temptourist

Before humans took to the skies in a balloon, France sent up a sheep, a duck and a rooster.

Fair enough.

The Montgolfier brothers had already demonstrated that heated air could lift a balloon. What nobody knew was whether putting a living passenger inside one was a particularly inspired next step or a very elaborate way to lose livestock.

THE PASSENGER LIST

So, at Versailles, in front of Louis XVI, the royal family and a large crowd, the next experiment was given a passenger list.

A sheep.
A duck.
A cockerel.

No upgrades were available.

The balloon itself was no small backyard experiment. Versailles records it as more than 18 metres tall, decorated in sky blue and gold with the king’s cypher, and weighing about 400 kilograms.

At 1 p.m., the animals were placed into a wicker basket beneath it. A cannon announced the proceedings. Eleven minutes later, another near Vaucresson.

Pilâtre de Rozier, who would soon become one of the first human balloonists, hurried to the landing site to inspect the passengers.

All three were alive.

That mattered.

The Versailles flight became the first balloon ascent carrying living creatures, an important test before anyone volunteered to climb into the basket themselves.

HUMANS TOOK THE HINT

Two months later, on 21 November 1783, Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, Marquis d’Arlandes, made the first free human balloon flight.

The sheep, duck and rooster had already completed the test run.

Versailles rewarded its unwilling aeronauts rather well. According to the palace, Louis XVI gave the animals a place in the royal menagerie.

Which, considering their afternoon had begun in a wicker basket beneath an experimental fire-powered aircraft, was probably a reasonable retirement package.