1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,400 Speaker 1: Fellow Ridiculous Historians, Welcome to this week's classic episode. Noel, 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: have you ever been into balloons? 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 2: You know, Ben, I do love balloons. They're just a 4 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 2: delightful thing to behold. They like it when they float, 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 2: I like it when they bounce. I just like them. 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 2: I like them when they're shaped like things. I like 7 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 2: them when they're wielded by clowns. I don't really like 8 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 2: them as delivery mechanisms for bombs, though. 9 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: Ah yeah, yeah, that's why you and I should have 10 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: been in the meeting in late nineteen forty four, probably 11 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: a few years before that, when thousands of people on 12 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: the West coast of the United States noticed bizarre what 13 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: they call jellyfish like objects floating in the sky. 14 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 2: Yeah. And this episode is called the Attack of the 15 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 2: Japanese Balloon Bombs. And let's roll the tape. 16 00:00:51,520 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to the show, 17 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Historians. Quick Peak behind the Curtain. It is Friday 18 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: as we record this, and all three of us are 19 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: really looking forward to the weekends. Hi. 20 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,919 Speaker 2: I'm Ben, Hi, I'm Nolan. Double Peak behind the Curtain. 21 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,559 Speaker 2: This is take two of starting this episode. The first 22 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 2: time around, I said that my name was Ben, and 23 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 2: you had said that we were very excited to be here. 24 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,199 Speaker 2: I was going to say, I'm very exhausted but still 25 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 2: excited to be here, but then I called myself you. 26 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 2: I don't know if that's some kind of like Freudian 27 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 2: thing or what, but I am happy to be here 28 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 2: and happy to see you. 29 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: I'm happy, I'm happy to be here, and I'm happy 30 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: to see you as well, Nola. The same goes for 31 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: our super producer, Casey Pegram. 32 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 2: Quick question for. 33 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: You, Casey, have you ever been in a hot air balloon? 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 2: Never? No? What about you, Nol? No, it seems utterly 35 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 2: terrifying to me. I am. 36 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: I have also never, as far as I know, been 37 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: in a hot air balloon, so if I ever was, 38 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: I must have been a wei wei tyke. But there 39 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: are one of my favorite of ridiculous human inventions. Can 40 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,639 Speaker 1: you just imagine the cartoonish audacity of it. Someone said, well, 41 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: we'll just you know, get up there and see how 42 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: it goes from there. Hot air balloons, aside from being 43 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: you know, visually stunning and inspiring, are also a passion 44 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: of many many people. In fact, we before we went 45 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: on the air today. We're looking into this and I 46 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: found no less than three hot air balloon festivals going 47 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: on here in our fair state of Georgia. So this 48 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: is my pitch, Noel Casey, do you guys want to 49 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: go on a hot air balloon with me? 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 2: We could become ridiculous history, the podcast of the air. 51 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: There we go, and some people, perhaps Chryl Crow included, 52 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,679 Speaker 1: would say that we have enough hot air already. 53 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 2: Eh, she is just the worst. Man. She's really dogging us. Man, 54 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 2: Why dude, I don't know what do we ever do 55 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 2: to Cheryl. 56 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: Just complimented the bongos, you know I always do. 57 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 2: I really do think that's a very important moment in 58 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 2: American music. Agreed. Agreed, my friend. 59 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: We want to hear about the hot air balloon experiences 60 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: in your life, where the festivals in your neck of 61 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:33,399 Speaker 1: the global woods. 62 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 2: And we'll keep you guys updated over. 63 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: The summer if any of us or all of us 64 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: make it to one of those. But today's story is 65 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: not about the fun, high altitude hijinks of touring the 66 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: air in a hot air balloon. No, it is about 67 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: balloons as weapons. 68 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, when we think of aerial attacks against 69 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 2: the United States. The first thing, obviously that comes to mind, 70 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 2: and for many the only thing that comes to mind, 71 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 2: are the tragic events of Pearl Harbor on December seventh 72 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 2: of nineteen forty one, when Japanese forces mounted a bombing 73 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 2: raid on Pearl Harbor, kicking off the events of World 74 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 2: War II on September ninth of nineteen forty two. But 75 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 2: it turns out, Ben, that is not the only air 76 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 2: attack on American soil. 77 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: You're absolutely right. It turns out that one of the 78 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: most unusual attacks on American soil occurred during World War Two, 79 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: and it was a balloon attack, or it would be 80 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: more accurate to say a balloon bombing. You see, the 81 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: Japanese army employed balloon bombs, or as they were called 82 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: fugos fugs. Starting in nineteen forty four, the Japanese military 83 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: constructed and launched over nine thousand high altitude balloons, and 84 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: these each were loaded with fifty pounds of explosives. 85 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 2: That's right, Ben, So the Japanese Military Scientific Laboratory actually 86 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 2: came up with the idea of what they referred to 87 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,679 Speaker 2: as fusen bakuden or balloon bombs, back in nineteen thirty 88 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 2: three and the FuGO that you mentioned, ben Or These 89 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 2: balloon bombs were just one of several ideas that were 90 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 2: proposed by this research unit, and there's a fantastic scholarly 91 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 2: report in the Smithsonian Annals of Flight by Robert C. Mikis. 92 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 2: It's kind of the definitive work on this, and it's 93 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 2: pretty crazy. Some of the ideas they didn't go with 94 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 2: are even more ridiculous. There's one called a death ray, 95 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 2: and the idea there was it was going to be 96 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 2: balloon driven. It would shoot like electric rays or like 97 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 2: you know, electric bolts at people on the ground. It 98 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 2: would like hover low. And then there were several other 99 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 2: versions of what became the fugos. Lieutenant General Raikichi Tada 100 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 2: of the Japanese Military Scientific Laboratory is the one who 101 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 2: was assigned to this program, and he developed several pretty 102 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,359 Speaker 2: out there ideas that were already in the worst. One 103 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 2: of them was the i Go weapon, which was a 104 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 2: wire controlled tank that could attack enemy positions. And then 105 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 2: there was the Rogo weapon, which was a rocket propelled weapon. 106 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 2: And then you had what I mentioned earlier, the death 107 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 2: ray that would kill enemies up close with this electric charge. 108 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 2: But the one that seemed like it was going to 109 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 2: be a winner out of these, the one they wanted 110 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 2: to take all the way was the FuGO weapon, which 111 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 2: was an altitude controlled balloon. In terms of my say 112 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 2: out toude controlled, I mean there was a barometric valve 113 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 2: that would act according to the elevation according to how 114 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 2: the altitude of the of the balloon, and it would 115 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 2: drop sandbags if it went too high, and then it 116 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 2: would change the amount of air that was in the 117 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 2: balloon when it went too low. And the idea was 118 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 2: it had a fuse that would ignite once the wind 119 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 2: currents carried the balloon close to the American coast, and 120 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 2: the idea was to wreak havoc and chaos on America's 121 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 2: Pacific Northwest region, specifically by causing forest fires. These incendiary 122 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 2: devices would deploy when the fuse would burn up, and 123 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 2: it was meant to not necessarily cause any kind of 124 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 2: real infrastructure dam would just kind of cause chaos and 125 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 2: mass confusion. 126 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, we can totally understand how this 127 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: pitch sounds crazy at first, blush, but a little bit 128 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: of a historical context will help us realize that this 129 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: is this is kind of a brilliant idea. This is 130 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: not the first time balloons were weaponized. During the Italian 131 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,119 Speaker 1: War of Independence from eighteen forty eight to eighteen forty nine, 132 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: Austrian lieutenant Yukitus undertook the technical development of balloons that 133 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: could be used as bombs. So there was historical precedent, 134 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: and the thing was, no one had quite pulled it 135 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: off as successfully as the Japanese military would hope. Let's 136 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: talk just a little bit about these balloons, as described 137 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: by Jay David Rogers of the Missouri University of Science 138 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: and Technology. These balloon bombs were thirty three feet in 139 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: diameter and they could lift about one thousand pounds. But 140 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: the deadly portion of the cargo again was this thirty 141 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: three pounds anti personnel frag bomb, fragmentation bomb, and it 142 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: was attached to that fuse you mentioned NOLA, sixty four 143 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: foot long fuse that was intended to burn for exactly 144 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: eighty two minutes before detonating. And despite the fact that 145 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: these are weapons of war, you have to appreciate the esthetic. 146 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,679 Speaker 1: These balloons were made of rubber eyed silk or paper, 147 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: and they were handmade. These were glued together. Now one 148 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: of the things that we not being hot air balloon experts, 149 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: have always wondered alone and together here on the show, 150 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: is how exactly you steer a hot air balloon, Because 151 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: on the offset it seems tough. You would want like 152 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,839 Speaker 1: a fan up there, maybe to provide some sort of 153 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: propulsion or to function more or less as a rudder. 154 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: For the Japanese military. The goal here was kind of 155 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: a spaghetti At the wall approached, they decided that quantity 156 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: was a quality all its own, and so they released 157 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: and estimated nine thousand of these balloons. So far as 158 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: we know, at least three hundred and forty two reach 159 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:46,319 Speaker 1: the US and some even got as far as Nebraska. 160 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: But what was their attrition rate? Were they actually causing harm? 161 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 2: No? No, because they couldn't be steered and the technology 162 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 2: or the idea behind them as they would travel on 163 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 2: these winter jet streams for an average of sixty hours 164 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 2: to reach America, And like you said, they greenlit through 165 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 2: this project after realizing that there was a potential for success. 166 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 2: About ten thousand, between nine and ten thousand these balloons, 167 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 2: and they were handmade ben by school children, by young 168 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 2: schoolgirls from a neighboring school to the site of this project, 169 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 2: and it took thirty men about thirty minutes to an 170 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 2: hour to prepare each of these balloons for flight. And 171 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 2: let's remember these were unmanned balloons. These were meant to 172 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 2: be autonomous and to behave in certain ways depending on 173 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 2: the altitude, and just hope that they would get to 174 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 2: their target. And the fact of the matter is they 175 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 2: were launched on the birthday of the former Emperor Meiji, 176 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 2: and that is when the first series of launches took place. 177 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 2: And despite the project being top secret, they were not 178 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 2: very inconspicuous. They were spotted. They were described as looking 179 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 2: like clusters of jellyfish in the sky. 180 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: Absolutely, because if you look at the picture, you've got 181 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: this thirty three foot diameter balloon, right, and then you've 182 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: got this fuse going down and the stuff that it's carrying. 183 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,559 Speaker 1: It looks like a large version of snap and pops. 184 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: Do you guys remember those the little paper bags that 185 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: you would throw and they would have a. 186 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,319 Speaker 2: Pop, Yeah, with a tiny little you know the top. 187 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, it looks it looks very similar to that, or 188 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: maybe tea bags wrapped in twine. The thing is that 189 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: although they launched thousands and thousands of these balloons. They 190 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:43,559 Speaker 1: didn't cause the level of havoc that the Japanese military 191 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: hoped they would create. They did have some damaging psychological 192 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,480 Speaker 1: effects because you look up in the sky and there's 193 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: this balloon invasion that's unexplained. And the amazing thing is 194 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: that they made it across the Pacific at all. They 195 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: were launched from Japan to the US and into Canada, 196 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 1: and that trip took several days, again with no one 197 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: on board, no one steering. And here's one of the problems. 198 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: The US reacted in a very strange way. Two days 199 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,200 Speaker 1: after the initial launch, there's a Navy patrol off the 200 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: coast of California and they see some tattered cloth in 201 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: the sea. They retrieve it and they noticed that as 202 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: Japanese characters on it. They alert the FBI. And then 203 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,079 Speaker 1: two weeks later more c debris of balloons that didn't 204 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: make the journey or found, and the military started putting 205 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: together the puzzle pieces. They said, something is up. And 206 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: then over the next four weeks, reports of balloons started 207 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: coming in from all across the western half of North America, 208 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: and every day American citizens began seeing these tattered pieces 209 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: of cloth or hearing explosions in the distance. 210 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 2: In nineteen forty four. December nineteen forty four, workers at 211 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 2: a coal mine that was near Thermopolis, Wyoming described seeing 212 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 2: a quote parachute in the air with lighted flares and 213 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 2: after hearing a whistling noise, that's when they heard the 214 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 2: sound of an explosion and they saw smoke very near 215 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 2: the mine. 216 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 1: And the military immediately freaks out about this, but initially 217 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: they are not worried about explosives being carried by balloons. 218 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: Some of the folks in the military on the US 219 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: side are concerned that these balloons may carry something potentially 220 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,559 Speaker 1: far more dangerous than explosives. They are concerned that these 221 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:46,520 Speaker 1: balloons may carry biological weapons, and they thought maybe the 222 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: balloons were being launched from the Japanese relocation or internment 223 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: camps that existed at the time, or German pow camps. 224 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: And it wasn't until later in December of nineteen forty 225 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: four military intelligence project was put together to evaluate and 226 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: collect various evidence of these balloon sites and they figured 227 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: out they were coming from Japan, not just made by 228 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: Japanese forces, but coming from Japan. When they looked into 229 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: a ballast and found that the sand inside the ballast 230 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: was from a beach in the south of Japan, and 231 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: they realized that these were meant to carry explosives. And 232 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: the problem with those explosives is that they could pose 233 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: a huge danger to the forest of the Pacific Northwest. 234 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, because it's very dry in the winter 235 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 2: and these forest fires could really spread and cause some 236 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 2: serious havoc. And that was exactly what the Japanese had 237 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 2: in mind. Again, they weren't thinking this is going to, 238 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 2: you know, put a real dent militarily in the US forces, 239 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 2: but it would cause some panic and be pretty inconvenient. 240 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 2: But the military pretty quickly realized that these war very 241 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 2: precision targeted, that they were pretty aimless. And even though 242 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 2: they realized that they were not going to be very successful, 243 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 2: as we heard from the folks that reported from the 244 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 2: coal mine, it kind of blew up in mid air 245 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 2: and didn't actually cause any damage. It just kind of 246 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 2: freaked them out. They still the military did not warn 247 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 2: the public. They kept it very top secret and they 248 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 2: did their investigation into it, like you described it, They 249 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 2: didn't put out any kind of notice. So people were 250 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 2: still seeing these clusters of weird floating jellyfish and didn't 251 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 2: know what the hell was going on. 252 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: Was it a UFO, Was it an errant domestic hobbyist? 253 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: What was that smoke in the distance? Did you also 254 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: hear that explosion? 255 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 2: It was. 256 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: With the benefit of retrospect, we can say the US 257 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: military took the wrong course of action when they decided 258 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: to stay silent, because in the latter when there's no transparency, 259 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: speculation thrives. But their logic did make sense at the time, 260 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: because they didn't want the Japanese forces to get a 261 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: morale boost from hearing anything about this operation being a success. 262 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 1: The Office of Censorship went so far as to instruct 263 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: newspapers and radio stations not to discuss the balloon's in 264 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: print or on air, and they made that decree on 265 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: January fourth of nineteen forty five, and the Japanese only 266 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: heard about one balloon incident on the North American continent, 267 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: and that was through a Chinese newspaper. Now, as innovative 268 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: and unsuccessful as this plan may sound, the unfortunate truth 269 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: is that they did cause some fatalities. 270 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the thing they kept. The US military kept 271 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 2: this thing under pretty tight wraps. Until an incident occurred 272 00:16:55,960 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 2: that actually did cause some casualties. Now, Japanese Ome News 273 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 2: Agency was reporting on February seventeenth of nineteen forty five 274 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 2: that this had been a success, since this is a 275 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 2: propaganda paper, and it was really, really, really inflating the numbers, 276 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 2: standing that between five hundred and ten thousand casualties occurred. 277 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:21,960 Speaker 2: But here's the reality. It was actually six six casualties 278 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 2: and they were historically the only casualties on American soil 279 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 2: for World War two, which is crazy because you think 280 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 2: you would have heard of this, and I had never 281 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 2: heard of this until he looked into it. So what happened? 282 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,439 Speaker 1: So this takes place in Bly, Oregon. It was a 283 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:44,719 Speaker 1: Sunday school picnic. They approached the mysterious debris of one 284 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: of these balloons. A fellow named Reverend Archie Mitchell was 285 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 1: about to yell a warning to the kids when the 286 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: balloon exploded. Sherman Shoemaker, Edward Ingen, Jay Gifford, Joan Patskey, 287 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: and Dick Patsky were all killed. And these were children. 288 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: They were eleven to fourteen years old. The reverend's wife, 289 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: Elsie Mitchell, also died, and she was five months pregnant. 290 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: This tragedy is what caused the US military to finally 291 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: break its silence and its suppression of the story. And 292 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: so they began issuing warnings not to tamper with anything 293 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: that looked remotely like one of these balloons. 294 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 2: Because let's just backstrack slightly. This balloon wasn't deployed properly. 295 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:33,719 Speaker 2: It's not like it fell on them. It was already 296 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 2: on the ground, on the ground. And like basically, this 297 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 2: woman when she pulled the family car, pulled over because 298 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 2: she was feeling some morning sickness, and she discovered this 299 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 2: bundle of stuff that looked kind of like paper, likes 300 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 2: almost like wrigami paper or something like that, and thought 301 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 2: it was neat looking, and they started poking at it 302 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:53,399 Speaker 2: or something, right. 303 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and she said, look what I found deer. 304 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 1: According to the Male Tribune newspaper in southern Oregon, there's 305 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: a great article you can read about this from David 306 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,880 Speaker 1: Kravitz writing on Wired May fifth, nineteen forty five. Japanese 307 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,440 Speaker 1: balloon bomb kills six in Oregon. So it left these 308 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: innocent people dead in a horrific scene. They didn't all 309 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: die immediately. Joan Patsky died minutes after being seriously injured. 310 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 1: There was a one foot hole in the ground. And 311 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:31,399 Speaker 1: although they were, as you said, nol the only known 312 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: casualties of this operation, the US government didn't want to 313 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: take any chances, so they issued, you know, they started 314 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: warning people not to mess with these things. They also, 315 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:48,639 Speaker 1: at the same time, somewhat counterintuitively or paradoxically, emphasized that 316 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,359 Speaker 1: the balloons did not represent a serious threat, and they said, 317 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 1: just report these, just let us know if you see them, 318 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: we'll send someone to take care of them. And that 319 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: led to, you know, as we said, three hundred to 320 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:06,360 Speaker 1: three hundred and forty two incidents being recorded, with various 321 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: parts recovered, but no lives lost. They did, however, have 322 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 1: a very close call with infrastructure. 323 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, one of them hit a power line and caused 324 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 2: a blackout at a weapons facility in Hanford, Washington, a 325 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 2: nuclear weapons facility that could have gone a lot worse 326 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 2: than it did. 327 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: According to Colonel Franklin Matthias, the Hanford plant did lose 328 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: about two days of production, but he thought he as 329 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,120 Speaker 1: he recalls, at least, he says, we were all tickled 330 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 1: to death that this happened, because it proved our backup 331 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,719 Speaker 1: system worked as far as keeping everything stable when they 332 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: lose the power. And another guy there, Vincent Budd Whitehead, 333 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,679 Speaker 1: who is a counterintelligence agency at Hanford, recalled chasing and 334 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: bringing down another balloon and he was chasing it from 335 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: a small airplane. This this is crazy. This is what 336 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: he literally did. He says, I threw a brick at it, 337 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: I put a hole in it, and it went down. 338 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: I got out there and I started trumping all over 339 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: that thing and got all the gas out of it. 340 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:08,919 Speaker 1: A radioed in that I have found it and got it. 341 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: They sent a bus up with all the specially trained 342 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: personnel gloves full of contamination suits mask. I had been 343 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: walking around on that stuff and they had not told 344 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 1: me that they were afraid of bacterial warfare. 345 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 2: Yees, I know. I want to do a quick correction. 346 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 2: It wasn't. The balloon didn't hit the Hanford site. It 347 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 2: hit the Bonneville Power Administration in Washington, which supplied power 348 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,719 Speaker 2: to the Hanford site. That was one of the biggest 349 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,879 Speaker 2: consumers of power from that particular grid, and so that 350 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 2: could have caused some major problems. 351 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: And so balloon sightings continued throughout the years. It's interesting 352 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: because you know how these kind of things can take 353 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: over a country's collective attention span. Right just after the war, 354 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: reports continued to come in from far and wide about 355 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: balloon incidents. The Beatrice Daily Sun reports them over set 356 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: in different towns in Nebraska, including Omaha. The Winnipeg Tribune 357 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,400 Speaker 1: notes that there's a balloon bomb found ten miles from 358 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: Detroit one near Grand Rapids. They were still finding balloon 359 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: bombs as far as like the mid nineteen fifties. 360 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the thing. I mean, these were like artifacts 361 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 2: at this point, right, they were exploded already, or maybe 362 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,160 Speaker 2: they didn't go off properly, and they were scattered, because 363 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 2: I mean that's ten thousand that were deployed with various 364 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 2: that ended up scattered all over the country. I think 365 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 2: they made it as far as Michigan, I want. 366 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: To say, right, yeah, they made as far as Michigan, Hawaii, 367 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:41,479 Speaker 1: and Alaska. I believe it was in January of nineteen 368 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 1: fifty five. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the US Air 369 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: Force discovered a balloon in Alaska in nineteen fifty five, 370 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 1: and then in nineteen forty four. Looking back enough, it 371 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: called the Santa Cruz Sentinel noted that a fellow named 372 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: Bert Webber, who was an author and researcher, had found 373 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: forty five different balloon bombs in Oregon, thirty seven in Alaska, 374 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: twenty eight in Washington, and twenty five in California, and 375 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: reports still continued to pour in. There was one found 376 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:18,680 Speaker 1: in October of twenty fourteen, really yeah, yeah, in British Columbia. 377 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: According to Henry Pros of the RCMP, or Royal Canadian 378 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: Mounted Police, this balloon had been in the dirt for 379 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: seventy years, and he said it would have been way 380 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: too dangerous to move it. So it's possible that someone 381 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: found it in the intervening decades and just decided to 382 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:36,200 Speaker 1: let sleeping dogs lie. 383 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 2: So in other words, they didn't work. They were duds, right, 384 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 2: like the fuse didn't ignite properly, and then they just 385 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 2: went down and there was no boom. 386 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 1: But still if you mess with it, you know what 387 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,880 Speaker 1: I mean, you could cause it to explode. 388 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 2: I don't think we found this ben but what was 389 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,679 Speaker 2: the material. I know the balloons were hydrogen balloons, so 390 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 2: that could have even aided in the spreading of the 391 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 2: fire because that's highly flammable. In Hindenberg and all that. 392 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,959 Speaker 2: But what was the material the explosives were made of. 393 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,159 Speaker 1: Incendiary bomb is kind of a genre of bomb. It 394 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:13,639 Speaker 1: can include stuff like napalm, magnesium powder, white phosphorus. These 395 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: used thermite and thermite is uh, how did you say? 396 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: Did it occur in Breaking Back? 397 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's there's one of those Mageiver kind of moments 398 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 2: in Breaking Back where I think he uses an Etcha 399 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 2: sketch or like the iron filings in an etch a 400 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:32,639 Speaker 2: sketch to create thermite or to make a reaction that 401 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 2: produceds this explosion. Yeah. 402 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: Thermite is a mixture of finely powdered aluminum and iron oxide. 403 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 1: It creates a really high temperature on combustion, and it's 404 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 1: often used in welding and for incendiary bombs. So this 405 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,359 Speaker 1: is this is dangerous stuff. And in twenty fourteen when 406 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: the RCMP you found this, you know, this ancient bomb, 407 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: they handled it by putting C four explosives on either 408 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: side of the thing and blowing it to smitherings and therm. 409 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 2: I've burned so hot that it can as it was 410 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,680 Speaker 2: used in that scene Breaking Bad melt metal. Yeah, oh yeah, 411 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,159 Speaker 2: I mean it's it's a it's a biggie. It's nothing 412 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:19,480 Speaker 2: to play with. Uh. 413 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 1: So it's interesting because we have to consider how much 414 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 1: of this plan and how much of the fallout of 415 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: it hinged purely on chance, you know what I mean. 416 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 2: Well, that's the thing we talked about earlier at the 417 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 2: top of the show. There's really no way even if 418 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 2: you're manning a balloon or you're piloting a balloon, you're 419 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,120 Speaker 2: kind of just able to go up and down. I mean, 420 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 2: we talked off air about how a zeppelin or a 421 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 2: blimp is a more or less a steerable hot air 422 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 2: balloon because it's more streamlined, and it moves in a 423 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 2: forward direction, right, and it's got like a fan system. 424 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 2: But this kind of balloon really can only go up 425 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,239 Speaker 2: and down. And as we described earlier, it was a 426 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 2: kind of altitude controlled system. I believe I said it 427 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 2: the other way around earlier in the show, so I 428 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:04,400 Speaker 2: just want to correct myself there. If it was going 429 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 2: too high, then hydrogen would be released from the balloon, 430 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 2: and if it was going too low, then sandbags would 431 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 2: be deployed. And it was all this kind of valve 432 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 2: that was controlled like barometrically to keep it at a 433 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,119 Speaker 2: more or less consistent altitude in order to have the 434 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 2: most consistent path because it was being pushed along by 435 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 2: these these winter jet streams. But once you let them go, 436 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 2: there's just no precision. It's like the episode we did 437 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 2: on the bat bombs, remember that, ben Yeah, very similar 438 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,880 Speaker 2: where they had to be deployed automatically using very similar 439 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,879 Speaker 2: mechanisms I imagine or I believe. And those were a 440 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 2: big old mess too, And didn't we We used those 441 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 2: against the Japanese, remember, Yeah, because we dropped them on 442 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 2: Japanese villages because the houses were made of wood and 443 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 2: paper and stuff, and they would potentially burn the houses, right, yeah, 444 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,920 Speaker 2: well not you and I specifically, No, the bats would. 445 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,480 Speaker 2: The bats would nest in the eves and then they 446 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 2: had time that would then eventually set off the devices. 447 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 2: But that was a big flop too. 448 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: That's the thing about innovation, it's always risky. Let's talk 449 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: a little bit about the nuts and bolts of how 450 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: this thing actually exploded, Like what triggers the bomb. 451 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 2: Well, they were a couple of different types of ordinance 452 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 2: or payload is the military term that they used. I 453 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,879 Speaker 2: think most of them used thermite, but they were just 454 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 2: different sizes, and there were different ones that had slightly 455 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:27,920 Speaker 2: different mechanisms. 456 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, anti personnel and in syndiata, that's right exactly. 457 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 2: But the incendiary device that I think was most common 458 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 2: had a fuse that gets armed during flight, and then 459 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 2: when it's dropped on impact, there's a magazine that's fired, 460 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 2: which then ignites a black powder charge. It's much like 461 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 2: the way a pistol works, right, And then that in 462 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 2: turn ignites a central channel that contains another charge and 463 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 2: then the incendiary material, and there are these different pots 464 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,399 Speaker 2: that have more black powder charge, and then the explosive 465 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 2: force of those reactions, that chain reaction that triggers the thermite, 466 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 2: and then the body of the bomb actually erupts. It's 467 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 2: enough to because it's made of metal, right. 468 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: And so we see the logic, we see how this 469 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: could work, and we see the primary flaw on the 470 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 1: plan the reliance on chance, right on who fortune favors 471 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: that day. And this speaks to the desperate state of 472 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,720 Speaker 1: the war, you know, and the desperate state of the 473 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,919 Speaker 1: Japanese military at the time. While weaponized balloons did not 474 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: work out for the Japanese military World War two, that 475 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that our species has given up all hope 476 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: of weaponizing balloons. In fact, we're still as a species 477 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 1: developing weaponized balloons today. The United States Department of Defense 478 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 1: Missile Defense Agency contracted Lacky Martin to construct what they 479 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 1: called a high Altitude air Ship or HA for short 480 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: a case for part of its ballistic Missile Defense system. 481 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: This thing is unmanned. It is supposed to operate at 482 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: a height of over sixty thousand feet or eighteen thousand 483 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: meters in a quasi geostationary position, to be a surveillance aircraft, 484 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: to relay telecommunications, and to observe weather. Pretty pretty crazy stuff, 485 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:31,600 Speaker 1: you know. 486 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:33,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. And I think that, you know, the 487 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 2: way balloons are used mostly today is for observing weather. 488 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 2: And then I think there was there was a remember 489 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 2: the Google Loon project. I love the name. Yeah, it 490 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,840 Speaker 2: was a way to deploy wireless Internet connectivity in rural 491 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 2: rural areas and it was literally like, you know, some 492 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 2: sort of broadcast device that was attached to a balloon 493 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 2: that could then hover over like these areas and they 494 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 2: could like get Wi Fi that way. 495 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: Man, I love blimps in balloon so much. I get 496 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 1: that there's silly. A few years ago, our pal Scott 497 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: Benjamin and I got really close to getting into a 498 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: good Year blimp. And the more I think about it, 499 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 1: you know, the only reason we don't have more blimps 500 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,720 Speaker 1: now is because someone would be a jerk and attack 501 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:19,720 Speaker 1: them or blow them up. 502 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 2: Why can't we have nice things? Why can't I have 503 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 2: a blimp? I know, I know, and I'll tell you this. 504 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 2: I tell you I would not want to ride in 505 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 2: a basket on a hot air balloon, but I'd be 506 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 2: totally cool with riding in a blimp and style. 507 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: Right. 508 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 2: It's just a bigger bask first class for me, baby, right. 509 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: Like in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Remember he 510 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: hops on an airship. 511 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 2: Oh yeah. Airships are so cool because they're so ominous 512 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,479 Speaker 2: and so slow moving and they have this kind of 513 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 2: like doom Bringer kind of quality to them, you know, 514 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 2: and they make me think of like sky Captain in 515 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 2: the World of Tomorrow, or that this kind of like 516 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 2: idea of like a weird steam punky kind of future, 517 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:57,719 Speaker 2: you know. 518 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 1: Angeline and Julie with an eyepatch. Oh yeah, eye patches 519 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: are so cool. 520 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 2: Her eyepatch didn't have a string though, it just kind 521 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 2: of like stuck there. 522 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was just the patch because of the future, 523 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 1: because of the because of the retro future. Well, no, 524 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: while I am while I'm candidly a little bit let down, 525 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: poor choice of words that you don't want to go 526 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: in a hot air balloon, I totally understand where you're 527 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 1: coming from. And I would ride in a blimp with you, 528 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 1: Casey Pegrim. Would you ride in a hot air balloon? 529 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,360 Speaker 1: You know, if I had a hot air balloon handy 530 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: and we could be like up and back down pretty soon, 531 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:33,440 Speaker 1: would you would you hop on? 532 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 2: I'll consider it. I'll consider it. What if there was 533 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 2: a guarantee that we would take you to the land 534 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 2: of oz Uh, I'll consider it. Okay, okay, by which 535 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 2: we mean Australia. 536 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: So let us know what you think, let us know 537 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: about your balloon experiences. Let us know if you would 538 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: be in a hot air balloon and you know, honestly, 539 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:58,960 Speaker 1: we just have to shoot our shot at some point. 540 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:01,880 Speaker 1: There's no harm in ask skiing. Do you have a blimp? 541 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: Do you have access to a blimp? Because we would 542 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,720 Speaker 1: love to hang out with you on your blimp. 543 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 2: That would be a pretty baller vehicle to own. Only 544 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 2: the elitist of the elite can own a blimp. 545 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,760 Speaker 1: It's such a it's such a toy, like unless it's 546 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: one of those high altitude surveillance platforms. It feels like 547 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: any private citizen who just says I want to blimp 548 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: is buying this billionaire's toy. 549 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 2: So I'm saying, if you have a blimp, you also 550 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 2: have to have like a hangar, a blimp sized hangar, 551 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 2: or some way to tether it to like the top 552 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 2: of your you know, skyscraper or whatever. It would be 553 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 2: so cool to be at a blimp. It would be 554 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 2: pretty cool. We did an episode on blimps on like 555 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 2: that was it was like made of pig skin or 556 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 2: something like that, or it was made of you know, 557 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 2: some organic material. And I believe there was a time 558 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 2: where they were infrastructure was being put in place to 559 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 2: like stow blimps and they were literally tethered to the 560 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 2: tops of buildings. Yes, that is correct, and they could 561 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 2: get into them that way like they would like lower 562 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 2: down ladders. I don't remember exactly how it worked. 563 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,240 Speaker 1: And if you want to learn more about airships, dirigibles, 564 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,880 Speaker 1: hot air balloons, and blimps, you can check out You 565 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 1: can check out some old car stuff episodes early in 566 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: our respective careers, so so do be kind, but yes, 567 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,560 Speaker 1: please let us know about your airship and balloon adventures. 568 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,040 Speaker 1: You can find us on our Facebook group Ridiculous Historians, 569 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: where you can meet our favorite part of the show, 570 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,600 Speaker 1: your fellow listeners. You can also find us on Twitter 571 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: and Instagram, either as our show or Dramatic Pause, as 572 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,080 Speaker 1: ourselves individually. 573 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 2: I am at embryonic insider, I. 574 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: Am at Ben Bolin. Also massive things as always to 575 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:43,040 Speaker 1: super producer Casey Pegrim. 576 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 2: As always big thanks to our research associate Gabe Lozier, 577 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 2: Alex Williams who composed our theme, our dear friend in 578 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 2: spirit here with us now, Christopher Hasiotis, and you Ben, 579 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 2: I'd like to thank you for just being such a 580 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 2: dapper young lad with a of gold and a fine 581 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:01,840 Speaker 2: head of hair. 582 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: Well, thank you, Nol. I appreciate that. And likewise to you, 583 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 1: you've got a killer hat on and I you know 584 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,759 Speaker 1: I've been admiring your gorilla hat for anyone who doesn't know. 585 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,800 Speaker 1: My friend here is a big fan of ball caps 586 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: and has quite a collection, and I gotta tell you, man, 587 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:21,880 Speaker 1: I appreciate that compliment because I'm feeling a little, a 588 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 1: little under the weather today. I'm kind of slumming it. 589 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: I'm wearing jeans. 590 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:27,760 Speaker 2: Oh, I can't see him because theyre underneath the table 591 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 2: from where I set. You look like a fine strapping 592 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 2: young lad. Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it. 593 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,880 Speaker 1: I wonder where the free strapping came from to describe 594 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:39,120 Speaker 1: someone as capable. 595 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 2: Story for another time, I think so. I think we 596 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 2: should explore it on another episode of Ridiculous History. We'll 597 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:54,799 Speaker 2: see you next time. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 598 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 599 00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:58,920 Speaker 2: your favorite shows.