it's 416 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: gonna rise, rise, rise, But there is an upper altitude 417 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: limit because the air becomes thin, and uh, you know, 418 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: you can't lift the balloon any further. Basically at a 419 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: certain point. Let's talk about what you're talking about real quick. 420 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: Let's talk about the science, all right, So why why 421 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: it doesn't make any sense that you um would not 422 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,719 Speaker 1: that there would be an upper limit that the balloon 423 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,679 Speaker 1: will only float up to a certain height in the atmosphere. 424 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,880 Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense until you understand the forces at 425 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,639 Speaker 1: play of what makes a hot air balloon float. Right, Right, 426 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: It's actually pretty simple. I would advise you strongly that 427 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,879 Speaker 1: if you want to understand this, don't read this article. 428 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: Go find it elsewhere on the internet. Just listen to us. Yeah, okay, 429 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 1: well we're trying, I guess, is what I'm saying. Um, 430 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: But the the hot air balloon floats because of the 431 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:49,439 Speaker 1: principle of buoyancy or the buoyancy effect, right, And buoyancy 432 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 1: is an upward force that counteracts gravity. Right, So, at 433 00:24:55,840 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: sea level, gravity is at its strongest and sea is 434 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: apparently at its weakest. Right, I believe maybe it said 435 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,640 Speaker 1: it's strongest. I just threw that in and I could 436 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: be wrong. I'm going to back off of that part, 437 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 1: but I do know that gravity is at its strongest 438 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: at sea level, at least as far and until you 439 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: get into the water, and then it gets more stronger 440 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:18,879 Speaker 1: and stronger, at least until someone emails us intels this 441 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: other one. Right. So, Um, the air at sea level 442 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: has a lot of gravity acting on it, and one 443 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 1: of the reasons why it has a lot of gravity 444 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,360 Speaker 1: acting on it because that's where the most molecules, air 445 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: molecules are found in the entire atmosphere of the Earth. Yeah, 446 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,119 Speaker 1: these air molecules are all around us at all times. 447 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 1: You can't see them, but they're smashing into each other. 448 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: They're creating energy, which is air pressure. Right. So the 449 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: movement of these air particles combined with their mass. I mean, 450 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 1: they're very very tiny, but they still have mass. Because 451 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: there's so such a mind boggling number of air molecules 452 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: in the atmosphere, there's enough of them they have enough 453 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,360 Speaker 1: of a combined mass that they have a substantial mass 454 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,360 Speaker 1: that gravity can act on. And again, it has its 455 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: strongest force at at sea level. Right. So air pressure 456 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,560 Speaker 1: is strongest at sea level because the air is denser there. Okay. Now, 457 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 1: if you have air that's lighter than the air at 458 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,160 Speaker 1: sea level, that air will float, that's right. And when 459 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:24,919 Speaker 1: you apply heat to it, it's going to be lighter. Right. 460 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,960 Speaker 1: And the reason it's lighter because it expands. Okay, So 461 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: it's less dense. Few well as a fewer molecules are 462 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 1: just less dense. I think they they it's not necessarily fewer. 463 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 1: They just occupy a larger space, right, So it's less dense, 464 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: which means just like with water, if you take a cork, 465 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 1: a cork is less dense than water, which is why 466 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,639 Speaker 1: when you put a cork and water, it's going to float. 467 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: It's buoyant. Air is the same thing as water. They're 468 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,119 Speaker 1: both fluids. So the same principles are at work that 469 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:58,320 Speaker 1: Archimedes figured out years and years ago um in the 470 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: air as well. So if you could take this hot 471 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: air and capture it in some sort of way in 472 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: a very envelope of nylon, like a very light vessel 473 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 1: like that, it will float and it will displace. It 474 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,879 Speaker 1: will be as buoyant as in an equal amount to 475 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,760 Speaker 1: the weight of the air it displaces, so it has 476 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,160 Speaker 1: that lift. So that's all that's at work. Is warmer 477 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:26,680 Speaker 1: air floats above colder air because it's less dense, And 478 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,640 Speaker 1: all the hot air balloon does is capture warm air 479 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,800 Speaker 1: so that it will float and you attach your basket 480 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: onto it and you get to float with it. Nice job, 481 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 1: thank you. I'm sure I got a few things wrong 482 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: in there, but okay, I think that was pretty pretty 483 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 1: damn close. It sounds like somebody's being killed in the 484 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,199 Speaker 1: other room. I know we should go investigate. You want 485 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: to take a break, Let's take a break and we'll 486 00:27:50,520 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: we'll get to how to pilot these beasts, all right, Josh, 487 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: nice job on science. I feel like you're jinxing me 488 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 1: every time you compliment me on that. I think somebody's 489 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 1: going to write in and be like, I'm embarrassed for you. 490 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: How badly you got that wrong. So if you go 491 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,399 Speaker 1: to pilot one of these things, it's pretty simple. Um. 492 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: And when I say pretty simple, that is not to 493 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 1: remove the amount of admiration I have for these pilots, 494 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: because it takes skill. Like you and I can't just 495 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: jump in one. We would kill ourselves. Oh yeah, and 496 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 1: if we piloted one, Yeah, it takes hundreds of hours 497 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: to become a good pilot of a hot air balloom. Yeah. 498 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: It's kind of like, Um, when I took went to Vancouver. 499 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: I took that float plane trip with Reggie, the Vancouver pilot, 500 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: and I was I didn't mean to insult him, but 501 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: while we were flying, I looked at him and I 502 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: was like, Reggie, I'm just looking at what you're doing. 503 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: And I said, I feel like, I could do this. 504 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: I said, it looks you know, it doesn't look too hard, 505 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: and he said it's not. He said, it's flying in 506 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,360 Speaker 1: great conditions is super easy. He said, it's flying and 507 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:21,480 Speaker 1: not great conditions is where you earn your stripes. And 508 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: I was like, oh, because he was just doing some 509 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: levers and steering a thing and doing stuff. Yeah, peddling 510 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: really quick, but I get the same feeling. It's like 511 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,600 Speaker 1: with a hot air balloon pilot. It's it's pretty simple 512 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 1: at its basis because all you're doing, literally the only 513 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 1: controls you have are to make that thing go up 514 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: and down up by releasing more hot air down because 515 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 1: you have a cord attached to the valve at the 516 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: top that releases Yeah, it releases some of that hot 517 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: air so you can sink and land and that's it. Yeah. Basically, 518 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: there's a strip of circular strip at the very top 519 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,360 Speaker 1: of the balloon and when you pull on that cord, 520 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 1: it opens it up, it pulls it away a little bit, 521 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: and by releasing some of that hot air, you're cooling 522 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 1: effectively the air inside the envelope. So you start to 523 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 1: come down. So you got up and you got down, 524 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: but Josh yes, how did they go left and right? 525 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: How do they fly horizontally in different directions? It seems 526 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: like you would just go where the wind takes you, 527 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,960 Speaker 1: you do, So how do they go in different directions? Well? 528 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 1: Apparently so there's um, there is wind, and then there's 529 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: also something called wind aloft, and wind aloft is in 530 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: the in the atmosphere UM, and it goes in different 531 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 1: directions at different altitudes. There you have it. So if 532 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 1: you want to go, say west, you rise up to 533 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,560 Speaker 1: fet where the winds blow west. If you want to 534 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,479 Speaker 1: go around in circles a few times, you go north, 535 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, by going up to that's right. So basically 536 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:03,720 Speaker 1: all they're doing is controlling altitude to control horizontal direction 537 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: based on wind patterns. Yeah, which again doesn't sound that hard. 538 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: It's still consists of up and down. It's just going 539 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: up and down to the right places depending on where 540 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 1: you want to go. The thing is this is this 541 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:21,160 Speaker 1: takes a tremendous amount of skill and I would say too, yes, 542 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: experience almost like what you would call probably muscle memory, 543 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: because it takes about thirty seconds for the um the 544 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: balloon to respond either way to either the valve or 545 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 1: the burner, So you can't say, oh, man, that power 546 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: lines right in front of me, let me get out 547 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: of the way. And I got to see that coming 548 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:42,719 Speaker 1: from a long distance and say, let me get out 549 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: of the way, right, like you're hearing a cruise ship 550 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: or something. Did you see that video of the people 551 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,960 Speaker 1: that they had that same that very thing happened to them. 552 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: There were there. It was, um, I believe in Virginia 553 00:31:54,880 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: in two thousand or fourteen. Like they just either didn't 554 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 1: see a power line or I don't know what happened, 555 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 1: but like the guy tried to pull out like right 556 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 1: before and go aloft higher up and they hit the 557 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: power line. The whole thing just caught fire. Yeah, which 558 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 1: is apparently a very as far as hot air balloon 559 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:23,520 Speaker 1: accidents go, that is a fairly common um accident. Yeah, 560 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 1: I would imagine that's the probably one of the most 561 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: awful ways to go. I would imagine. Yeah, I guess 562 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,000 Speaker 1: because it's slow, you can see it coming, you know, 563 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 1: it's not like a car crash. You're like, all right, 564 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 1: we're getting closer to your death. Closer to your death. Yeah, 565 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: that would be pretty bad. And then, of course I'm 566 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:46,200 Speaker 1: not making light of it. That's truly terrible. UM. So 567 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: I kind of joked earlier that they don't know quite 568 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,520 Speaker 1: where they're going to land, and that is true. Um, 569 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: they have an idea of where they want to land, 570 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 1: and they've plotted this out. They're not just willy nilly 571 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: up there. But UM, if you if you'll notice, when 572 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: you're in a hot air balloon basket, one of the 573 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 1: most vital people on your side or the ground team, Yeah, 574 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,200 Speaker 1: which you have to have if you're a hot air balloonist. 575 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,640 Speaker 1: The sum total of the people who are involved in 576 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,440 Speaker 1: your hot air balloon trip are not in the balloon. 577 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: There are plenty of people following you in a car. 578 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: That's right, because they're they're basically following you to where 579 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: you will eventually be able to land. Yeah. And again 580 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: you UM have an idea possibly of where you want 581 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: to land, maybe the county or the state that you 582 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: want to land in, but it's probably doesn't go too 583 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: much further than that. UM, And I guess a safe 584 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: pilot well number one. There there's some conditions that you 585 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:45,400 Speaker 1: want to look for, um when you're piloting. UM. For example, 586 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,880 Speaker 1: like you when you're starting, before you go up, you 587 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:51,720 Speaker 1: want to have contacted a weather service to find out 588 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: which way the wind's blowing. At least look at your 589 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 1: your smartphone weather app. I'm sure that there's probably hot 590 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:00,719 Speaker 1: air balloon apps for that kind of thing. YEA, give 591 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,920 Speaker 1: a little more advanced wind detail, right. You also don't 592 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 1: want a thunderstorm within a hundred miles. That's lightning is 593 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 1: terrible for hot air balloons, and in hot air balloon 594 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 1: in the rain is dangerous and no fun anyway, Yes, 595 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,600 Speaker 1: it is. So if you're a normal pilot, you're probably 596 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: only gonna want to fly in ideal conditions, right, like 597 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: nice day with just a little bit of wind. Yeah. 598 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,080 Speaker 1: You don't want too strong a wind either. Yeah, and 599 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,840 Speaker 1: you don't want the winds aloft to be high because 600 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:29,560 Speaker 1: even on the ground the wind can be fined, but 601 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:31,920 Speaker 1: up in the atmosphere they might be going like crazy. 602 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,560 Speaker 1: So you want to know all this stuff before you 603 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,359 Speaker 1: take off, and then when you do take off, you're 604 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 1: constantly looking around for potential emergency landing sites. Part it 605 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,839 Speaker 1: was a little scary, Yeah, you, I mean you may 606 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 1: whatever happens, you may need to land immediately. And it's 607 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 1: not it's not like pulling a car over on the 608 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 1: shoulder of a highway, which can be dangerous enough at 609 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,080 Speaker 1: high speeds. This is like landing a hot air balloon 610 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:00,720 Speaker 1: again in in a civilized world with lots power lines 611 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:04,120 Speaker 1: everywhere and roads and lakes and all sorts of stuff 612 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,200 Speaker 1: that you don't want to fly into, so you constantly 613 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:08,520 Speaker 1: have to be looking out for a place to land. Yeah, 614 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: you probably don't think about all the stuff around you 615 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,400 Speaker 1: until you're up in a balloon like that and you 616 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:18,479 Speaker 1: know that each one of those things is a hazard. Um. 617 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,879 Speaker 1: The other thing a pilot will probably do is send 618 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: up a just a regular old helium balloon. They call 619 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 1: them pieballs pilot balloons, but it's just a balloon. And 620 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:31,919 Speaker 1: they'll send that baby up there just to see like, okay, 621 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 1: where's that guy going, because that's where we're going to 622 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:36,360 Speaker 1: be going, And they watch it and just kind of 623 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,239 Speaker 1: chart its course for a little while and um, then 624 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 1: off they go. Oh, there's also some other things on board. 625 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,520 Speaker 1: Of course, it's not just a basket. They're gonna have 626 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:49,560 Speaker 1: an altimeter and variometer just to know where they are, 627 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:54,879 Speaker 1: of course, and um. But other than that, it's pretty rudimentary, Yeah, 628 00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,319 Speaker 1: it really is. And the ground crew also is not 629 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 1: just there to follow you in the car. And one 630 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:03,360 Speaker 1: of the reasons they're they're following you in the cars 631 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,799 Speaker 1: to give you a ride back home because you it's 632 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:09,319 Speaker 1: almost impossible to go land back at the same place 633 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: you left from. Yeah, because you started in Georgia and 634 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: you landed in Alabama, right exactly. So, Um. The ground 635 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,560 Speaker 1: crew is also there to help you um set up, 636 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:22,919 Speaker 1: which apparently is not as involved as you would think. 637 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:27,440 Speaker 1: It takes ten to fifteen minutes to unpack fully a 638 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 1: hot air balloon and have it um floating. Yeah. It's 639 00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:34,319 Speaker 1: basically in a big stuff sack like a sleeping bag. Uh. 640 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:38,719 Speaker 1: They lay it out onto a like a covering, like 641 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:42,240 Speaker 1: a pad on the ground to protect it. They start 642 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 1: blowing it up with a fan, just a regular old fan, 643 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,160 Speaker 1: just to kind of get some some air in that thing. 644 00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:49,919 Speaker 1: And then they will start shooting it with the hot 645 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,800 Speaker 1: air and it starts to, you know, increase in size 646 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,040 Speaker 1: and then rise up and they've got it tied to 647 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: the truck or whatever the basket uh, and everybody's holding 648 00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:02,520 Speaker 1: you take to the ground, I imagine, yeah, Uh, and 649 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 1: then you know until it as it gets bigger and bigger, 650 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 1: you just sort of sit around and wait, put the 651 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 1: champagne on ice, because that's the tradition when you land. Yeah, 652 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,920 Speaker 1: as is the traditional leg of lamp per passenger. No, 653 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,560 Speaker 1: it really is. The champagne toast. Is that started back 654 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:20,959 Speaker 1: in the olden days as a sort of to play 655 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:25,319 Speaker 1: kate farmers when they would land on their land. Yeah. 656 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:27,439 Speaker 1: Farmers are like, I don't want you landing on my land. 657 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,000 Speaker 1: First of all, that things scares me. Be here landing 658 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,600 Speaker 1: on my property. You're scaring my cattle. And the guy 659 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:34,840 Speaker 1: would be like, well, what about some champagne. Yeah, they 660 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:37,799 Speaker 1: would offer him champagne. That would be like my one 661 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,000 Speaker 1: weakness to the well the same he was already drunk 662 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:45,000 Speaker 1: because it was in the Champagne region. Oh yeah, he's like, 663 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:46,520 Speaker 1: I already have a bunch of this. I don't need 664 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,880 Speaker 1: your champagne. But that tradition still holds true today. You 665 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,399 Speaker 1: take a champagne toast when you land. Uh. You might 666 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:57,520 Speaker 1: say soft winds and gentle landings, or you might recite 667 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:01,800 Speaker 1: the balloonist blessing were balloonist prey, which is the winds 668 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:04,719 Speaker 1: have welcomed you with softness, the sun has blessed you 669 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 1: with its warm hands, you have flown so high and 670 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 1: so well that God has joined you in your laughter 671 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,200 Speaker 1: and set you gently back into the loving arms of 672 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:18,160 Speaker 1: Mother earthlink guzzle, guzzle burp. Did you You didn't make 673 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:21,560 Speaker 1: that up just now, wasn't that's the balloonist blessing. It's 674 00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:27,440 Speaker 1: good chuck. Yeah, that was just scatting a poem. Uh. 675 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:29,919 Speaker 1: You land, you drink the champagne, and then you're done. 676 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:33,600 Speaker 1: You go about your day. Everybody packs up and yeah, yeah, 677 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 1: packing up customers, so you're just like, see you later, Yeah, 678 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:41,520 Speaker 1: can everybody else? Like I said, packing up takes it 679 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:46,240 Speaker 1: a little longer, but um, it's it's not too different 680 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,279 Speaker 1: than packing a parachute or sleeping back or something. No, 681 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:50,000 Speaker 1: it's like you said, it's like a stuff stack. Just 682 00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:53,160 Speaker 1: packing and back in there. That's right. And um, an 683 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:56,520 Speaker 1: experienced pilot, it's uh, it's not the easiest thing to 684 00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:59,480 Speaker 1: land these smoothly. You know you're gonna bump and you 685 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 1: might land a little too hard, But if you're an 686 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 1: experienced pilot, you're gonna bring it in nice and smooth, 687 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:09,680 Speaker 1: bump a little bit, give everyone a good uh oh, 688 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:13,120 Speaker 1: And then the champagne comes out and apparently the big 689 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,000 Speaker 1: draw of hot air ballooning is that it's a very 690 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:20,320 Speaker 1: serene experience that I just kept running into that word 691 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:23,480 Speaker 1: over and over again. Everybody was like floating, serene and 692 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,520 Speaker 1: peaceful experience. Ever, I think it'd be amazing. I mean 693 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:30,960 Speaker 1: it sounds nice. Aside from just the hight part. I 694 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:32,920 Speaker 1: get why you don't want to do it. Yeah, I 695 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:39,920 Speaker 1: would never expect that. So is it safe, uh to do? Yes. 696 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,000 Speaker 1: I don't have any stats on deaths. I've got some 697 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:45,840 Speaker 1: stats from what I saw. It is, uh, relatively speaking, 698 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 1: safe thing to do. UM, there have been um what 699 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,880 Speaker 1: seemed like in upticks and balloon accidents. It's it's possible 700 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,600 Speaker 1: that reporting has increased or media coverage is increased. But 701 00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,440 Speaker 1: over the last few years, UM, there have been some 702 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:04,080 Speaker 1: very high profile accidents apparently as of two thousand fourteen. 703 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:09,200 Speaker 1: Between nineteen sixty four and two thousand fourteen, there were 704 00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:13,120 Speaker 1: seven seventy five balloon accidents in the US UM with 705 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,280 Speaker 1: seventy fatalities, and sixteen people died ballooning from two thousand 706 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:18,839 Speaker 1: two to two thousand and twelve. So it does seem 707 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:21,520 Speaker 1: like there's an uptick in it somehow, sixteen people over 708 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:25,880 Speaker 1: ten years, though, right, but seventy over Um, Yeah, I 709 00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:28,400 Speaker 1: guess it's about right. I guess it is overging I say, 710 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,960 Speaker 1: but um, there was some high profile ones. The worst 711 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:35,520 Speaker 1: ever was in um Egypt, actually in I think over 712 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:38,600 Speaker 1: lux Or nineteen of twenty one people on board a 713 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:41,520 Speaker 1: hot air balloon died when it caught fire. Yeah, they can. 714 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:43,600 Speaker 1: We didn't point that out. They can make these baskets 715 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,080 Speaker 1: really large now if the balloon is large enough. Obviously 716 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:50,200 Speaker 1: some I've seen double deckers do I don't know about that. 717 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:52,839 Speaker 1: I haven't seen a double decker. That sounds kind of neat. 718 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:57,520 Speaker 1: It's pretty neat. Um, But supposedly overall it's a relatively 719 00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:01,600 Speaker 1: safe thing to do. Let's call it safe fish safe 720 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:05,240 Speaker 1: fish and um, if you have some money, it's something 721 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:07,040 Speaker 1: you could get into. If you want a little too 722 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,040 Speaker 1: person hot air balloon, it'll set you back about twenty 723 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:16,320 Speaker 1: two k and at three to four person thousand dollars 724 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:21,120 Speaker 1: for you're you're very own hot air balloon with everything. Yeah, 725 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,560 Speaker 1: they can be shape like all kinds of crazy shapes. 726 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:26,520 Speaker 1: Now if you've seen balloon shows, yeah, like I've seen 727 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:29,759 Speaker 1: them shape like a castle or like a car like 728 00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:32,840 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown. I saw one with the spike through it. It 729 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: It was hilarious. I like it was punctured. That's the 730 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:40,200 Speaker 1: one I get in. Yeah. Uh. And then if you 731 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,000 Speaker 1: are into this kind of stuff where you want to 732 00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 1: find out whether you're into this kind of stuff, if 733 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:46,360 Speaker 1: you're in Georgia or the Southeast, you can go to 734 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:49,799 Speaker 1: Callaway Gardens sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival. And then 735 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:54,880 Speaker 1: the big one is in Alburquerque, the Alburquerque International Balloon Fiesta. 736 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:57,479 Speaker 1: It happens every year. I think it's in a couple 737 00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,520 Speaker 1: of months. Nice. Yeah, I'd love to go to that. 738 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:02,520 Speaker 1: So they go hot air balloons, you get anything else? Yeah, 739 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:05,000 Speaker 1: I got some more stuff from our buddies at Mental 740 00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:09,359 Speaker 1: floss Um. They had a great ten facts about hot 741 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:13,719 Speaker 1: air balloons. Here's one fact. There was a balloon duel 742 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:18,040 Speaker 1: in eight eight oh yeah, two frenchmen. Um, we're in 743 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:22,840 Speaker 1: a love triangle and they figured the best way to 744 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,319 Speaker 1: settle it was to get up and shoot at each 745 00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:27,120 Speaker 1: other's balloon. I feel like I've heard about that before. 746 00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 1: Pretty silly French, Frenchy thing to do. And one of 747 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 1: the guys shot the other guy's balloon. The other guy missed, 748 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:38,759 Speaker 1: and the balloon crashed and killed the guy. Hooray. And 749 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:44,279 Speaker 1: then uh, in the US there was the Union Army 750 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:48,280 Speaker 1: had a balloon Corps. Abraham Lincoln started the Balloon Corps. 751 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:52,280 Speaker 1: They had seven balloons and uh with names like the Intrepid, 752 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:55,400 Speaker 1: and they would track enemy movement. They've been using the 753 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:58,680 Speaker 1: reconnaissance in the and since the seventeen hundreds with the 754 00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:03,200 Speaker 1: French Army. So uh, the the Union Army did that, 755 00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:05,920 Speaker 1: and then the Confederates made their own I guess out 756 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,879 Speaker 1: of whatever, you know, clothing they had laying around right, 757 00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:12,160 Speaker 1: and they just had the one balloon. It was captured 758 00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 1: by the Union Army. Oh really yeah in eighteen sixty three, 759 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:21,520 Speaker 1: like give us back off balloons. So uh wow. Well, 760 00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:25,600 Speaker 1: thanks Chuck, Thank you friends at Mental Flossy, thank you 761 00:43:25,719 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 1: for listening to this episode of stuff you should know. Uh. 762 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:31,319 Speaker 1: If you want to know more about hot air balloons 763 00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,320 Speaker 1: and alchemy, you can type that word into the search 764 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:37,320 Speaker 1: bar at how stuff works dot com. And since I 765 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:43,879 Speaker 1: said alchemy, it's time for listening mail. I'm gonna call 766 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,759 Speaker 1: this surefire way to get on closer mail. You guys 767 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:49,000 Speaker 1: are writing you from the County of Essex in England. 768 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:51,800 Speaker 1: I only started listening about a month ago, and I 769 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:54,400 Speaker 1: can't get enough. Um. I've been trying to think of 770 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:55,960 Speaker 1: the best way to guarantee it's right on the air, 771 00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:59,200 Speaker 1: so I found out some common traits. One, it should 772 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,399 Speaker 1: compliment you on messager egos and something, and number two 773 00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:04,680 Speaker 1: for balance, the letters should point out a mistake or oversight, 774 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,560 Speaker 1: but also make an interesting contribution. Yeah, this guy's got it. 775 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:10,840 Speaker 1: It's that So. First of all, I love the podcast. 776 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:15,759 Speaker 1: You're both awesome and really funny and smart. Second, I 777 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:19,160 Speaker 1: really uh, I'm intrigued by the podcast on left handies. 778 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:22,360 Speaker 1: Left handis left handers let's just call him left with 779 00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:25,880 Speaker 1: left and particularly the bit about how being left handed 780 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:28,800 Speaker 1: can be an advantage in sports. Um. As you were saying, 781 00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:30,480 Speaker 1: I felt sure that you had mentioned the case of 782 00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:35,600 Speaker 1: Rafael Nadal, the tennis player was mentally imporing you to 783 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:37,600 Speaker 1: do so, but you're not familiar with the story. I 784 00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:40,839 Speaker 1: guess he was born right handed, but from the first 785 00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:42,600 Speaker 1: time he picked up a racket, he was trained by 786 00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,759 Speaker 1: his uncle to play with his left hand, to make him, uh, 787 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:47,680 Speaker 1: to give him an advantage and make it more difficult 788 00:44:47,719 --> 00:44:50,760 Speaker 1: to beat. Most people believe him to be left handed, 789 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:53,160 Speaker 1: but don't you think that's amazing that a player can 790 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:55,279 Speaker 1: become the best in the world, or at least the 791 00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:59,879 Speaker 1: best on clay court ever, perhaps playing with their weaker hand. 792 00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:03,440 Speaker 1: Pretty neat. It is very neat. It also post is 793 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:05,960 Speaker 1: an interesting question over how much the dominant hand that 794 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:08,440 Speaker 1: we're born with is actually just a state of mind 795 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,960 Speaker 1: that it can be retrained. Keep up the good work, chaps, 796 00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:16,520 Speaker 1: And that is from Joe Broomfield. Yeah, that works pretty well. 797 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:21,000 Speaker 1: That was a classic listener mail classic. If you want 798 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:23,360 Speaker 1: to try your hand at a classic listener mail, you 799 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,960 Speaker 1: can lay it on us. But we are also always 800 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:31,080 Speaker 1: willing to give points for creativity too. You can tweet 801 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,200 Speaker 1: to us at s y s K podcast. You can 802 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:35,719 Speaker 1: join us on Facebook dot com, slash stuff you Should Know. 803 00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:38,600 Speaker 1: You can send us an email to stuff Podcast, to 804 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,520 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com, and as always, join us 805 00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:43,560 Speaker 1: at our home on the web, Stuff you Should Know 806 00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:51,560 Speaker 1: dot com For more on this and thousands of other topics. 807 00:45:51,800 --> 00:46:00,600 Speaker 1: Is it how Stuff Works dot com.