Jack Hitt

And one reason maybe why we should fill them gas bags is because these were really the beta models of the modern hot air balloon.

You know, the very balloon smelled like it came out of the pits of hell.

But Thaddeus Lowe knew what the real purpose would be.

He wanted to invent an overnight mail carrier service, sort of the FedEx of 1861.

Wow.

And he believed, as did others, that up in the upper atmosphere, there was supposed to be this consistent west to east wind.

This is not necessarily even close to true, but it was the theory at the time.

Cincinnati became sort of the balloon beginning center.

I mean, a lot of balloonists would come there and try out their balloons.

The Cincinnati Gazette actually had hired a Mr. J.C.

Bellman as their first official, quote, balloon editor.

There were several days of festivities, like Lowe gave an address at the opera house, and there were parties and so on.

But finally, this big night comes.

He shows up in classic sort of American style.

He's in a stovepipe hat, the kind of Lincoln wore.

He's in a broadcloth coat, which we would recognize it as like tuxedo tails.

And late toward the end of the evening, his assistants come in and say, the winds are moving east.

It's time to go.

So he gets in there with like, you know, bottles of water and food and brand new wet inky copies of the Cincinnati paper so that when he arrives, he can prove that he was in Cincinnati that morning.

Yeah.