A story by my brother Dave from a book he published with his friend Alex Then of wheels and battens without teeth. On September 19th, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers, Jaçques Etienne and Joseph Michel, sent a sheep, a duck and a chicken on an eight-minute hot air balloon flight over France. They were the first passengers ever to travel by balloon. The event was witnessed by King Louis XVI. Nearly two months later, on November 21st, the first manned flight took place. In a paper and silk balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers, Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis François-Laurent d'Arlandes, coasted five hundred feet above the rooftops of Paris and landed, over six miles away, in the vineyards outside the city. They celebrated with champagne.* In 1808, amidst the ballooning craze which had by now swept all of France, a dispute arose between M. de Grandpre and M. le Pique over a certain Mademoiselle Tirevit, a lady engaged at the Imperial Opera. A duel was agreed upon for May 3rd, three months from the day of their argument, so that the heat of their impassioned anger could cool, and they would be able to face each other like gentlemen. It was decided the duel should take place in the air. Two balloons were constructed exactly alike. Each man chose his second, as witness to the event, who would ride in the car with him. Blunderbuss guns were issued, as the intention was not to aim at the other person, but rather to bring down the other’s balloon by popping the fabric that held them in the sky. To the winner would be granted the smiles of Mademoiselle Tirevit They met at the Tuileries Gardens on the decided day. The balloons were placed eighty yards apart. The calm wind that day would assure that they would remain relatively the same distance from each other during the entire duel. Each man entered his car with his second. The ropes were loosened, and the crowd that had gathered backed away in order to get a better view. At a height of roughly eight hundred feet a signal was given. M. le Pique drew first and fired a round. The shot missed M. de Grandpre’s balloon, and he returned fire in kind. This shot, however, found its mark and a large hole was torn in M. le Pique’s balloon. To everyone’s horror, the gas escaped far more quickly than had been anticipated, and M. de Grandpre nearly tipped out of his basket as he watched his fellow aeronaut’s contraption plummet to the Earth at great speed. M. le Pique and his second were dashed to pieces, like gentlemen, on the rooftop of a small farmhouse seven leagues outside of Paris. Smiles, it is believed, were bestowed. * Pilâtre would later die in an attempt to cross the English Channel when his hydrogen powered balloon burst into flame. This story is from the book you will first speak of poles. which can be bought here. Main Stories Pictures A picture An essay on a story A story by my brother Dave from a book he published with his friend Alex Contact Links