Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Greetings Infomaniacs,

It's the laws of physics. You heat air and it expands. But what you can do with this simple physical principle is magic.

Enjoy!

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

HINT: (1452-1519), was an Italian polymath. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, astronomer, cartographer, botanist, historian and writer.

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RANDOM TIDBITS
In 1783, the first hot air balloon was set to fly over Versailles, and a rooster, a duck and a sheep were the first hot air balloon passengers. The balloon flew on a tether for 8 minutes, rising 1500 feet into the air and traveling 2 miles before being brought safely to the ground. The animals were unharmed.

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Scientist Jean-Francois Pilatre De Rozier and aristocrat Francois Laurent d'Arlandes were chosen to fly the first hot air balloon flight. On November 21, 1783, the men flew for 20 minutes, becoming the first people to experience sustained flight.

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Two years later, Rozier decided to break another record by crossing the English Channel in a new kind of balloon, one that was half hot air, half hydrogen. Sadly, 30 minutes after taking off, the balloon exploded. Rozier and his co-pilot were killed, giving him an unfortunate new record: the first person to fly in a balloon, and the first person to die in one.

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As hot air balloons became a fad, French aristocracy soon learned that local farmers didn't much like rich people setting balloons down on their land. The aristocracy said the peasants were afraid because they thought the balloons looked like dragons, but it seems more likely that the farmers didn't want hot air balloons crushing their crops. In any case, champagne smoothed things over, and a tradition was born.

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Established by Abraham Lincoln, the Balloon Corps had seven balloons, at least 12 gas generators, and a flat-top balloon barge that used to be an old steamboat. The balloons were used to spy on enemy movement from as far as 15 miles away. Not to be outdone, the Confederates made their own balloon-out of fine dress silk-that was eventually captured by the Union army. The Balloon Corps disbanded in 1863.

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Some believe the Nazca lines were made with hot air balloons. This theory was put forth in the 1970s by Jim Woodman, who said that ancient Peruvians drew the giant figures in the Nazca desert with the help of hot air balloons. Woodman referenced ancient pottery that he thought depicted ballooning, as well as fabric fragments that could have been used as a balloon's envelope.




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*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
One strand dangles.
Two strands twist.
Three or more can
fashion this.

Submit your answer by clicking: TheDailyTease

Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck! If your name appears in Friday's newsletter, EMAIL MICHELE your complete name and address to be shipped your prize.

Be sure to put "Winner" in the subject line.

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

ANSWER: Leonardo da Vinci.