Jack Hitt

Thaddeus Sobieski Kuhlenkort Lowe.

That was his full name.

His parents gave him names they pulled out of obscure novels.

This is author and journalist Jack Hitt.

Thaddeus Lowe was one of these sort of huckster promoters, not quite a con man, part carnival barker, part inventor, part scientist.

He had long flowing hair and that sort of mustachio that was popular in that time.

He also had what was then called a chin puff.

So he had that sort of wizardy look, right?

The look of a great eccentric man of science of that time.

We called it a hot air balloon, but at the time it was also known as a gas bag.

I think every new technology enters that sort of liminal period where it's either a novelty gimmick.

It's going to become silly putty or it's going to become the computer.

And the balloon at this time was sort of in that strange sort of twilight space.

It was seen as both like sort of magical and mystical.

I mean, we have always wanted to escape Earth's clutches.

And the balloon was the first actual real practical way that we could do it.

But it was also seen as incredibly dangerous and people did float away on these things and nobody ever heard from them again.

And remember, this is hydrogen gas.

This is the Hindenburg.

You know, we have this really clean, lovely floating image of a hot air balloon.