Interesting facts about hot air balloons

I found an article containing 10 strange facts about hot air balloons. Some of the ones that particularly piqued my interest were:

• ·      CHAMPAGNE AFTER FLIGHT ORIGINATED TO APPEASE FARMERS
• ·      THERE WAS EVEN A BALLOON DUEL.
• ·      SMOKE BALLOONS WERE CRAZY CARNIVAL ATTRACTIONS

So…champagne after hot air balloon flights? I didn’t know that was even a tradition. Supposedly this idea came about in the balloonists’ attempts to appease the angry farmers whose crops they had just destroyed. I’m not sure how I feel about this peace treaty. I doubt I would be so easily quelled after having my livelihood squashed in a careless landing. That would have to be some quality champagne.

Now about the balloon duel; in classic fashion, this duel began as a fight over a lady. Her name was Mademoiselle Tirevit and legend has it that in 1808 she inspired two Frenchmen to take to the skies in an effort to win her hand. One competitor plummeted to his death after a bullet punctured his balloon. The victor took Mademoiselle Tirevit.

Finally, as part of carnival attractions in the 1800’s stuntmen (and women) were strapped to a parachute and harnessed to a basket-less balloon. The balloon would rise into the air and at the appropriate height the stuntmen would release their ties to the balloon. The crowd would cheer as they sailed to the ground with the aid of their parachutes. There was video embedded in the article of this actually happening, and it looks terrifying.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52180/10-strange-facts-about-hot-air-balloons