The ​‘True History’ of Flight

Welcome to the curiosity of a child

That's not right, no, I'm

She carry on.

Yep, Karen.

Episode 39

Oh 93.

Yeah, yeah.

One day it's been a busy few weeks so we apologise for being late for this episode, but we're not being lazy, heavy, Anton.

No, we were interviewed by a podcast magazine.

Yeah we were and we are in the June issue where you can.

Learn a little bit more about us, which I'm sure you will want to do. 'cause we're awesome.

That was also a special dads in podcasting, so I haven't seen it myself yet, and I'm hoping that I made it into the top 50 dads.

In podcasting.

What do you think? I'm Tom recommended?

Uh, if you yeah if you want.

I think you're not that good dad.

But you went one of your heroes, didn't you on time?

Ah yeah. Hiroko, Anthony Horowitz.

It's easy, he is a very, very well known author. He wrote the Alex Rider series. He's written some Sherlock Holmes.

Uhm, that's involves well, Yep, James Bond as well.

James Bonds as well now.

And Diamond Brothers detective agency. So ask him.

Yeah, so why did he meet him?

Because I won, I didn't went out. Unfortunately, I came second in a competition, which was the right stuff. Competition and I was very happy and he he was nice and he said he said it was nice meeting me as well.

Yeah, really cool. Yeah so well done, yeah.

Man, great story and hopefully we will be recording that as a special episode.

So listen to that after you listen to this.

We're also going to be guest on one of our favourite podcasts. It's a little while off, so I can't really say anything about it yet.

But I'm very excited and I'm hungry. Little hints to the what's going to happen, huh?

We've got even more exciting news. We are talking at intelligent speech and it's a fantastic online history podcasting conference with loads of big names.

And it's on 25th of June, and the lineup includes a trio of Rex Pods.

Rex factor pontifex.

Totalis rankean

There's also the eastern border.

The British history podcast.

1M black history.

Wonders of the world.

So some really big names and shows there, and there's gonna be way more people.

Than that, and for some reason there's also.

Us the courtesy of a child.

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But we're there.

So come and listen.

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Use promo code curiosity for 10% off when booking.

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Being a bit of a tough episode, this one to pull together. That's why we're late we've not had.

Much time to work on it.

But it's finally taken flight, which is fitting as at this time we are talking all about rising into the.

Air, well not by plane. The tales and stories and ideas that we are going to share.

Today may be true.

Or they may be false, but they fill the annals of history.

Their man's bold attempts to reach the heavens.

From the Greek goddess Europa, flying high on a bull to 17th century Rocketmen we cover it all.

We started in ancient Greece around the year 150 CE and the writer Lucian has just finished his work.

True history this writing is a piece of satire on other Greek literature, but it's also been described by many as one of the 1st works of science fiction.

In, at least in that mocks other Greek writers and stories. Any comments and how many of the greats Greek myths and they are taken as true when they're clearly not, so he writes, the most absurd story he can just take the PP out to them.

Just mocking them a little bit.

Exactly well grounded, he's actually stating that it's factual.

So I'm not actually going to have the whole.

Story as it's.

Quite long, but it's a fun starting point for the upstate. I thought so, Are you ready?

Yep, Lucian's true history it starts off with some sailors travelling beyond the pillars of Hercules, so they're leaving the Mediterranean and going out into the Atlantic because they want to discover what lies beyond the Great West station.

Now after a couple of days sailing, they come across an island and start to explore and on the island they discover a brazen pillar.

How it's been engraved with the Greek and on it is written thus far travelled Hercules and Bacchus as they travel further into the island. They hear the rushing of water.

And there's a river, but it's not of water, it's actually a river of war.

And some of the men they decide to.

Eat fish from these.

Fish, obviously very drunk ones because the men become.

Drunk from the fish tuna.

But Lucian and some of the other explorers they decide to follow it to its source rather than finding a spring or something that the.

Rivers going from they find an incredible number of vines, and they're covered by the largest Jesus grapes they've ever.

Seen, but do you know what is extra special about these wines?

They produce a wine river.

Now is something even more amazing than that.

Can't be.

Atop each one is the top half of a woman from the hip upwards, and these women were of.

Perfect proportion and their hair was leaves and from their fingers grew more grapes and it said that these women could. They could speak in many tongues so they could talk in Lydia and and.

Indian and in Greek. And when the explorers maybe still a little bit drunk.

From the river he decided to kiss from the ladies and he became very very very drunk and he wasn't himself for a long time afterwards or say they say they stayed in the island overnight and then sailed off into Carmensita the next morning until they were lifted into the air by a great whirlwind. They flew high in the sky or seven days.

The nights.

And then looking down from their vessel they could see land below them and they touched down on the moon. What exactly this is true history?

On the moon.

And this is true history.

And when they landed, they were met by the hippo, Gyptians.

And they are men who ride in the back of giant vultures, and then they were taken to the king. A man called ended me on.

Who just so happened to be?

Greek as well. Ah, he's several.

Years previously, he had actually been stranded on the moon himself, and for some reason the native people there adopted him as their king, which obviously Greek culture must be superior or something.

Obviously they invented the yoyo.

Did they?

I'm like 90% certain they invented the yoyo.

If this fact is wrong, please email hello at the cost of a child. Come and tell me so I can name and shame next episode. Thank you.

Oh yeah, yeah, there's going to be the dumb daddy. Maybe next episode of Mini segment about what everything that he's done wrong or the absolutely awful Anton for everything I've done wrong.

And was I?

OK yeah, so they were taken to the king of the moon and he was.

At war with the.

King of the Sun over setting up a colony on the Morningstar.

Because the king of the sun didn't want just the moon to set up a colony there, then Endymion, he asked Liceum if he and the fellow explorers would join him in battle. So they did.

As battle lines were drawn, there were 20,000 lacking doctors which are mighty foul, but with feathers made of leaves and their wings.

Look like lettuce leaves.

Nice and some of the soldiers they rode on fleas, which are as big as 12 elephants.

The Adam Idrone IANS.

He added, Romanians were some soldiers who could fly without feathers and instead they used a thrust of wind from their feet which would fill a sale and lift them into the air and there are great many other fantastical creatures and leading spiders of the size of islands in this battle.

I'm I'm not sure if the wind came from feet.

It went in the direction of their feet. I'm not sure if it is from their feet.

Pathian the sun king.

He also had a great many beasts, including winged hipper mimics, which measured 2 acres inside for about.

8000 metres across.

That's nothing so.

Imagine trying to mount one of.

Those you can be walking for.

An hour just to get to your saddle.

The tiny shadow in the middle, yeah?

There are also 50,000 arrow commutes which were Archers riding on the back.

Of giant mats.

Now battle was entered and the men of the million pushed back their use of the sun, and much blood was spilled in the clouds, turned red like those of a sunset.

And victory was had, and monuments were erected, Hurray.

Ooh yeah.

Oh well, what's that against the Suns reserves? Flying horses with the.

Upper body of a man.

They thundered down and smashed them means celebrating forces claiming victory for the sun.

The story goes on like that for a good while, but this battle is over, but they go on many, many more adventures as they fly their boats to other realms and get swallowed by an enormous whale and fight giants and all sorts of other things.

Isn't that whale from Pinocchio?

It's similar, isn't it? Yeah and.

What's the one in the Bible where they get swallowed by a whale?

I'm not sure. Haven't read the Bible person though.

I can't remember.

Anyway, so that's not exactly topical to our episode, but I mentioned flying so I liked it.

So flying is something that's always captured the imagination, but the idea of actually flying for a long time we've seen as absurd or impossible for us today in at Lucian story, where he's mocking those fake truths flight, whether it's on beasts or US aiding base in the air. It's a large part of what makes this story say farcical.

Isn't it?

For him being able to fly is just as ludicrous as catapults witchling turnips, which course Weems that smell so bad you die.

This is another one of the weapons, but throughout history, pioneers have explored flight and pushed the limits, and in many ways being just as ludicrous as the true stories written by Lucy and say, shall we explore some of these together?

Let's go.

But what if you?

Really wanted to travel to the moon on time. What would you need?

Uhm, I mean is that a rock?

A rocket you say? So when did we first land on the moon?

1960

996 nine yeah.

Well done.

Oh, I got it right, yeah.

OK, I hate this right now. Who was the 1st man in space on Tom?

Uh, I know that it was a Russian dude, but I can't remember his name.

I I don't know.

Yeah, Eureka garon.

And that was in 1961 aboard the Vostok 1.

So it's recent, isn't it? Not exactly 150 CE?

But there was an earlier attempt at rocketry, and this was in 1633, but I don't think he quite made it into space.

Well, there's a lot earlier.

Yeah, and this is the story of a man called Lager in Hassan Celebri and he was a 17th century rocket builder.

And there is some debate over.

Whether this story is true or not.

He flipped it place in Istanbul, which was the capital of the Ottoman Empire and it was to celebrate the birth of suit him around the 4th daughter.

And it was obviously a day of massive celebration, and the air was already full with fireworks, but something extra spectacular was needed, wasn't it?

Leguin was the man to supply it. He had built a rocket, and it was said to have seven wings.

But a rocket also needs.

A lot of thrust doesn't.

It the blast that would lift our brave adventurer into the air with compared to see or 65 kilogrammes of gunpowder, so it doesn't seem to be safe.

Is that?

For this it was quite tricky to find any goods like English research, so I had to do a little bit of Turkish translation, so might not be the best for this quote here.

Yeah, this is using Google translates. He mounted the cartridge in the presence of this autumn. His apprentices lit the fuse Larrigan said my Sultan. I am going to talk to the Prophet Jesus.

And off he flew.

Tie into the air, arching awkwords above the city blocks and out over the Bosphorus.

I was the versions made by scholars measured that he travelled about 300 metres and that his flight was powered for 20 seconds.

But his gunpowder cartridges were spent and say he began to descend.

But on his arms he wore larger wings, and they allowed him to glide and gently splash down into the waters. And then he swam back ashore, breaching land. He proclaimed, oh Sultan. Jesus sends his regards to you.

And for his stunt, he was richly rewarded with silver.

And he must have also been seen as a bit of a hero and a pioneer in his day, I'd imagine.

However, this fame didn't last forever and he would later be exiled by the Sultan.

What do you do wrong?

I don't know.

And like I said, I don't know how much of this story is true. Basically, everything that I could find was just a regurgitation of the Wikipedia article other than what I translated from the Greek source from the Turkish sources.

But imagine if we had actually developed rockets in flight 300 years earlier than we did.

Hey, here's a couple of pictures which are having.

The same notes go.

Must must come just a giant rocket flying out the side.

Uh, and another great one here.

That doesn't look very safe, specially with all those boats around there.

Mabel, there's actually a Turkish film.

And I've got a clip from it here for you.

So what just happened to him?

So he had just gone into the air like launched, and then I called for seconds later it just exploded like a firework, yeah?

I'm not sure that's how it really happened. Had anybody survived that?

Leguin, however he might not have actually been the first rocket man from Turkey, because there was a 3000 year old artefact discovered in 1973 that was crafted by the mysterious.

Aratu civilization and it was said by some people to depict a space rocket. So what do you think?

I'm not entirely sure.

About that just looks like a gnome garden gnome.

It does actually, doesn't it? Yeah, with a little hammer on or something and it it actually reminds me of the Mayan astronaut.

It's some people say is a spaceman for these are kafkas of jab cow. I think that's how you pronounce my and.

Yes, even if the stories that we've told aren't.

True and there are countless other ones which helped popularise the idea of flight, as did the works of Jules Vern, one of his fans was a certain Brazilian aviator, wasn't Anton.

One of the early pioneers of both lighter than air and heavier than air flight was the Brazilian inventor and air or not Alberto Santo Domingo.

His dad was of French descent and Alberto would spend time in both Brazil and France during his life.

The family owned one of the large Brazilian coffee plantations which was sold for millions when Santo Damours father died. One of his final wishes that his son should follow his dreams.

As a young boy, he had a curiosity of a child and fell in love with engineering but also loved speed and adventure when he was seven, he drove the family farms locomotives.

Yeah, I like the name drop there and it must be quite a big.

Farm we've got locomotives.

I guess they were used to move the coffee beans and things around.

I lifted free life there, which was indispensable to form my temperament and taste for adventure since childhood. I had a great love of mechanical things and like all those who have or think they have a vacation. I cultivated mine with care and passion I I always played at imagining and building little.

Mechanical devices which entertained me and earned me high regard in the family.

My greatest joy was taking care of father mechanical installations. That was my department, which made me very proud.

That was a quote from Santa Demo.

Aged 15, he watched as an aeronaut parachuted from a balloon and the stories of Drew Verne lit his imagination.

With Captain Nemo and his shipwrecked guests, I explored the depths of the sea in that first of all submarines, the Nautilus.

With Phineas Fogg, I went round the world in 80 days.

Screw Island and the Steam house. My boyish face leaped out to welcome the ultimate triumphs of an auto mobilism that in those days had not yet a name. With Hector Servadac, I navigated the air.

Yes, he can see he's getting inspiration there from the stories isn't me.

Using his engineering skills, he started building kites and model planes that were powered by Twisted Rubber Springs was quite clever.

Yeah, yeah, it's proper engineer. He didn't have any formal training in engineering. There he just managed to pick it up.

Himself, it's cool.

The happiest days of my life was when I exercised myself making aeroplanes with bits of straw raised by screw propellers and driven by springs of twisted rubber or ephemeral silk paper balloons.

But the memory of watching the aeronaut must have remained. He wanted to fly to in 1898. He made his first ascent in a balloon, but as a keen motor racer, I think it was probably too slow for him. He started building airships, attaching combustion engines and using the engineering skills.

And knowledge to improve the design.

Not all of his early designs worked, and he had some accidents.

Yeah, can you remember any of those accidents?

I think one of them he was flying.

In a sort of balloon thing, and halfway through his flight, the balloon folded in half, and then he started to fall.

I think I'll get carried away by the wind. I can't remember exactly, but there he was over like a park and a few boys who were flying kites.

Uhm, held some ropes and captain.

Yeah, there was to catch him and stopped him. Kind of drifting away and crashing into the ground. That's right.

And another time he he flashed into a hotel and exploded in that big fireball because they were full of hydrogen and he mostly survive unscathed. They and they loved it and these papers and everything. But yeah, nobody hurt.

I believe.

Yeah, I never know.

But yeah, at the time the papers love to kind of this spectacle in Paris. So he was in Paris then, and he's becoming one of the most famous men in the city.

And he kept on going and going as well. And everybody everybody loved him 'cause he was doing these things just.

Like in the public.

Exactly, yeah, yeah. OK, so I've got a quote for one.

Of his accidents here.

The descent was at a speed of four to five metres. In second, it would have been fatal if I hadn't had the presence of mind to tell the passerbys to pull the cable in the opposite direction to the wind.

Thanks to this manoeuvre, the speed of the full decreased thrust, avoiding the greater violence of the shock I thrust varied my amusement. I went up in a balloon.

And came down in the kite.

It's funny he is yeah.

Real kind of charismatic character as well. So here's Liberty Journal and it's the cover here which shows his wrecked dirigible that was the one that hit the.

Hotel I.

Think looks like it.

Alberto Santo demos flying machine must have become a.

Regular sight around Paris. In 1901, he flew around the Eiffel Tower in an airship.

He'd publicly tested each need his island and soon became one of the most famous people.

In the vote.

Like I mentioned earlier.

In this city.

In this city, not in the box. That's a massive typo by me.

But yes, what I was thinking is that is that some sort of part of I know, Paris.

Oh, maybe it won't.

I can't remember now I'm sure I got that from somewhere.

Actually OK, OK, Well we'll leave that bit in.

Right?

Yeah, that's.

That's going to have to endure dumb Daddy.

Yeah, I didn't figure that typing.

No wow OK.

OK, please continue.

I think.

Over the next few years he started to design and fly aeroplanes and was one of the key pioneers.

Of early flight.

23rd of October 1906. His 14 bis made the first powered heavier than air flights in Europe.

To be certified by Arrow, Club de France and Federation.

Can we have that in French, please?

We will.

By Darrell club difference.

And the.

Federation Aeronautique Internationale.

Wow, wow.

I have some images of his aircraft in the show notes.

He looks like he's flying backwards in that.

One I was right to say that there's the odd design the early planes had what we would now think of the tail.

At sticking out the front, I've just seen that, or something else.

Maybe maybe so you will cheque.

OK, the tide of a young boy.

He saw air travel as the future so freely published his designs for all to use.

That's right, and he's not actually that well known today. Unfortunately not as well as he should be known. Yeah, for him flight would be something utopian and would help free people.

Oh yeah, if you ask a Brazilian person though, that there.

Almost guaranteed tonight because in Brazil the argument is that he I think it was this that he invented flight.

Yeah, heavier than air flight. They they say that it wasn't the Wright brothers, but it was. Yeah, Alberto Santos stumon. He was the first to fly heavier than air.

We listen to a good podcast called our Fake History and Switch.

It's good, 3 parter.

Yeah, it's very good. So cheque cheque him out.

Thank you very much. I'm Tom that is very interesting and I'm going to stick with France and also balloon flights. But let's have some horses into the mix and maybe some bulls as well.

As in me meubles not footballs.

It's the 1850s and believing is all the.

Rage, but also.

A little commonplace, so something new is needed.

Something with some.

New Edge and something more entertaining, so enter measure and Madame Buddha van.

Now the surname border van is actually related to our own Anton, so maybe somewhere in the past we share an ancestor with this couple.

Santan do you know how your great, great great great great granduncle 15 times removed mature padavan took the ballooning world by storm.

Are you mentioning something about horses? So did he.

Oh, he invented the Pegasus.

Well, he wanted to Vegas. I think he's here is a poster.

And he would actually ride a horse beneath a hot air balloon.

That's that too crazy. Circus act.

Yes, and they've actually suspend the horses directly below the balloon on cables or wires, so they weren't.

In a basket or.

Anything and 10s of thousands of people would come and spectate at the Paris Hippodrome where they would put arm flights every Thursday and Sunday.

And they became so famous that they started being known all around the world. And I've got an article here from the Sacramento transcript dated 11th of September 1850 and it reads.

Extraordinary Blue moon ascension.

The past papers are filled with accounts of an extraordinary balloon ascent which took place from camp to Mars recently.

The great attraction of the affair was the aeronaut Emma Padavan. Instead of using a car, made his ascent mounted on the back of a White Horse.

The animal which was blindfolded appeared in the camp to Mars, saddled and bridled after having been slung by ropes to the balloon, and was mounted by Mucho Pedo van, who at once gave the order to let go, and off went the.

Balloon with its.

Extraordinary freight and with loud exclamations, Mr Bond even descended about 8.

Leaks in the Northeast, le direction and rode back on his aeronautic charger last night to Paris. Horse and rider were about an hour in accomplishing their balloon journey. Half of Paris was present on the occasion.

That's good.

They're not sure it was actually half of.

Paris, but.

Yeah, pretty big spectacle there.

There were people though, who denounced the performances as cruel to the.

Horses, they were blindfolded, it's fine and they didn't know what was going on. So if you don't.

Know what's going on, yeah.

Whatever that's OK is that, yeah, OK.

And well, they they really overstepped the mark two years later, in August 1852.

Now Anton, I want you to look closely at this paster in a minute which we have in the show notes.

And tell me what has changed about this act in Cremorne Gardens in London.

Ah, it's a bull and that looks more like a woman as well.

It does look like a woman who needs to.

Do her top work properly.

That's right, instead of riding on a horse, they decided to ride on a bull this time.

Do you think that bulls make a better aeronaut than a horse?

Well, they're I think they're a bit heavier, maybe, but they'll be really angry, so they'll sort of be.

Staring the balloon on by trying to charge at something or other, I don't know.

But on I'm.

I have to say horses are better.

OK, well if you want to know a little bit more about horses versus oxen, listen to.

Our episode on that.

Oxen episode, it's like 20.

6 isn't thing I can't remember, just cheque all of them listen to all of them. They even bothered to read the.

Adam nowadays.

That's right.

Sides was actually just.

So as I said, this flight took place in London, so I don't.

Know if they.

Actually flew the ball waving this channel or not and the.

Pay stub pitches. Madam puddifoot.

Sitting sidesaddle on the back of a bull with Roger large horns and she's actually dressed as the Greek goddess Europa, which which constantly thinks named after the Greek goddess Europa.

Amilly dragon.

Africa, oh.

You're right.

Well done that time lucky.

And only Delta flight she took off from Cremorne Gardens and drifted eastwards, eventually landing in a field in Ilford. So do you think that any of the animals ever pooed and spectators as they were flying over?

I mean, I'd like to think so.

Yeah, yeah, it's quite dangerous I reckon, and they witness was reported saying when she landed.

Astonished at seeing a bull full from a balloon, it's not a thing.

That you see every.

Day in ethics I.

And the poor bull were so terrified by its flight that it was slaughtered.

Oh, did it have traumatic experience then?

I think it did. Yeah poor.

Thing that must be quite expensive. Bull though like Flying Bull because so that's that.

Oh, you mean if you yeah, if you get a steak for or something? Yeah, very special and exclusive. Most aerated meat.

So Madam Poitevin and Mr Simpson, who's the proprietor of Cremorne Gardens. They both pleaded guilty to the ill, using an ill treating of a heifer. And they were both fined £5.

And they agreed not to fly anymore. Animals.

Although this didn't really seem to stop.

Uhm, Madame podevin

And according to Wikipedia, in 1894 she finished her career by landing a horse in a rooftop in Copenhagen.

And I presume she flew there on the horse from Paris, and it says, just age 55, but those dates didn't really add up, but I can't find any other reports to verify the dates exactly. We see we were certainly much older than that.

It's really 200 year old ends career.

Was flying a horse.

Hey, that's the secret of youth.

Soundtown how did he make ballooning with a horse?

Horrible, less cruel to the animals.

I've got two ideas. One of them is fairly simple. Just leave them on the ground and jump over them.

And the second one is kill the bull or horse and then ride it.

I don't think that's less cruel.

Uhm, you're.

But we don't know what's happening, so it's fine.

Oh, that reminds me actually of a birthday centres demant. It was said that he wouldn't pass up a good meal. So even when he was flying high in his balloons he would have.

Like fine dining there, so maybe he actually pioneered what you're saying. Speak flying steak exactly, yeah?

Flying state.

But I thought leaving.

Them on the ground and jump over them is a good idea, but how would you do that?

With balloon jumping.

In the 1920s, this was the next big thing in travel. Everyone would be strapped to their own personal balloon and bound about are like they're on the moon.

That's actually precisely the way I get to work each day.

Yeah, yeah.

The April 1923 issue of Popular Science wrote how would you like to own your own hand power jitney balloon to spend your Saturday afternoons joyriding in the sky up 1000 feet or so, swinging beneath the ground belly or a small?

Gas filled bag and travelling anywhere you can juice the playful breezes to take you.

So Anton, how would you like to spend your Saturday afternoons joyriding up in the sky 1000 feet? Or say swinging below a small gas filled bag?

And maybe jumping over a river or some.

Yeah, you don't think it'll be a bit terrifying. OK, fine, OK, fine.

No, no can it be fun.

The jumping balloon was developed by the United States Army as a way to reach high enough to service and repair airships, but soon it wasn't just the army who were excited by the idea as.

Reported in the 19th of July, 1927 edition of the Joplin News Herald.

How helpful this sort of thing would be. We could strip the spring Cherry Tree without endangering our legs. We could dispense the elevators and enter our offices on the third or fourth floors by merely coming up to the window and crawling in.

We could do 1001 things easily that we now do with difficulty.

I think it's probably fixing one of the big issues with being a person, and that's having to walk and use our legs, please.

You get stronger legs from jumping.

The article makes it sound really easy to control. Was that the?

Case No.

Do you think jumping Val with a giant balloon tide to her back would be easy?

I know I said I'd find it fun, but.

It was described as frequently lethal. In 1927, Royal Air Force parachutist, brainy Dobbs, was demonstrating balloon hopping at Staglin Aerodome in north London.

Does he live up to his name?

Though he did go quite high up.

In the air.

His lips were taking him closer to a power line and captain black accord up to him.

For God's sake, take care. Those are live wires.

He replied, our ryskamp moments later, his feat became entangled in the wires. When he reached down to free himself, he exploded into the flower of sparks and fell to the ground, dying instantly.

Oh, that's nasty.

Bring your partner.

Yeah, yeah yeah, I guess he got out for something else.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I Bertie centred him on. He had envisaged people owning personal balloons like this.

And his first balloon, actually that he designed was called the Brazil, and it was much smaller than previous designs by other people and was so small, in fact, that he could fit it in his luggage.

So you'd think, wouldn't you? Anton? That now that we've mastered flight and we've got countless people travelling the globe every day on aircraft that the days of the personal balloon would be passed, wouldn't you?

Probably yeah.

To buy a private jet instead.

Are you sure?

You've made me on shore.

Now, can you read this headline, please?

Oh man floats 193 miles using chair and balloons. Last weekend. Kent Couch chair.

Settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks and a parachute attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.

Now this reminds me of the Mythbusters exercise where they tried to float and they.

They didn't manage, but.

This man clearly succeeded, yes.

Probably just left the snacks on the chair. They said he brought some snacks for. Not sure if he was flying himself.

Oh, he definitely was. And yeah, he said in the article when he's interviewed when you're a little kid and you're holding a helium balloon.

It has to cross your mind.

Yeah, could we flight away and this wasn't his first flight hit flame before.

And he's not the only price and attempt, which in 1982 Larry Walters attached helium filled weather balloons to a chair as well. And he proceeded to rise only 5000 metres into the sky, and he was spotted by airline pilots.

Imagine flying somewhere looking out the window and seeing a man feeding part in a chair and a bunch of balloons.

And unfortunately, Larry Walters he drifted into the airspace of a Long Beach Airport and so he needed to descend. Please get out the airspace and not be sucked into an aircraft engine.

So he had a pellet gun with him and he used that to shoot several of the billions, but he then he then he dropped his pellet gun.

Oh no.

Luckily it shot enough of them to start descending.

And then he became tangled in power lines. And of course the electrical blackout. But unlike brainy dubs, he survived.

So that's the end of our ballooning. But there's so many stories of people throughout history doing really crazy things in the air, and one the books that I used in my research.

It's called Fox starting, Octopus, Wrestling and other forgotten sports, and it covers several more of these crazy air base.

Sports and also many more down to Earth but not actually down to Earth sports. And it's great book and well worth a read.

Now, Anthony said last episode that you really enjoyed the part where I sum everything up and pulled together the different ideas.

And I'm now feeling immense pressure and I didn't really have any big idea for this episode because I was just looking through various things that I'd jotted down in my notes in the past and.

Threw them together and but hey guys.

It seems throughout history we've wanted to take to the air what was once viewed as absurd, impossible, and improbable is today possible.

But that hasn't stopped individuals continually pushing the limits with no real concern for their mortal fragility.

Leeson rate his true history as a piece of satire to mock other writers, but be careful what you commit to the page, as you might give readers real ideas.

As humans will try anything, even if it means we're only gets.

To it once.

But how far removed are the crazy aeronauts from The Pioneers like Alberto Santo Dammann?

He combine that slightly insane edge with vision and discipline and to drive us forward. As they say there's a fine line.

Between genius and insanity.

So how is that for a summing up?

Very good, very good.

Thank you and do you want to go summarising it now?

Summarising the whole episode.

Yeah, I think this could be a good feature each time where it would have it same Jingle like.

Right?

John Silver promises.

We talked about balloons.

I don't just want a description, I want a deep understanding.

Deep understanding.

Can you scroll up with it?

Please that crack was my name.

Alright you ready OK.

But how far removed are these crazy aeronauts from The Pioneers like Alberto Santo Domingo, who combined that slightly insane edge with the vision and discipline and who drive us forwards? As they say, the line between genius and insanity is a fine one.

How did you record that first time it took me 4 takes, but well done. I agree with every.

Word yeah, it's not like your.

Race or anything?

No, no, anyway that's the end of this feature I hate.

You had a little bit of insight into our aeronautical pioneers at the past. Did you enjoy Anton?

I liked it. I think it was quite good and I actually got to do a couple of segments as well you.

Did just nice. I think for your birthday we might get your balloon.

Birthday yeah sounds good.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh wait.

When safely.

We're going to have to record in the balloon sometime.

Yeah, we could record up high above our lab on our Fortress island.

But you could do a skydiving.

Mission sounds like a good.

Idea to.

Me yeah, as I said at the start, we are talking at the Intelligent Speech Conference.

And we're gonna be telling the story of how.

22 orphans were infected with smallpox and sent across the Atlantic, and we've got our little trailer here now. Telling you more about it.

Ben, we're on someone else's podcast. Let's not intrude too much. You've got 30 seconds to tell this wonderful listenership about the conference shoot.

Claire off go on.

Ah, Daddy, of course the line.

There well I just scared them away, nothing more.

Thank you.

This is our podcast after all.

Yeah, but they invited us to speak at their conference. Going to get us kicked.

Off the list.

Ah yeah, I'm sorry. And then come back.

They've gone daddy.

I guess we.

Gotta tell our listeners ourselves about the conference then.

We are very excited to announce that we will be participating in the 2022 Intelligent Speech Conference if they're still having us.

Of course, the theme this year is crossings.

That's right, that could be crossing time. Watching places, crossing cultures, crossing boundaries.

Or crossing lines and getting us crossed off the lists you go to that.

One look, Anton, I said I'm sorry and I've already been preparing a presentation.

Speech takes place on the 25th of June at 10:00 AM Eastern Time, so that's an early start for you, American listeners.

And over here I think.

It's 4:00 o'clock in the.

Afternoon over here is the UK by the way.

So we left in New York then.

Not quite Anton, it's online, but that's because they have speakers from all over the world and they'll be.

Giving about 40 ish.

Talks and also have some roundtable discussions on various topics.

There's a great selection of people, including some of our broadcast friends, and also some much bigger shows than.

Us but you you told?

Me, we're doing #1 show in the world.

I lied.

Well, don't worry mate because there's some kids have been in a much worse position than you.

Because we will be telling the story of how 22 orphans are put on the ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the New world.

Oh, and they were deliberately infected with cowpox, and you say I brush.

Lines ah, that's OK then.

As a listener, you even get the opportunity to ask us some questions.

For example, do we like Marmite?

You can find out more at intelligentspeechconference.com.

That's right, and it's also the place you can go to buy tickets. They cost $30, but if you act quickly you can take advantage of the 20.

Dollar early bird

Pricing and better yet as one of our lovely, wonderful and highly diligent listeners.

We have a promo code for you.

Get you a further 10% off.

Enter curiosity at checkout to get the.

And how do you spell curiosty Anton?

CURIOSTY

That's right, so please visit intelligentspeechconference.com as a one word and get your tickets to listen to some of the finest podcasters.

And us apparently.

Talking about topics not just from history but also very relevant to matters today.

I'm done. Are you excited?

Sounds pretty cool. Well, I'm a little bit nervous 'cause I I do think he got us kicked off the list.

I probably did. Actually I better go find the organisers and say sorry.

Guys guys come back then.

Second, you can find out more at intelligentspeechconference.com.

So we can't wait for that. It should be.

Really good since Anton we've got.

19 days to prepare.

I am very excited.

I need to get.

Writing, I think it's going to be fun.

Yeah so please please please come and listen to us and all the other fabulous podcasters who can be talking on the day and like hand said, if you buy a ticket you get to listen to all of the recordings. So if you miss one of your favourites because another one of your favourites and then.

Is talking at the same time. Then you can still listen to all of us, which is really good.

And anyway, where can you find?

US on at carry child part on.

At carry Child pod on.

And that carry child part on.

What's our website?

What's our website?

Uhm, the crossover child.

Com That's right. And if you add a shop to the.

Start of that, so shop the crossover child calm and where awesome hoodies and T shirts and a nice mug.

Baby praise bugs. Yeah, also you can buy amazing.

Candice, which would be modelling during our intelligent speech.

Talk and we thought.

But that, but that's not all, because I have a gaming channel don't.

I you do.

It's going very well at the moment at Tower of according it's got about 210 subscribers.

You had a new comment yesterday. I'm not sure you've seen it here.

Do that. Oh no, I don't see that.

He shot out.

Another request that's good.

And I've got thousands of views as well now.

Anyway, I think that's the end of the.

Show that is in the show. Thank you very much everyone. I hope you enjoyed it.

Sorry, we were a bit late and that this was a terribly unplanned ever stayed at times, but goodbye and goodnight.

All morning.

I mean, I don't know anyway see you bye.

And I'm hoping that I made it into the top 50 dads in podcasting. What do you think Anton direction I did?

If you, if yeah, if you want.

I think you're not that good dad.