The History of Scientific Ballooning.

A repost from alexahalford.weebly.com

This is a relatively old Science Friday, but I found it while researching scientific ballooning for a lecture I gave a while ago. It's an interview with Richard Holmes about his book, Falling Upwards: How we took to the air. It's a great book, and I'd also suggest checking out his other books. In there, Richard has fantastic stories about the popularity of ballooning and balloon exhibitions, fascinating accounts of scientists risking their lives to collect data and push the boundaries of human exploration, and some very cool science/art collaborations. 

A BARREL Balloon being inflated prior to launch - Photo taken by A.J. Halford

During the radio show, they also talked about how ballooning inspired many science fiction writers, including Edgar Allen Poe. Poe carried off a similar hoax to the War of the Worlds, publishing fictitious journals of an incredible balloon journey. I might have to spend the day reading these journals... all in the name of preparing for future lectures, of course :)