Reader\'s Digest AU NZ 03.2020

13 THINGS

1

IN 1783,FrenchbrothersJoseph-

MichelandJacques-Etienne

Montgolfierlaunchedanunmanned

225-kilogramballoonthatstayed

aloft forabouttenminutes.

King LouisXVIsoonwanteda

demonstration.SotheMontgolfiers

sent upa sheep,a duckanda

roosterastheking,thequeen(Marie

Antoinette)and130,000otherpeople

witnessedthehistoricflightover

Versailles.Theanimalslandedsafely.

2

FRANCEBECAMEtheepicentre
of ballooning,andAmericansin
Paris, includingstatesmenBenjamin
Franklin,JohnAdamsandJohn
Jay, jumpedonthebandwagon.
“Travellersmayhereafterliterally
pass fromcountrytocountryonthe
ILLUSTRATION: SERGE BLOCHwings ofthewind,”wroteJay,who

Soaring

Facts About

Hot-Air

Balloons

BY Jen McCaffery

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